The Daily Trading Coach: 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist

This book is for traders who already have a trading plan or a stratgy in discretionary trading. This book will show you methods how to stand by yourself, watch yourself, and help yourself to follow your own guidelines. Dr. Steenbarger states that he only coaches professional and institutional traders. So all of his books (I like Enhancing Trader Performance best) come at a huge discount. This book is divided into 10 chapters made off 101 lessons. The reader/trader may find that some lessons aren't of any concern to her, and then he finds other lessons that really address his specific need or problem. Dr Steenbarger's books even helped me in other areas of my life. But as for trading; in my not so humble opinion, a proper trading plan is still the most important asset to the trader. By all means in trading one has to know why to do, when to do, and how to do something. It's like a traffic light: you may feel you're tired, sad, happy or excited; you still know what to do when you see green light or red light. Psychology takes care of itself after you've crossed the street. It's when your plan works and you find it's your own behavior that hinders to get the most off it, then this book might help you with overcoming your limitations.

After reading over 100 books on trading, I believe this one could very well be the most important. Your mind will determine if you are successful or not in trading. When you trade you are competing with millions of other traders, investors, and institutions for profits. It is similar to being an athlete, and all athletes must have coaches to continually push them to higher levels of achievement through motivation and goals. With out the right coaching, careers stagnate and even go backwards. The beauty of this book is that it teaches you to coach yourself. The author is a trader and psychologist, and he coaches professional traders. His goal with this book is to teach his readers how to coach themselves to success with the same techniques he teaches the pros to use. Here are some of the gems of wisdom you will find in this book: "...your losing trade is never a total loss as long as you embrace it and learn from it." "When we're most frustrated, but also most overconfident, we're likely to make our worst decisions and violate our trading principles." "..confidence comes from self-mastery." "A good day is one in which we follow sound trading practices, from skilled execution to prudent risk management." "Your focus becomes one of trading well, not one of making money." "To best focus on any single performance, it helps to be diversified among performances." "Positive thinking is not necessarily optimistic thinking, it is constructive thought." "...good risk adjusted returns are better for the psyche than extreme patterns of returns. It's not how much you make, but how much you make per unit of risk taken that will keep you in or out of the performance zone." "Focus on your best trading and you begin the process of extinguishing your worst practices." This book has really improved my trading, by really teaching me to think correctly. It also reinforced my risk management strategies and showed me the importance of learning and growing. If you are serious about becoming a trader this book is a must have, it will show you how to build up the correct psychology to persevere in the markets long enough to win consistently. This is a must have for every trader's library.

The first time I met Dr. Steenbarger was in the smaller conference room of our proprietary trading firm in NYC. We were finalizing our training program and wanted the best teacher that we knew to review our work. He wasn't being paid, he was just a trading coach offering a helping hand. As Dr. Steenbarger offered his critique I was humbled by how much I still needed to consider. There was more work to be done. I have traded my own account through the Asian Financial Crisis, the Tech Boom, the Internet Bubble, 9/11, and the recent near collapse of our banking system. Today I run SMB Capital, a proprietary trading desk. Yet TraderFeed and Dr. Steenbarger's writing is still essential reading for me. The Daily Trading Coach is no exception. It is simply a must read for the new, developing, and experienced trader. As John Forman has done I should disclose that I am a proud contributor to the book. And I must admit my favorite part of this book is when Dr. Steenbarger makes fun of me for my overzealous contribution. Hey I was just trying to help. When I first started my trading career in the late 90's you learned through osmosis. You sat next to an experienced trader and when they had time (if they had time?) they discussed their trading. The market is more complicated than when I began and this model frankly is outdated. One of the new techniques you must master is how to coach yourself, even if starting at an established firm with excellent mentoring. Start with the Daily Trading Coach. Often new and developing traders mistakenly believe that learning from the best trader is the way to become great. If only this were true. The developing trader must find the best teacher. Dr. Steenbarger is the best trading teacher that I know. The other day I received an email from a prospective trader asking me if everyone on our desk put up identical P & L since they all have access to the same trading plays. The experienced and developing trader are I am sure chuckling politely as they read. Not every trader possess the same trading skills and mental development. Psychology is the 800 pound gorilla in the room on every trading desk. Dr. Steenbarger is the godfather of techniques to clear our mental hurdles. There is so much more of this in the Daily Trading Coach. 101 lessons more to be exact. Dr. Steenbarger has insider access to Hedge Fund traders, Investment Banks and proprietary trading firms that few do. His years of experience working with these groups has armed him with anecdotes and lessons that he has again passed along. Thank you Dr. Steenbarger. This book sits in my office in Manhattan along with many other great trading books. I find myself often of late, rising from my chair, heading over to my book shelf, and rereading sections of the the Daily Trading Coach, as I consider how to best mentor one of our traders. The Daily Trading Coach is a trading gift that keeps on giving. Mike Bellafiore Partner, SMB Capital

Practical insights with pragmatic application to the continuous improvement it takes to build a better trader. The lessons, not surprisingly, are far wider and far deeper than trading - beneath the surface are chords which resonate across the spectrum of life. This is a book written by someone who truly cares about seeing people succeed in the specific and the general - you actually feel that when reading the book. A book of many levels, of many insights and containing many, many gifts, --h PS. The Conclusion alone is worth the price of admission.