Trading for a Living: Psychology, Trading Tactics, Money Management,   ISBN:9780471592242

Customer Rating: 

An absolutely amazing book. If you are a trader and/or interested in becoming a trader then read this book. I ordered this along with Come Into My Trading Room and Entries and Exits also by Dr. Elder. I couldn't lay this book down as I was reading it every free moment I had. After two days I was done and have just moved onto Come Into My Trading Room. I am 100 pages in and it has much of the same content as Trading For a Living. I must say I enjoyed Trading For a Living more. It was easy to read and easy to understand.
I thought I knew a bit about TA, but Elder added a lot to my knowlege. The psychology section was amongst the best in regards to trading psychology. The Tripple Screen System that he uses makes a lot of sense and is also easy to apply.
Get this book!

Customer Rating: 

I found the book to be interesting so much that I went ahead and purchased the study guide also. I have decided to dive into the stock market and see if I can make more money at this with the economy the way it is.

Customer Rating: 

I tossed mine in the recycling bin rather than donate it to the library book sale. What a piece of trash this book is. All these old trading maxims and catch phrases are really a lot of hogwash. Save the price of this book and buy a lotto ticket. The risk/reward is better.

I've bought a lot of investment books. This really is the worst. The positive reviews here make me seriously question the legitimacy of amazon book reviews.

Customer Rating: 

After years of trading, I still go back and re-read this book.

It has it all:

- Trading Psychology
- Money Management
- Trading Systems
- Technical Analysis

Well written and very easy to understand, this book is a must to have in your Stock Trading resource library!

Customer Rating: 

This book played an integral part in me being able to develop a top-notch trading game, therefore I duly recommend it. For many of the reasons that reviewers gave **** and ***** ratings with regard to its features, I concur.

However, reexamining this book after I made my quantum leap, there are 3 critical factors that need to be addressed if you want to take your trading from "mildew to barbecue" in the shortest time possible. Get out your notepad and crayons because I am going to show you how to make this good book a better one for you. If it worked for me, I am sure it can work for you.


1.Trading for a living means you first live how you want to trade

Even though Dr. Elder covered a lot of ground when discussing the psychological aspect to trading, looking back, I respectfully disagree with his notion that trading psychology begins and ends with every trade you make. The reality is that there is no such thing as "trading-related problems." Furthermore, trading doesn't exist in a vacuum. Issues that find their way into trading are already happening in your life. Don't trim branches, kill the roots.

To make the most of this book, start thinking from the inside out. Trading is 90% inner game. If you desire to follow a set of trading rules that you want to sustain you financially, then first become a person of character and integrity. The quality of your trading is reflected in not what you do but who you are.

2.You are the markets

One of my pet peeves was his discussion on crowd psychology. I agree with the author that one should understand crowd psychology and how it fits into the overall scheme of trading the financial markets. I duly understand how the markets move from one extreme to the other by the often primitive-driven actions of the "herd mentality." Although Dr. Elder makes a respectable contribution in explaining the mechanics of how mass trading psychology works, the book gives the impression that its influence is somehow "apart" from the individual trader, and that all the trader needs to do is learn how to "out maneuver" the crowd by more sophisticated means. The danger here is that it creates an unnecessary schism in the mind of the trader who doesn't know any better.

To take your trading game to the next level, you must back away from the illusion of "me versus the markets" like spilt hot coffee. The reality is that the financial markets are YOU and you ARE the markets. The same primitive drives that run amuck in the markets are what also drive you to make irrational trading decisions. You can't hide forever behind your trading system if you have not squared up with yourself. Don't look down at the markets, look at the man in the mirror.

3.You are god

When you read this book, you may get the impression that more stock is given to trading indicators and other external factors. I understand that this appeals to those who have yet to enjoy consistent trading success and are more interested in "tips and suggestions." But if you want to play this game from a position of strength, then you must stop giving away your power to technical indicators and other external devices. Again, trading is 90% inner game. You show me someone who declares that "XYZ trading indicator no longer works," and I will show you someone who is looking for trading salvation outside of their self. The ideas that Dr. Elder present in this book or any trading concepts you create or acquire are for you to breathe life into and not to be worshiped.

When you buy Trading For A Living and take these points to heart, trading success will began to be IN you and not on you like a t-shirt.


Henry "Solomon" Billingslea, Jr.
author of:

Pimping Wall Street The Player's Guide To Trading The Markets, Vol. I