Day trading books pack a wealth of information and can be invaluable to any level of intraday traders. Most of these books cover the fundamentals: psychology of trading, technical analysis, and market comprehension.
To succeed in day trading, it's paramount to be grounded in strategies, analysis, and risk management skills; otherwise, you risk heavy losses.
This article shares the best books to learn day trading, helping you hone your skills, whether you’re a novice or an successful trader.
Best Day Trading Books for Beginners
Novice day traders need books that thoroughly spell out the building blocks of day trading, including software, brokers, strategies, and menage risk.
Here are the three best books for beginners to learn how to day trade.
How to Day Trade for a Living by Andrew Aziz
This is an absolute beginner’s guide to trading tools and tactics, money management,
discipline, and trade psychology. The author simplifies fundamental concepts, including
A detailed overview of setting up a trading station
Choosing the correct trading software,
How to use technical indicators to analyze the market.
This book is not a ticket to becoming a profitable day trader. Success requires continued education and the persistent practice of market theories, tools, and software.
A Beginner’s Guide to Day Trading Online (2nd Edition) by Toni Turner
Toni Turner is a best selling author, successful trader and a world renowned educator.
She provides a comprehensive introduction to short-term trading, covering subjects such as technical analysis, charting techniques, trading strategies, risk management, and the psychology of trading.
The book is written in an accessible format with emphasis on the following topics:
The decimalization of the stock prices
Precision entries and exits
The new breed of trader
New trading products such as Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Getting Started in Technical Analysis by Jack D. Schwager
Jack Schwager is an American Author and trader widely recognized as an expert in trading futures and hedge funds. He is also a founder of a platform called Fund Seeder designed to find trading talent from across the globe.
This book briefly introduces technical and chart analysis, including topics revolving around
Trading ranges,
Trends and chart patterns
Pyramid approaches
Market entry and exit strategies.
The author targets intraday traders interested in technical analysis. He provides several examples explaining how a solid analysis understanding can help you make better trading decisions, especially on mechanical trading systems.
In addition, the author draws lessons from his years in short-term trading with valuable insights into market observations and trading rules.
Best Day Trading Books for Advanced Traders
These books are aimed at helping traders advance past the fundamentals of intraday trading. They typically cover in-depth technical analysis, risk management, trade psychology, case studies, and much more. We have collated some of the best books to improve your trading knowledge and skills.
Best Books for Day Trading Psychology
Day trading requires making fast decisions effectively, launching and exiting trades within short periods. Here are some of the top books you can read to better understand the psychology of day trading.
Trading Psychology 2.0: From Best Practices to Best Processes by Brett N. Steenbarger
The author lays down techniques and trading methods to help the reader gain a better understanding of the markets. It includes practical examples, illustrations, and case studies, making for an interactive read.
Brett Steenbarger is a best-selling author and a veteran in psychology of trading who has been involved in the market since 1970.
You can, therefore, benefit from his trading experience and statistical modeling to gain insight into the practical psychology of trading. Some of the main topics you can expect to see in the book include:
The application of the psychology of trading in your trading
Adapting to change
Insights from a day-trading veteran
Developing best practices and processes
Building strengths by understanding the core aspects of the psychology of trading
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
This is a New York Times best-seller, with over 2.6 million copies sold. Although the book does not directly touch on the intricacies of day trading, it expounds on how different ways of thinking impact our decision-making.
It explains how users can benefit from the two systems of thought and the biases that can arise when making decisions for business.
Daniel Kahneman is a professor in psychology well known for his research into the intersection of psychology and economics.
The main sections of the book cover the following:
Two systems
Heuristics and biases
Overconfidence
Choices
Two selves
Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas
The book aims to help readers control their psychology by developing powerful mental habits and attitudes critical to intraday traders. It exposes market myths and expounds the methods traders can apply to be more consistent.
Mark Douglas draws on his experience in commodities and futures trading in the 1970s. He later became a coach, providing insights into trading psychology by leveraging his knowledge and skills.
Best Books for Technical Day Trading
The technical aspect of trading is essential, and to succeed, an intraday trader should understand topics such as chart construction, trading strategies, indicators, and much more. Here are the best books where you can read about technical trading.
Mind Over Markets: Power Trading with Market Generated Information, Updated Version by James F. Dalton
This book is recommended for successful traders with an interest in the Market Profile method and its application in powerful day trading strategy.
As Dalton explains, the Market Profile approach uses the variation of price over time to reveal behavioral patterns.
The book explains several topics including:
Defining market structures and dynamics
Determining price rejection points and value areas
measuring the strength of buyers and sellers.
As a result, you can learn how to synthesize market action and determine its direction to your advantage.
James Dalton is an author of two seminal books on Market Profile Trading who has been trading and studying the markets for over 50 years. He uses real-life examples and illustrations to showcase how a Market Profile can be used to decrease risk and improve the chance of success.
He provides a unique perspective on trading strategies and market analysis, helping readers understand markets more deeply.
It’s a great tool to have as a day trader and can help develop your knowledge in Market Profile analysis.
Trading Price Action Trends: Technical Analysis of Price Charts Bar by Bar for the Serious Trader by Al Brooks
This book presents a comprehensive guide on technical analysis and price action with details on practically benefiting from trends in institutional trading.
It covers a myriad of topics ranging from market structure to chart patterns. The book also details price action using bar-by-bar analysis and discusses ways to spot profitable market opportunities.
Al Brooks uses a text-heavy approach and emphasizes the need to find a trading system that works for you. He is a lecturer and a price action trader, drawing on years of experience trading 5-minute price charts.
Best Books to Learn How to Day Trade
There are many books out there covering different topics and intricacies of day trading. How to Day Trade for a Living by Andrew Aziz and A Beginner’s Guide of Online Day Trading by Toni Turner are two of the best books a beginner can use to learn the fundamental concepts of day trading.
There are advanced books covering topics that day traders can use to hone their market theory and strategies. These include Trading Psychology 2.0 by Brett N. Steenbarger and Mind Over Markets by James F. Dalton.
