What books will you recommend to a starting trader?

[Frederick Foresight]

Great little book, highlighting the key points derived from Jack Schwager's Market Wizards books. A CliffsNotes version of the four books totalling about 2,000 pages and comprising about five dozen interviews. Not a substitute for the series, but a great booster shot to help get your head straight if you should ever find it out of alignment. Also a great little intro for a beginning trader to read before deciding where and how to dig in.

 

[lawrence-lugar]

Great little book, highlighting the key points derived from Jack Schwager's Market Wizards books.
A CliffsNotes version of the four books totalling about 2,000 pages

I'm kind of the black sheep of the group or herd -- I'm kind of anti-books/theory/teachers; I'm more of a do-it-yourselfer.

But I'm curious though...there should be a Scientific study...of say 50 traders (amateur) who reads the so-called 10 best Trading/investing books of all-time...
...And see how they fare, or perform in the market, vs 50 traders who haven't read any of that stuff

I kind of think that intuition and luck and psychology and natural-born talent...will easily surpass sleepy, generic book theory,

 

[Xela]

I kind of think that intuition and luck and psychology and natural-born talent...will easily surpass sleepy, generic book theory,

I think you're probably right that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" surpass sleepy, generic, book theory ... but on the other hand, I also think that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" equate, at least to some extent, to what I think of as numeracy and educability, and those are certainly also things that tend to determine who benefits most from reading established, accredited textbooks.

I also think (and the longer I'm involved in "trading communities" the more I think this) that ultimately the people who do become successful traders are "self-starters" who would have been pretty likely to have become successful at whatever else they'd done instead of trading, because their behaviour-patterns speak of persistence, reliability and self-responsibility, and I think even those personality-traits can probably be said to overlap to some degree with what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent", if you examine them closely enough. In some ways, anyway.

So I'm not disputing your perspective at all, and I tend to agree with it, but I'm not quite convinced that it necessarily makes you quite as much of a "black sheep" as you feel.

 

[lovethetrade]

I think you're probably right that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" surpass sleepy, generic, book theory ... but on the other hand, I also think that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" equate, at least to some extent, to what I think of as numeracy and educability, and those are certainly also things that tend to determine who benefits most from reading established, accredited textbooks.

I'm of the belief, and i suspect Lawrence feels the same, that once your logic reaches a certain level, there's very little in these books that would make allocating your precious time towards, worthwhile. Maybe you could post one of your favorite passages that might turn me into a believer....

 

[Xela]

I'm of the belief, and i suspect Lawrence feels the same, that once your logic reaches a certain level, there's very little in these books that would make allocating your precious time towards, worthwhile.

I'd agree with that, too.

It takes people very varying amounts of time/effort/energy to reach that "certain level", though, I think.

None of us was born knowing how to do this stuff, and statistics and probability tend to be pretty counterintuitive subjects.

Maybe you could post one of your favorite passages that might turn me into a believer....

Not necessary at all - I'm really not trying to "persuade" anyone. The OP asked for book recommendations, and I offered the ones that have been most helpful to me - that's all.

 

[marketsurfer]

I think you're probably right that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" surpass sleepy, generic, book theory ... but on the other hand, I also think that what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent" equate, at least to some extent, to what I think of as numeracy and educability, and those are certainly also things that tend to determine who benefits most from reading established, accredited textbooks.

I also think (and the longer I'm involved in "trading communities" the more I think this) that ultimately the people who do become successful traders are "self-starters" who would have been pretty likely to have become successful at whatever else they'd done instead of trading, because their behaviour-patterns speak of persistence, reliability and self-responsibility, and I think even those personality-traits can probably be said to overlap to some degree with what many people call "intuition" and "natural-born talent", if you examine them closely enough. In some ways, anyway.

So I'm not disputing your perspective at all, and I tend to agree with it, but I'm not quite convinced that it necessarily makes you quite as much of a "black sheep" as you feel.

I disagree here. There is a huge difference between success in trading and success at other fields. The basic reason for this is all other fields are linear, you learn, the harder and smarter you work the more you earn

Trading is not linear and the playing field is constantly changing. you are working within a random environment, like it or not, that's the fact. you can master one niche, like the SOES bandits, then the market changes and you are out of work. Compared to medicine as an example-- the human body is static, despite technology evolving, the base remains static.

surf

 

[Frederick Foresight]

I'm kind of the black sheep of the group or herd -- I'm kind of anti-books/theory/teachers; I'm more of a do-it-yourselfer.

But I'm curious though...there should be a Scientific study...of say 50 traders (amateur) who reads the so-called 10 best Trading/investing books of all-time...
...And see how they fare, or perform in the market, vs 50 traders who haven't read any of that stuff

I kind of think that intuition and luck and psychology and natural-born talent...will easily surpass sleepy, generic book theory,

This isn't a how-to book. It's a sit-down with those who succeeded and then some. You get to learn how they view trading and what is important to them. Why they first did poorly and what helped them overcome their obstacles. And you see no value in that? Even for a beginner? You can be anti-everything all you want, but there has to be a starting point. And if you have general guideposts along the way, it makes it a bit easier. This book provides such guideposts. Not everyone takes the same path, but it helps to know what they are and what their pitfalls might be.

I think most trading books are not worth the paper they're printed on, but that doesn't make them all worthless.

You refer to "generic book theory." Sorry, but I think your aversion is generic. You don't even know what you are dismissing.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

the human body is static, despite technology evolving, the base remains static.

Human psychology is static, despite technology evolving, the base remains static.

 

[marketsurfer]

Human psychology is static, despite technology evolving, the base remains static.

the base is no longer human psychology-- it is the machines. Algo's gaming each other, predatory creations with the core based on random market theory--- others genetic Darwinistic models that have zero to do with psychology--- the machines are close to 90% of all volume now, there is no fear or greed involved.

 

[vanzandt]

there is no fear or greed involved.

Somebody has to turn those machines on and off right? And tweak em daily I'd suspect.
Whenever you have a human element involved, there will always be some degree of greed and fear built into the system that finds its roots manifested in the human psyche.