Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline and a Winning Attitude

Great Book

This review reminds to read this book once again since its been a few years. This book is all about the psychology that is required to become a successful trader, many people focus a lot on indicators, charting setup etc, etc but the most important aspect of trading is the stable frame of mind.

StockRfun

Awesome Book

DEFINATELY A MUST READ FOR THE NOVICE TRADER.GOES INTO GREAT DETAILS ON THE MIND SET U NEED TO BECOME A GREAT TRADER.MANY PEOPLE DONT UNDERSTAND THAT SOME TRADERS ARE NOT MEANT TO TRADE BECAUSE OF THEIR PERSONALITIES.THEY ALREADY HAVE A CHALLENGE IN FRONT OF THEM BEFORE THEY EVEN START.THIS BOOK SHOWS U HOW TO IDENTIFY AND CONTROL THOSE EMOTIONS WICH WILL BLOW UP A TRADERS ACCOUNT IN A HEARTBEAT.

Djomegact

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learn to be a better steward of discipline

I bought this book based on some of the reviews here, and they were right when they said it was a tough read at times, though this book would probably be one of the most important books on my shelf for a trader. I have been trading for over 7 years now, and I made every mistake Mark Douglas touches upon, But like he said trading is "10% intellectual and 90% psychological".

I think most traders need to be better stewards of discipline, and this book really hits alot of great lessons home. My favorite chapters were chapter 3 "Taking Responsibility" and chapter 7 "Thinking in probabilities", they spoke to me the loudest. My least favorite (tough read parts) were from chapter 8 " working with your beliefs" and chapter 9 "the nature of beliefs".

All in All a must for any trader to read. I now have his five fundamental truths and seven principles of consistency written down in front of me at all times.

Destorino

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Insightful

Mark Douglas compares a great trader to a world-class athlete: Both have honed skills, reflexes, instinct and will to a fine edge. Both have reached a condition where a winning performance is an automatic, utterly unconscious, process - They are operating in the zone. To reach the zone, traders must impose mental self-discipline. By adhering to a consistent and strict trading system, maintained by a consistent and strict mentality, Douglas contends that people can learn how to make money trading. We from getAbstract recommend this book for its underlying message that great traders are made, not born.

JS68

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Essential information, but not fun to read

This book has been recommended by everyone that I respect as a successful trader. However, I believe the recommendations have far more to do with the essence of Douglas' points, than the manner in which he lays them out in prose. The book is highly repetitive and contains almost silly explanations of psychological processes, most of which are totally unnecessary.

At times, he manages to explain emotions or situations that you may have already experienced as a trader. These are helpful in terms of gaining your trust in what he has to say, and also help you to re-examine some of your own past emotions and mistakes. Some of the stories and anecdotes are very interesting and will stick with you. However to get the most efficient use out of this book, try to skip quickly over the psychological portions of the book, unless you need to be thoroughly convinced of how your own thought processes work to change your thinking, and have the need to change your thinking after reading it.

When I picked up the book, I already had a clear understanding of his main points, but what really helped me was knowing that most trading errors are due to a lack of consistency, and that understanding the probabilistic nature of the markets is not sufficient... as a person, you need to remain consistent. In many ways, this book is an argument in favor of automated trading systems! Only computers can be as consistent as is required to fully maintain an "edge" on the market.

MrMacnanimous

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This Book Humbled Me

I have to say something VERY strong about this book. It made me STOP trading. I realized about a quarter of the way through this book that I was NOT on my game and that I was open fodder for the real Pro's that have the skills and abilities that he speaks of. I am a professional trader and I even help run a very successful trading firm, but I've been trading by feel and emotion for too long now and have lost about 200,000 the past 3 years in the market and I just couldn't take it anymore.

By reading this book, by stopping trading and re grouping, I know my trading will be much better and that every trader that trades my money or my firms money, will be required to not only read this book, but to recant the most important parts.

Dont just buy this book, learn it and trade by its valuable tenets.

Fbotticelli

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This book takes over where other books leave off

If you are like most people, after your first few losing trades you set about to learn better market analysis. After your next string of losers you learned about risk management. But there's still one more challenge to conquer; yourself.

That is the major premise of this book. If it sounds like wishy-washy psycho-babble to you, I'll only say that I would have agreed -- four months ago, before I quit my 20-year technology career, obtained a Series/7 license and joined a professional day-trading firm. I now believe most people would lose money if you gave them 50/50 odds on whether or not it was going to rain tomorrow.

In other words, successfully forecasting the market is not enough. Why not? Well, this book explains why not. It has to do with one's sense of self-worth, one's moral judgment of money, one's work-ethic, one's tendency to focus on good news while ignoring bad, and other things.

"Zone" was recommended to a friend of mine by a professional floor trader who told him, "I wish I had read it before starting two years ago. Don't place another trade until you do." Well said. Does this apply to investors as well as traders? Oh, absolutely! If you have ever said to yourself, "I'm not selling that stock while it's down, I'll wait until I have a profit in it," then for the love of money, read this book.

Finally, read "Zone" before Douglas' earlier work. If you still want more then read "Disciplined Trader" for a general review plus a deeper exploration into the author's philosophical and meta-physical theories

Soccerscott

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Mental Midgetry at its finest

Trading can be such a mental game sometimes and if your one that has a fragile mind, I recommend reading this. For some this book can show you the tools you need to harness in your emotions during trading. For others they'll realize after a few chapters that the "mental" aspect of trading can only take you so far. If you can control your emotions trading you can have success, you don't need a book to tell you that.

Some traders swear by this book, and others find it so so, you have to determine what type of person you are before purchasing this book.

Sonid

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must read for any trader at any level

I started reading this book when I was learning to trade futures over a year ago and it has not left my side since then. It is a very deep book which will require re-reading it many times to grasp all the concepts that Mark is trying to drive home so plan on using it over and over. It has helped me realize that I cannot blame the market for the bad trades I take as the market is neutral and all the mistakes I make have to do with my mental structure as a trader. Well worth the read as it will give you many tools to make you a better trader.

Hembree7

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Good reminder of the things often forgotten

Trading in the Zone is nothing more than common sense when it comes to trading in the market. However it is a good reminder of the things that a lot of traders often forget. A lot of traders will take a couple of loses and end up a bit 'gun shy'. This book is a good reminder on how to get over that and continue trading. I know I have been there myself and this book helped move past the trouble I have been having.

TheSnowMan

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