ALEXANDER ELDER, MD, is a professional trader, an expert in technical analysis, and a practicing psychiatrist. He is the founder of Financial Trading Inc., a firm that provides intensive trading camps for traders worldwide. Dr. Elder's first book, Trading for a Living, and its companion Study Guide have sold over 160,000 copies in English and were translated into nine languages. Dr. Elder's Web site is [...]

Dedication iv

Introduction 1

How This Book Is Organized 2

Male Or Female? 4

Part One Financial Trading for Babes in the Woods 5

1 Invest? Trade? Gamble? 7

An Intelligent Investor 7

An Intelligent Trader 8

An Intelligent Gambler? 12

2 What Markets to Trade? 15

Stocks 16

Futures 18

Options 20

3 The First Steps 25

The External Barriers to Success 25

Getting Your Gear 32

Analysis and Trading 39

Part Two The Three M'S of Successful Trading 45

4 Mind-The Disciplined Trader 47

Sleepwalking Through the Market 49

A Remedy for Self-destructiveness 54

The Mature Trader 61

5 Method-Technical Analysis 67

Basic Charting 68

Indicators-Five Bullets to a Clip 84

6 Trading 123

System Testing 125

Triple Screen Update 128

Day-trading 138

The Impulse System 157

Market Thermometer 162

Exiting Trades 165

Choosing What to Trade 183

7 Money Management Formulas 215

No Math Illiterates 217

Businessman's Risk vs. Loss. 218

The 2% Solution-Protection From Sharks 220

The 6% Rule-Protection From Piranhas 223

Position Sizing 227

Money Management Steps 230

Part Three Come Into My Trading Room 233

8 The Organized Trader 235

Trader's Spreadsheet 236

The Equity Curve 238

Trading Diary 240

Action Plan 242

9 Trading for a Living 245

Discipline and Humility 247

Have You Got the Time? 251

The Decision-making Tree 257

Beginner, Semipro, Pro 264

Going Pro 267

10 Come Into My Trading Room 271

Excerpts From the Diary 273

Your Next Trade 298

Acknowledgments 301

Sources 303

Index 307

About the Author 313