To Trade or Not to Trade: A Beginner's Guide

by Alexander Elder

You can be free. You can live and work anywhere in the world, be independent from the routine, and not answer to anybody.

This is the life of a successful trader.

Many aspire to it but few succeed. Newcomers often fail to prepare for the markets’ tough challenges. They keep making serious mistakes that could easily be avoided.

This book will help you decide whether trading is for you and teach you its key essential rules.

Success in trading is based on three Ms: Mind (psychology), Method (tactics), and Money (risk management). Each of these areas is covered in its own section of this ebook. The final section covers such practical topics as record-keeping, finding a broker, beginning to trade and continuing education.

CONTENTS

How this book is organized / Free updates & the honor code / Is it possible to trade for a living? / Can anyone become a successful trader?

MIND - Trading Psychology for Beginners
What you need to succeed / Who should not trade? / No illusions / A trading aptitude test / Trading psychology resources

METHOD: Trading Rules for Beginners
Two ways to analyze markets / Mind the gap between price and value / Live data and day-trading / Going long, selling short, or spreading / What stocks to trade / Futures, options, and forex / Use multiple timeframes / Discretionary and systematic trading / Placing orders / Profit targets / Protective stops

MONEY MANAGEMENT for Beginners
The three essential numbers for every trade / The 2% Rule / The 6% Rule
Trade sizing - the iron triangle of risk control / What account size is good for beginners?

PRACTICALITIES for Beginners
Paper trading / Record-keeping / What is your edge? / Opening a brokerage account / Taxes / Continuing education: books, software, etc.

Alexander Elder, M.D. is a professional trader based in New York. He is the author of several best-selling books: Trading for a Living, Come into My Trading Room, Entries & Exits, and The New Sell and Sell Short (all with Study Guides). Dr. Elder taught psychiatry at Columbia University. His experience provides him with unique insight into the psychology of trading. Dr. Elder is a sought-after speaker at worldwide conferences.

Genres: Finance

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 10, 2011

About the author

Dr. Alexander Elder is a professional trader based in New York City. He is the author of a dozen books, including Come into My Trading Room (Barron's 2002 Book of the Year) and Trading for a Living, considered modern classics among traders.

Dr. Elder was born in Leningrad and grew up in Estonia, where he entered medical school at the age of 16. At 23, while working as a ship's doctor, he jumped a Soviet ship in Africa and received political asylum in the United States. He worked as a psychiatrist in New York City and taught at Columbia University. His experience as a psychiatrist provided him with unique insight into the psychology of trading. Dr. Elder's books, articles, and software reviews have established him as one of today's leading experts on trading

Dr. Elder is the originator of Traders' Camps week-long classes for traders, as well as the Spike group for traders. He continues to trade and is a sought-after speaker at conferences in the US and abroad.

Reviews

[Mike Oksenenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best reading order:

1) To Trade or Not to Trade (Alexander Elder)
2) Two Roads Diverged (Alexander Elder)
3) Trading for a Living (Alexander Elder)
4) Entries and Exits (Alexander Elder)
5) Come Into My Trading Room (Alexander Elder)
6) Sell and Sell Short (Alexander Elder)

[Milan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to what trading is all about.

[Alonso Schmidt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very short book with general advice to people thinking about starting to trade in financial markets

[Sam Omokan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to trading

I enjoyed this book, as a complete novice who is just trying to understand more I think Dr Elder wrote a realistic and practical guide to understanding the markets and trading.

[Timothy J Summers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good intro. Makes me want to learn more.

[Ebert Mahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great intro to the idea of trading

This book gave a great overview of what trading is and isn't. Dr. Elder gives a quick view of what Pro traders do to win.

[Michael Demchuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to trading. It is short and to the point. The author wastes no time writing long examples to add pages to his book. It’s “what, why, how, next”.

[MIKE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trading is not for everyone ;)

[B___y__g · Rating 5 out of 5]

After one year of random trading: +50% at its peak and now at -45% I decided to take it more seriously.

[Viknesh Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good, solid introduction into Trader Psychology

[Shashank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet! A good starting point for anybody who wants to start investing in stock markets. Very few strategies but a lot of good insights that novice traders would be able to relate to. Especially enjoyed reading about the paragraphs wherein the author has mentioned about the traits that would-be traders should have and those that non-traders should overcome.

[Rohan]

want ot read

[Manish]

It tales about important rules and lay foundation to anyone for biginner in trading