A year ago I've red Brett Steenbarger his first book The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets which immediately became one of my favorite books on trading psychology. I loved the author his writing style, his insights on how or psychology reacts on trading, the numerous stories of his counseling conversations, his trading experiences, ...
I started reading this book with similar expectations. The beginning part was still quite promising, but after being on page 100 I still had the feeling he didn't go toward his point. He kept hammering on the importance of learning, learning experience, being motivated, analyzing your own actions/feelings, ... Also something I found irritating were all those examples and comparisons with sport examples and highly trained athletes. Most of those examples didn't help me at all, I just didn't see the similarities with my own trading.
After reading this book I don't think I'm better at counseling myself, nor will I be a more disciplined trader. Nor did I read a lot of advanced stuff on psychology. Those were essentially the reasons why I bought this book (at a relative high price).
I might be reading other books from Steenbarger in the hope to find something like his first book, but I would not recommend buying this book.
I couldn't sleep tonight so I decided to read this book. Steenbarger is an excellent writer and can definitely tell a good story, but the problem is, and it's a large one, it's very jumbled and interrupted with another recommendation for another book that he thinks is great but tells you little about. And so it goes. Halfway through I began to wonder if any of this would change. I continued on, and the answer is no. Lots and lots recommendations, some stories about his ABC plan. Not much value overall. I'd give it a pass. /TKL
Great for beginner and advanced traders. Deals with the the MOST important aspect of trading...YOU! Successful trading is not just about indicators and systems. It's really about you being the captain of the ship. You control all the moves. You make all of the decisions. You make all of the money. You lose all of the money. This book deals with the psychology of trading- your psychology and how it applies to trading. It doesn't deal with the "markets" psychology. It's all about YOU. When it comes to making money, isn't this the MOST important factor anyway?
As a former professor of mathematics and futures trader for the past 25 years, I would strongly recommend this book to anyone considering trading on either a part-time or full-time basis. Most people assume that the way to make trading profitable is to find the right trading model. In my own experience, pyschology contributes 60 percent to the outcome, money management 20 percent, and one's approach or model 20 percent. Get any one of the three wrong and you will lose, but concentrate first on trading psychology. Brett Steenbarger does a masterful job of teaching the willing student much that is crucial to successful trading. I would rate this as one of the ten best books on trading for people with any level of experience.
I would with out a doubt rank this book in the top ten most helpful trading books I have read. (I have read over 130 books on trading). This book is on trading psychology, written by a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences who also trades his own account. It is a look at the winning psychology of top performers in all fields, art, sports, business, chess, music, and others. He delves into the fascinating study conducted that shows that what separates competent performers from the best performers is time spent in focused practice with feedback that enables the performer to adjust to be more successful. Studies show that 10,000 hours of correct training with proper form and helpful feedback leads to mastery. Usually this takes ten years, very bad news for those that want to trade for a living next week. However, the book shows how it is possible to short cut this rule if you watch the market intensely every day, day trade a tremendous amount for experience (only if your style is day trading),or you can incorporate similar skills for trading that you may have from other fields.
I like that the book explains that you must have a trading style that fits your personality and talents. He advises trying all styles to see which one clicks for you. If you grow bored with analyzing fundamentals and sitting on positions for months, then you may need to be a day trader or swing trader. If day trading stresses you out and you have trouble making quick decisions you may be a position trader in the wrong style.
The author discusses how traders may traumatize themselves by trading before they are ready. Or trading with to big of a position, this can scar you whether you win or lose because of the level of stress you are under. The book discusses how markets are continually changing and traders must change with it. Whether keeping their trading style and finding a different trading vehicle or changing their style to match the overall market, it is psychologically tough for a successful experienced trader to become a beginner again and retool their trading methods.
The book's best material is its dive into why discipline breaks down and a trader just starts trading crazy either trying to get back their losses or because of arrogance after many consecutive winning trades. This book really goes into the mind of the trader and where bad behaviors come from and what to do to change them. It also profiles hugely successful traders that make millions or six figure incomes. That was very informative seeing that the best are human just like us but have a consuming passion for trading and they rage to master their skills in the greatest game on earth. I highly recommend this is THE book on trading psychology and a must have for any serious trader, even the most experienced professionals.
I read Brett Steenbarger's book "Enhancing Trader Performance" with mixed emotions. After having read the first ten pages I wanted to return it to Amazon for a refund. On the first pages the author describes two traders, Al and Mick. Al was emotionally balanced, honored his stops, and did not become irate at losses. Mick was not balanced, took losses as personal affronts, and violated his risk management guidelines. Yet Steenbarger tells us that Mick was the better trader which is contrary to what all other trading psychologists tell us, and contrary to what experience tells me.
Well, I hung in there, and after the first pages the book covered the importance of finding one's trading niche. You need to discover your niche, the trading style you feel comfortable with, in order to be successful. This makes sense, and this I fully subscribe to.
The next 150 pages are interesting from the psychology side and they might even help you be successful in general life, but they are only of limited value to a trader. He gives examples of a wrestling coach (Dan Gable), a cyclist (Lance Armstrong), elite troops, and excellent chess players, and describes how they improve their performance. In my opinion, these comparisons are not valid. Drilling exercises are useful in sports and the military where you do the same movement over and over again, but not in trading. The problem in trading is not the mouse clicks, the problem is the mind. Even chess is not a good comparison because in chess there are no feelings like fear or greed involved which are the two main human drivers in the markets.
The chapters on cognitive techniques and behavioural techniques for enhancing performance are somewhat useful again for traders as is the afterword with the biography of a trader.
I was swaying between giving the book three or fours stars. Three stars would be justified because the book is not fully relevant for traders, it is tough to read, and it is printed on cheap looking yellow paper (especially considering the price of the book). In the end I gave it four stars because it is well written (demanding which at the same time makes it tough to read), and it has what you can expect of a good book: A conclusion, a summary, a bibliography, and a list of valuable internet resources.
The key point in this book is that expertise is different from competence. This is obvious, but you will still learn from this book. Brett provides references to elite sports research as well as examples from daytraders. Since Brett is bridging two worlds he can add something very unique.
How does this book compare to his earlier The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets? That book was focused on emotions and trading. The current book focuses on learning and trading. If you sometimes get emotional in front of the sceen, I would recommend that you start by reading the first book. If you like it, then you can also read this book.
Personally I find that Brett is hammering on the same point a bit too much in the second book. The point is useful, but not sufficient for five stars. Still it is a helpful book.
Finally, if you are looking for anything like a quick solution, you will find this book useless. The book asks certain questions relating to yourself that you need to think about. If you follow Brett's advice you are in for a lot of work.
I have written several short reviews on trading books. The best way is to compare the score on the books I've read. Many reviews on amazon.com are just glorious 5 star reviews. I use all five categories; sorry but everything isn't "great". Books rated 5 are very good. Books rated 4 are good solid books well worth reading. Books rated 3 can be bought by some people who read a lot or have very specific needs. Books rated 1 or 2 I would not recommend buying or reading. Naturally all in my humble opinion.
I gave a high rating to the author's first book "Psychology of Trading" with a review title "Well researched and written, but not for the mass" in that it suits perfectly those with medium or above knowledge of psychology. It's hardly a coincidence, that the second book of the author is also targeted at the professionals, or, to be specific, professional traders who can enjoy systemized training/mentoring offered by their institutions. For traders like me who dont have such priviledges, nearly half of it became quite irrelevant and remote. Definitely worth a read, especially the part elaborating the linkage between practice and expertise, but not as useful nor insightful as fans of his first book might expect.
p.s. Below please find some of my favorite passages for your reference.
Competence precedes confidence: Winning mindsets result from mastery, not the reverse pg 4
When you have found your niche, you dont need discipline to do the right things; you wont want to do anything else. pg 29
Markets, like people, have their personalities; our relationships with markets will profit to the extent that there is compatibility. pg 35
Evolution occurs when we are so taxed that we must make fresh adaptive efforts. The expert is one who continually adapts to extraordinary performance demands. pg 119
How to trade and what to trade are subordinate to when to trade. pg151
Amateur traders turn into professional traders once they stop looking for the next great technical indicator and start controlling their risk on each trade. - John Carter pg 156
Once in a while a book will appear which identifies problems so precisely that the reader begins to take ever-increasing delight at the insights afforded. The first reading, but certainly not the last, will conclude with such laudatory comments as, outstanding, empowering, top 10 or even top 5, and a must-read.
Such a book is Brett Steenbarger's "Enhancing Trader Performance". It carries my highest recommendation and since I'm not unknown in trading circles this may carry some weight. It should be read by anyone contemplating trading for a living and by all those short-term traders presently dissatisfied with their performance.
Dr. Brett's book cannot fail to benefit those in other disciplines that are performance related, such as golf, chess, wrestling, baseball or as a member of a NASCAR pit crew. The interdisciplinary approach is discussed in some detail and to everyone's advantage. It is a remarkable book with numerous outstanding insights, so that rather than attempt an overview, I will offer a single injunction, BUY IT.
Product Details :
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 3, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0470038667
ISBN-13: 978-0470038666
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.1 x 9 inches
More Details about Enhancing Trader Performance: Proven Strategies From the Cutting Edge of Trading Psychology 1st edition
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