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Trading to Win: The Psychology of Mastering the Markets
A breakthrough programfor achieving new heights of trading success
The product of a five-year collaboration between Dr. Ari Kiev, a leading psychiatrist renowned for his success with Olympic athletes, and top equities trader Steve Cohen, Trading to Win gives you the essential tools to overcome outmoded, self-limiting beliefs and mindsets that may be keeping you from a higher level of success. Illustrated with real market scenarios and applications, this powerful program will help psych you into a less stressful, more self-possessed mastery of the trading game and help you reach goals you may never have thought possible.
"The strategies in this book will unleash the hidden trader in you, and can substantially increase your trading profits." --Jay G. Goldman, Hedge Fund Manager.
"Ari Kiev has written a wonderful guide for money managers, traders, brokers, and investors alike. Sharing his thoughts with us regarding our behavior patterns enables us to take a step back and look at ourselves more objectively." --Seymour W. Zises, President and CEO, Family Management Corp.
The trading arena has produced its share of select "super-traders," market practitioners who set themselves apart from the rest of the field with one distinct mental and emotional toughness. Like outstanding athletes who stay focused, remain calm, and stick to their game plan, these master traders in this highly risky, highly competitive arena possess an edge that keeps them from being distracted by fear, self-doubt, greed, and other emotional components that can cause major losses and prevent gains from soaring to new highs.
Trading to Win presents a step-by-step, goal-oriented program for building the mental and emotional stamina not only to win, but to win on an unprecedented level. Created by a leading psychiatrist for a top trading firm, this proven approach spotlights a set of philosophical and behavioral principles designed to assist you in implementing proactive trading strategies, as well as developing the mindset needed to trade effectively in the realm of uncertainty. Delving into your underlying thought processes when you trade, Trading to Win enables you to understand what is motivating you, whether it is consistent with your game plan, and whether you are in any way sabotaging yourself.
Fully supplemented with real market trading scenarios, Trading to Win shows you how to apply key concepts where it counts--in actual trading room situations. For both professional traders and sophisticated investors, this remarkable program offers a rare opportunity for both personal and financial gain.
The product of a five-year collaboration between Dr. Ari Kiev, a leading psychiatrist renowned for his success with Olympic athletes, and top equities trader Steve Cohen, Trading to Win gives you the essential tools to overcome outmoded, self-limiting beliefs and mindsets that may be keeping you from a higher level of success. Illustrated with real market scenarios and applications, this powerful program will help psych you into a less stressful, more self-possessed mastery of the trading game and help you reach goals you may never have thought possible.
"The strategies in this book will unleash the hidden trader in you, and can substantially increase your trading profits." --Jay G. Goldman, Hedge Fund Manager.
"Ari Kiev has written a wonderful guide for money managers, traders, brokers, and investors alike. Sharing his thoughts with us regarding our behavior patterns enables us to take a step back and look at ourselves more objectively." --Seymour W. Zises, President and CEO, Family Management Corp.
The trading arena has produced its share of select "super-traders," market practitioners who set themselves apart from the rest of the field with one distinct mental and emotional toughness. Like outstanding athletes who stay focused, remain calm, and stick to their game plan, these master traders in this highly risky, highly competitive arena possess an edge that keeps them from being distracted by fear, self-doubt, greed, and other emotional components that can cause major losses and prevent gains from soaring to new highs.
Trading to Win presents a step-by-step, goal-oriented program for building the mental and emotional stamina not only to win, but to win on an unprecedented level. Created by a leading psychiatrist for a top trading firm, this proven approach spotlights a set of philosophical and behavioral principles designed to assist you in implementing proactive trading strategies, as well as developing the mindset needed to trade effectively in the realm of uncertainty. Delving into your underlying thought processes when you trade, Trading to Win enables you to understand what is motivating you, whether it is consistent with your game plan, and whether you are in any way sabotaging yourself.
Fully supplemented with real market trading scenarios, Trading to Win shows you how to apply key concepts where it counts--in actual trading room situations. For both professional traders and sophisticated investors, this remarkable program offers a rare opportunity for both personal and financial gain.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 1998
12 people are currently reading
329 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 27, 2025
this book is not subject oriented, it's a mixture of a little here and there. same ideas are repeated in every chapter.
as a trader myself, i would say trading in the zone by Mark Douglas is 10x better than this crap...
as a trader myself, i would say trading in the zone by Mark Douglas is 10x better than this crap...
November 16, 2024
A very good trading psychology book that I enjoyed a lot. Lots of good snippets about meditating, centering yourself so you can allow yourself to trade more intuitively and trust your intuition. Great for traders who have an edge and want to scale their results. Not really for beginners.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"The super-traders, though, share certain common traits that supersede whatever discipline they might pursue. They are totally committed to their own particular style and demonstrate complete conviction when trading. Because of this conviction they are able to take large financial risks and have the confidence and belief that probability is on their side. They also have the ability to admit their mistakes and minimize their consequences—that is, losses—when they are wrong."
"They are independent and think for themselves; they are not easily influenced by others. Most traders, surprisingly, are not like that: They are indecisive, lack conviction, and are afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. They are unaware of the personal demons that are holding them back from true success."
"Trading to win obliges you to review each day's trades, so you can see how you may have veered from your commitment, what dropped out of your trading, and what commitment you must add to get the desired result. You might need to raise the number of shares traded so they are consistent with your level of commitment. "
"Losses are always hidden in your P&L. It looks like you're making some money, even though if you look closely you lost a lot of money, and that costs slippage and opportunity as well. Start looking at how much people are not making because they're scalping on the way up. Let's say a trader scalps-sells for a quick profit—and makes $5 million. Maybe if he didn't scalp, he could make $10 million. The issue is tracking where the stocks go after you get out."
"I believe that most people are not inclined to look inward, but prefer to live in the land of denial and rationalization. And I take the position that learning the fundamentals of trading success requires much more self-examination. I believe that the more consciousness you bring to this process, the more successful you will be."
"It also applies to cashing in winners too soon-scalping. You might think you want to avoid looking bad, and you don't trust your instincts. You might want to get a quick profit to look good. Instead you'll learn trust, patience, and your ability to get out later on."
And you can read my full summary of the book here:
https://topbooks.substack.com/p/book-...
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"The super-traders, though, share certain common traits that supersede whatever discipline they might pursue. They are totally committed to their own particular style and demonstrate complete conviction when trading. Because of this conviction they are able to take large financial risks and have the confidence and belief that probability is on their side. They also have the ability to admit their mistakes and minimize their consequences—that is, losses—when they are wrong."
"They are independent and think for themselves; they are not easily influenced by others. Most traders, surprisingly, are not like that: They are indecisive, lack conviction, and are afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. They are unaware of the personal demons that are holding them back from true success."
"Trading to win obliges you to review each day's trades, so you can see how you may have veered from your commitment, what dropped out of your trading, and what commitment you must add to get the desired result. You might need to raise the number of shares traded so they are consistent with your level of commitment. "
"Losses are always hidden in your P&L. It looks like you're making some money, even though if you look closely you lost a lot of money, and that costs slippage and opportunity as well. Start looking at how much people are not making because they're scalping on the way up. Let's say a trader scalps-sells for a quick profit—and makes $5 million. Maybe if he didn't scalp, he could make $10 million. The issue is tracking where the stocks go after you get out."
"I believe that most people are not inclined to look inward, but prefer to live in the land of denial and rationalization. And I take the position that learning the fundamentals of trading success requires much more self-examination. I believe that the more consciousness you bring to this process, the more successful you will be."
"It also applies to cashing in winners too soon-scalping. You might think you want to avoid looking bad, and you don't trust your instincts. You might want to get a quick profit to look good. Instead you'll learn trust, patience, and your ability to get out later on."
And you can read my full summary of the book here:
https://topbooks.substack.com/p/book-...
December 21, 2009
Meh. Perhaps he comes across better one on one, but the book is filled with repetitious platitudes that all seem fairly obvious, with a few nuggets here and there which could have been printed on a pamphlet - but you can't charge nearly as much for those.
August 1, 2008
It's hard to believe that SAC Capital could derive any benefit from the bromides in this overly long essay.
December 28, 2019
I miss more subtlety in the good points that Market Wizard Ari Kiev makes.
The suggestion on gaining faith is outstanding.
The suggestion on gaining faith is outstanding.
December 30, 2016
Part 1 and 3 are just awesome. Part 2 is full of useless information, in my opinion. Overall the book is pretty interesting and useful. Every trader should read it.
February 15, 2016
centering or focusing without letting distractions keep you from your goal
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews