The Disciplined Trader: Developing Winning Attitudes [Hardcover]

I have left the below review for Mark's other book Trading in the Zone, however I have read the Disciplined Trader and the same review applies to both they are very similar books although I would highly recommend reading both for sure:

I have been trading forex for 6 years first with an investment bank through their graduate scheme and more recently through my own fund. Despite all the training and sitting next to the world's best traders etc etc nothing came close to what Mark Douglas provides in this book. The book confirms everything I knew to be true on a subconscious level - namely trading has very little to do with fundamentals and all the rubbish we hear on news wires (I subscribe to the Sun much more useful that the FT for my trading), and more to do with our social upbringing and our ability to change the deep rooted beliefs we were plastered with as we grew up - namely that losing is bad and makes us failures (trading has made me realise the opposite couldn't be more true). Even technicals (I use a discretionary system of pivot points and moving averages NO NEWS lol) to some extent are only there to help you manage the information flow on the chart and manage risk, once you have your method of trading that you know in probability works, then the rest is down to YOU and your ability to implement your system. The only person that can make or lose you money from that point on is yourself. If you find yourself blaming the market or your broker for a loss or hesitant on a trade because you made a loss on the last trade - save yourself a lot of hassle and go and work in a different field until you can accept responsibility for hitting buy and sell and start seeing each trade as mutually exclusive.

Yes I agree this book is NOT for the novice trader - simply because a)he has yet to realise that he will only truly be successful when he sees that no one can predict the next move in the market only the next PROBABLE move, b) he has yet to fully experience greed and fear and the devastating consequences it will have on his bottom line, c) he has yet to stop treating each trade as if it is a matter of life or death and finally he has no rule based structure to approach the market with.

If you have a good system (I use a discretionary system of pivot points and moving averages) and are having trouble trusting yourself to implement it then this is THE book for you. Do not expect to find the answer to when to buy and sell; that is not the point of this book the information here is much more profound that that - it goes beyond the system. Mark makes you realise that each trade you take is IRRELEVANT in the grand scheme of things akin to a casino where the owners really do not care about each individual game their customers play - it is the summation of all the games that makes them money similar to your trading. Just trade the plan, the plan is good, probability will pay you back.

I will leave you with one final thought - I personally know some of the smartest guys on the planet when it comes to market analysis but they make less money than some of the dimmest guys I know - why? Simple the dimmer guys STICK TO THE PLAN. Despite being fairly successful till now this book has helped me a lot highly recommended!

Good Luck

It is a shame that those who give one star ratings never get into analysis about why. Their comments would be better appreciated and contemplated if they had. I agree with the 5 star ratings on the content of the book. Everything is quite logically stated. The breakdown of our thought processes, the psychology of the human mind, negative and positive influences on us, etc. and how all these things impact on our trading decisions is quite comprehensive. I give 4 stars though because the book was dry and somewhat a little wordy and repetitive, especially when many paragraphs throughout the book started with "This book will show you....", "You will learn from this book", "My plan is to show you", "I will give you an example", etc. If you push through the wordiness, I would recommend it still as a primer for the beginning trader or the trader who keeps losing his money.

When I first encountered the book I read it five times in one weekend.Yes..you read that right,five times.I was in desparate need of help...to say the least.It was like the author knew exactly what was going through my mind and what I was experiencing.The book clearly demonstrated steps on how to make changes.With the books' direction and MY willingness to change, I charted a different path.That was in 1996. The book was rich with information that assisted me to make the neceassry changes to create the life I currently live.I love life because its soooo different than the one I used to live.I have peace of mind and consistent profitable trades...when I decide.For those human beings that have the courage to look at your life(you are a rare person if you do)and make real changes, this book will assist you on your journey.For those that continue to chose a life of quiet desperation...god bless you.Especially you panic striken traders/investors.(which used to be the old me.)Don't let what happened to me happen to you.The book will go a long way to prevent that. And, if you don't change I will be one of the rare people who continually make money(from you) in the market day after day,week after week,month after month and year after year while sleeping soundly doing it. If you trade or plan to trade or you want to learn the dynyamics of why you are causing your behavior, then this book is a MUST READ.As they say in some commercials....don't leave home without it!!!!!!!