7 Best Day Trading Books
A thorough understanding of day trading has the capacity to help save you from making ludicrously expensive errors. What’s more, it can have a profound impact on your confidence. Because of this, it is important that you have the best day trading books at your disposal.
There are a wide variety of great books that are available to assist both novice traders and those with experience. With these books, traders of all sorts can hone their craft and analyze stocks for incredible returns. These books share a plentiful amount of information that you can start with. Or, even better, they can develop your day trading strategy to near perfection. However, it is important to remember that there is no better teacher than experience itself.
What is it?
‘Day trading’ is a practice pertaining to the purchase and eventual sale of a security within a single trading day. Put simply, it is what happens when you open and close a security position in one day’s time. A majority of the time, this will take place in almost any marketplace. Here is a break down that simplifies the explanation:
- Open and close (round trip) – By “open and close,” we are referring to the
- familiar buying and selling process. In the case of short-sellers, it is selling (short)
- and then buying. An alternative name for this is ‘round trip’.
- Security position – Day trading applies to pretty much all securities, like stocks,
- bonds, ETFs, and even options (calls and puts).
- Same day – If you carry out a round trip on the same day, then it is technically a
- day trade. By holding your security position well beyond the conclusion of the
- trading day, then it is not a day trade
On top of day traders, there is another group known as ‘pattern day traders’. These are people who conduct four or more day trades within a rolling five business day period. Those trades will often make up more than 6% of your account activity in the span of those five days.
Is it possible to make a living from this?
There has been an increasing amount of advancements in technology as of late. So much so that there is a guarantee that anyone who has an Internet connection can day trade for a living. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? Well, while it’s possible, there are things you need to know before you can make a living from day trading. There is a common misconception when it comes to full-time traders. A lot of people assume the same thing about traders working full-time with advanced degrees, as well as high pedigrees. That being that they only work for investment banks. Another common belief is the thought that, if you want to trade, you need large amounts of capital. Moreover, you have expendable time that you are willing to dedicate to the trading practice.
As outlandish as it may sound, there is some truth to these initial impressions. To work for an investment bank or on a major institutional trading floor, you will need to have connections. What’s more, you are likely to go far if you have a prominent educational background that makes you stand out.
What you need to keep in mind
For the most part, markets are interlinked. That way, it will always be open trading time somewhere in the world. As a matter of fact, it is conceivable to access a good chunk of those markets with relative ease. This basically means that even people who are working full-time or have children at home can trade. Job or no job, kids, or no kids, it does not matter; you are still able to participate in trading. It will ultimately boil down to just being a matter of finding the right market and opportunity.
This all may sound enticing to you and you are probably thinking about diving into trading immediately. However, before you do that, you should understand that it is not the easiest of businesses. In actuality, it has a tendency of being quite tough to remain in for the long haul. Taking a gander at different trading alternatives that are handy, you will see that you can enter the market. However, the success you wish to achieve will mostly depend on you.
What are people trading?
Making the choice to start day trading for a living is one of the most important decisions you will make. You will want to know about all of the popular securities and markets before you start participating in this type of trade. Below are some of the more common markets and securities:
- Cryptocurrencies
- Stocks
- Penny stocks
- Forex
- Commodities
- Options
- Futures
- Eminis
- CFDs
- Gold
The volatility and volume in your chosen market will seriously impact your potential profits. This is regardless of if you are day trading penny stocks for a living or currencies. Let’s take a look at the cryptocurrency market as an example. As many already know, this is a market that’s highly volatile. For this reason, it effectively enables some traders to make a solid living.
Day trading stocks for a living, on the other hand, may prove to be comparatively more difficult. Generally speaking, it is already a saturated market. Furthermore, there is a requirement for a relatively high amount of initial capital. And that’s not all; losses have the potential to be more devastating financially.
The point is that day trading commodities or futures for a living undoubtedly comes with a fair share of challenges.
The best books
Now that we have an idea about day trading and doing it for a living, let’s get into the best books for day trading. Whatever your reason for wanting to learn more about this kind of trade, there is a book for you. Beginners, people wanting to learn about strategy and charting expansion, and even those wanting to know about trading psychology.
There are plenty of books to choose from, and we will go over seven of the best ones.
1 – “How to Day Trade for a Living: A Beginner’s Guide to Trading Tools and Tactics, Money Management, Discipline and Trading Psychology” by Andrew Aziz
“...Andrew heard those dreaded words, “you’re no longer needed”. Now what? With the same drive and determination that led to his success at university and with industry, Andrew started studying the stock market. How can someone sitting at home, in front of their computer, beat Wall Street at its own game?”
This book is a popular recommendation when it comes to the topic of day trading for a living. It is the number one seller on Amazon in the categories of stocks, futures, and online trading.
“How to Day Trade for a Living” gives readers an overview of the basics concerning day trading. It also explains strategies and what you should come to expect when you begin to trade. The book provides an in-depth discussion about various strategies, including the following:
- Moving average trend trading
- Support and resistance trading
- Top and bottom reversal trading
- ABCD pattern trading
- Bull flag momentum trading
- VWAP trading
The book effectively integrates a straightforward approach and a deep understanding of its material. Thanks to this combo, it can prep any novice for a potential future in day trading.
2 – “Technical Analysis of Financial Markets: A Comprehensive Guide to Trading Methods and Applications” by John J. Murphy
“From how to read charts to understanding indicators and the crucial role technical analysis plays in investing, readers gain a thorough and accessible overview of the field of technical analysis, with a special emphasis on futures markets.”
This book was written back in 1999, yet it continues to still be a top seller on Amazon. Many consider it to be a reading requirement for any novice in the field of investing.
This easy-to-follow guide dives deep into technical analysis and trading theory. What’s more, it includes charts and graphs as visuals to illustrate the points it makes.
“Technical Analysis of Financial Markets” guides you through the process of reading charts and explains the importance of technical analysis. Moreover, it covers topics like candlestick charting, stock rotation, and inter-market relationships. The author gives readers an informative study guide that consists of quizzes to help you comprehend and digest the information.
3 – “A Beginner’s Guide to Day Trading Online” by Toni Turner
“Day trading is highly profitable—and highly tumultuous. Moreover, the financial markets have changed considerably in recent years. Expert author Toni Turner gives you the latest information for mastering the markets...”
This is an accessible and easy-to-understand bestseller that will educate you in the ways of making money from day trading.
It will teach you the fundamentals that you will need to know if you want to master the market. This includes the decimalization of stock prices and both precision entries and exits. Additionally, it reviews an array of trading products such as E-minis and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). In “A Beginner’s Guide to Day Trading Online,” Turner shares her experiences in day trading experiences. In doing so, she also offers clear-cut direction and guidance.
This book will give you the confidence you need to successfully navigate the subtleties of the world of trading.
4 – “Liberated Stock Trader PRO – A Complete Stock Market Education” by Barry D. Moore
“The biggest fear of stock market investors is losing their money in a crash. This book will provide you the tools and knowledge to help you recognize when a collapse is imminent so you can move your money to safety.”
The Liberated Stock Trader PRO training course is a comprehensive training solution. Its intent is to educate potential traders in the four core investing pillars.
The first pillar is ‘Fundamental Analysis’ of companies. This shows how to screen and discover growth stocks, value stocks, and defensive stocks. The second pillar covers ‘Technical Analysis’. This will assist you in mastering stock charts, volume, indicators, supply and demand, and trendlines. The next section takes a look at ‘Market Sentiment Indicators’ and the psychology of trading.
Last but not least, you will learn about portfolio management, trade execution, and trading system creation.
5 – “Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques: A Contemporary Guide to the Ancient Investment Techniques of the Far East” by Steve Nison
“In easy-to-understand language, this title delivers to the reader the author’s years of study, research and practical experience in this increasingly popular and dynamic approach to market analysis.”
This resource offers countless pages of practical candlestick charting techniques. It demonstrates how you can apply them to almost any market and combine them with various other technical analysis techniques.
“Japanese Candlestick Charting Techniques” author, Steve Nison, is one of the foremost technical analysts in the world today. He was the one to introduce the Japanese candlestick strategy to the western world.
6 – “Technical Analysis Explained, Fifth Edition: The Successful Investor’s Guide to Spotting Investment Trends and Turning Points” by Martin J. Pring
“Whether you’re trading cornerstone commodities or innovative investment products, observing how investors responded to past events through technical analysis is your key to forecasting when to buy and sell in the future.”
What many consider to the best day trading book on the subject of technical analysis, this book is on its fifth edition since its original publishing 30 years ago. Pring’s way of talking mixes theory with technique and offers strategies for future profits in “Technical Analysis Explained.”
This book provides users with an informative step-by-step guide. It covers the incorporation of technical analysis into your trading strategy specifically for portfolio growth.
7 – “The Mental Strategies of Top Traders: The Psychological Determinants of Trading Success” by Ari Kiev
“An honest depiction of the challenges of trading and a clear explanation of what it takes to succeed.”
This is a meticulous analysis of the characteristics pertaining to successful traders. It takes a deep dive into the often-contradictory aspects of their willingness to take on risk. Particularly in an extremely tight and restrictive manner.
“The Mental Strategies of Top Traders” illustrates how you can cultivate similar characteristics. In addition, Kiev draws from the success of an array of other trading professionals. As a matter of fact, many of these professionals are survivors of the 2007-08 recession.
We hope you enjoyed our review of the best day trading books.
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