Chapter 1
The Last Frontier of Financial Freedom
Have you ever wondered why some traders consistently make money while most lose? Imagine escaping from the Soviet Union with just $25 in your pocket, then transforming yourself into a market expert whose books are required reading at major trading firms worldwide. This is the journey of Dr. Alexander Elder, a psychiatrist who discovered that the key to trading success lies not in complex formulas but in understanding our own psychology. "The New Trading for a Living" has become a modern classic, praised by legends like Jack Schwager (author of "Market Wizards") as "the most important book on trading I've ever read." Even Warren Buffett reportedly keeps a copy on his desk-not for stock picks, but for insights into market psychology. This updated version of Elder's 1993 bestseller has been translated into 17 languages and remains required reading at trading desks from Wall Street to Singapore.
Chapter 2
The Psychology Behind Winning Trades
The most profound insight about trading is deceptively simple: your success depends primarily on emotions, not just having a brilliant system. When feelings like arrogance, fear, or discomfort take over, your account inevitably suffers. Markets provoke tremendous greed and even greater fear of loss, clouding perception of reality. This emotional interference manifests in countless ways - from hesitating to take valid trades to holding losing positions too long in hopes of recovery.
Most traders focus obsessively on finding perfect setups while ignoring the essential element of success: managing their emotions. They spend countless hours fine-tuning indicators and studying chart patterns, yet fail to address their psychological weaknesses. This emotional rollercoaster leads to poor risk management and inevitable losses. Even experienced traders fall victim to overconfidence after winning streaks or paralysis after losses. The pattern is painfully predictable-traders gain knowledge, win a few times, let emotions take over, and self-destruct. Most quickly return their "killings" to the markets, which are filled with rags-to-riches-to-rags stories.
Trading appears deceptively easy, especially in bull markets or when paper trading. A beginner might cautiously enter the market, win a few times, and start feeling brilliant and invincible-precisely when they begin taking wild risks that end in devastating losses. The initial success creates a dangerous feedback loop - each win reinforces the belief in their innate trading genius, leading to increasingly aggressive positions. After profitable trades, beginners often feel they can walk on water, taking wild risks that blow up their accounts. Conversely, after losses, they become too demoralized to place orders even when their system gives clear signals, missing potentially profitable opportunities.
The psychological insight that transformed Elder's trading came from an unexpected source: his work with alcoholics. At his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, he was stunned-these people seemed to be talking about his trading! Simply substituting "loss" for "alcohol" made their stories apply perfectly to his fluctuating capital account. Like alcoholics who deny their problems while their lives fall apart, losing traders deny they've lost control, switching tactics like alcoholics switching from hard liquor to beer. They chase losses with bigger trades, much like an alcoholic tries to cure a hangover with more drinking.
To succeed, make trading as objective as possible by implementing strict rules and systems. Follow money management rules strictly, never risking more than a predetermined percentage on any single trade. Maintain detailed spreadsheets of all trades including commissions, slippage, and emotional state during entry and exit. Keep a comprehensive trading journal with "before and after" charts, noting not just what happened but why you made each decision. Early in your trading career, devote as much energy to analyzing yourself as analyzing markets - track your emotional patterns, identify your triggers, and develop specific strategies to maintain objectivity under pressure. Consider working with a mentor or joining a trading group for accountability and perspective.
Chapter 3
Market Psychology: The Crowd and You
Markets are loosely organized crowds whose members bet on rising or falling prices. Each price represents the public consensus at the moment of transaction, with traders betting on the future opinion and mood of the crowd. The crowd oscillates between hope and fear, indifference and optimism or pessimism. Most people don't follow their trading plans as they get swept up in crowd emotions.
As bulls and bears battle in the market, your open positions rise or fall based on strangers' actions. You cannot control markets-you can only set position size and decide when to enter or exit trades. Most traders feel nervous entering trades and their judgment becomes clouded after joining the crowd.
Charles Mackay documented mass manias like the 1634 Dutch tulip mania in his classic book. Gustave LeBon noted that individuals in crowds develop a "collective mind" making them feel and act differently than when alone. People join crowds for security, a trait bred into our genes since prehistoric times. The greater the uncertainty, the stronger our desire to join and follow. When you impulsively add to losing positions or reverse them, you've lost independence. If you can't regain composure, exit trades and go flat.
Every price represents a momentary consensus of value among market participants. Each price bar or candle reflects a battle between bulls and bears. When buyers feel strongly bullish, they buy more eagerly and push markets up. When sellers feel strongly bearish, they sell more actively and push markets down. Charts are windows into mass psychology, and technical analysis is profitable social psychology.
Price movements don't occur because of different numbers of buyers and sellers-the number of shares bought and sold is always equal. Prices move due to changes in the intensity of greed and fear. In bull trends, optimistic buyers don't mind paying up while fearful bears sell only at higher prices. In bear trends, optimistic shorts sell at lower prices while fearful bulls buy only at discounts.
Chapter 4
Support and Resistance: The Psychology of Price Levels
Support and resistance act like floor and ceiling for prices. Support is a price level where buying is strong enough to interrupt or reverse a downtrend, making prices bounce like a diver hitting bottom. Resistance is where selling is strong enough to interrupt or reverse an uptrend, like someone hitting their head while climbing a tree. Minor support/resistance causes trends to pause, while major levels cause reversals. Traders buy at support and sell at resistance, creating self-fulfilling prophecies.
Support and resistance exist because people feel pain and regret. Traders in losing positions feel intense pain and are determined to exit when given another chance. Those who missed opportunities feel regret and wait for second chances. These emotions are strongest after breakouts from trading ranges.
The strength of support and resistance depends on three factors: length (time duration or number of visits), height (percentage of current trading value), and volume (trading activity). Support and resistance, like fine wine, improve with age. A 2-week range provides minimal support/resistance, a 2-month range creates intermediate levels, while a 2-year range offers major support/resistance. However, very old levels gradually weaken as losers wash out of markets.
Professional traders profit from false breakouts by fading them (trading against them) with tight protective stops, while amateurs tend to follow breakouts. True breakouts are confirmed by heavy volume and technical indicators reaching new extremes, while false breakouts often show divergences between prices and indicators.
A trend exists when prices consistently move up or down over time. In a perfect uptrend, each rally reaches a higher peak than the previous one, while each decline stops at a higher level than the previous decline. In a perfect downtrend, each decline falls to a lower bottom than the previous decline, and each rally peaks at a lower level than the preceding rally. In a trading range, most rallies stop at approximately the same high level, and declines exhaust at approximately the same low level.
Markets spend most of their time moving sideways in trading ranges. Trading tactics differ between trends and ranges. In trends, you must give positions the benefit of the doubt with wider stops to avoid being shaken out easily. In trading ranges, you need tight stops, agility, and quick position closures at the first sign of reversal.
Chapter 5
Technical Analysis: The Science of Market Emotions
Modern trading relies heavily on computers, which allow traders to record and analyze more markets in greater depth while freeing them from routine chart updating. Computers enable the use of more complex indicators and help spot more opportunities. Trading is an information game, and computers help process more data efficiently.
While classical charting concepts remain valid, many traditional tools have been eclipsed by more powerful computerized methods. The greatest advantage of computerized technical analysis is its objectivity-indicators are either rising or falling with no room for debate. Classical charting, by contrast, is subjective and invites illusion and self-deception.
Indicators help identify trends and reversals, offering insights into the balance of power between bulls and bears. They're more objective than chart patterns, though they can contradict each other. Most indicators are based on five data points: open, high, low, close, and volume. We can divide indicators into three groups: trend-following indicators (moving averages, MACD Lines, Directional System) work best in trending markets; oscillators (MACD Histogram, Force Index, stochastic, RSI) help identify turning points; and miscellaneous indicators (New High-New Low Index, Put-Call Ratio) provide insight into bull or bear intensity.
Moving averages were brought to financial markets after World War II, adapted from anti-aircraft gunners who used them to target enemy planes. A moving average (MA) reflects the average value of data in its time window. The most important message from a moving average is the direction of its slope-rising indicates increasing bullishness, falling indicates increasing bearishness. When prices rise above the moving average, the crowd is more optimistic than before; when prices fall below, the crowd is more pessimistic.
Gerald Appel, a New York analyst and money manager, created the Moving Average Convergence-Divergence (MACD) indicator, which consists of three exponential moving averages displayed as two lines whose crossovers generate trading signals. Elder emphasizes that the MACD Histogram provides even deeper insight than the original MACD lines. The Histogram measures the distance between the MACD and Signal lines, plotting it as vertical bars. When the Histogram's slope turns upward, bulls are gaining strength; when it turns downward, bears are strengthening.
Chapter 6
Volume and Time: Hidden Dimensions of Market Analysis
Many traders focus exclusively on price quotes, but while extremely important, there's more to the market than just price. Trading volume provides an additional dimension of market analysis beyond what price alone can reveal. Joseph Granville, a pioneer of volume studies, liked to say "Volume is the steam that makes the chu-chu go." Time is another crucial factor, as markets live and move in different timeframes simultaneously.
Volume reflects the activity of traders and investors, with each unit representing two individuals: one selling and one buying a share or contract. Daily volume is typically plotted as vertical histogram bars below prices, showing how bulls and bears react to price swings and providing clues about trend continuation or reversal.
Volume reflects emotional commitment and pain among market participants. When prices move, roughly half of traders feel pain. The higher the volume, the more pain in the market. Sharp price movements cause losing traders to panic and liquidate positions. Once weak hands get shaken out, leaving behind increased volume, the market is ready to reverse.
The Force Index is an oscillator Elder developed that combines volume with prices to reveal the strength of bulls or bears behind each rally or decline. It merges three essential pieces of information: price change direction, extent of change, and volume during that change, providing a practical way to use volume for trading decisions.
Most people live as if they'll live forever-repeating mistakes, not learning from the past, and rarely planning for the future. When people join crowds, their behavior becomes even more primitive and impulsive. Individuals may be governed by calendars and clocks, but the public pays no attention to time. They express emotions as if they have all the time in the world. Most traders focus only on changing prices but pay little attention to time-another sign of being caught in the mass mentality.
Most beginners casually pick a single timeframe and ignore others, unaware that the market exists simultaneously in multiple timeframes, often moving in opposite directions. Adjacent timeframes are linked by a factor of approximately 5: about 4.5 weeks to a month, 5 trading days to a week, 5-6 hours to a trading day, and so on down to 10-minute and 2-minute charts.
The proper way to analyze any market is to review at least two neighboring timeframes. Always start with the longer timeframe for a strategic view, then switch to the shorter timeframe for tactical timing. If you like using daily charts, first examine weekly charts; if you want to day trade using 10-minute charts, first analyze hourly charts.
Chapter 7
Trading Systems: From Concept to Execution
A trading system is a set of rules for finding, entering, and exiting trades. Every serious trader has one or more systems, similar to how surgeons follow established routines for operations. Systems free traders to focus on strategic issues rather than basic procedures. The fundamental advantage of any system is that it's designed when markets are closed and emotions are calm, serving as an anchor for rational behavior amid market turbulence.
Before risking real money, traders must test their systems through backtesting (applying rules to historical data) and forward testing (trading small positions with real money). While impressive backtesting results look reassuring, they don't prepare you for real-world challenges like consecutive losses. The most valuable testing method is manual backtesting-going through historical data one day at a time, recording signals for the next day, then advancing one bar and tracking results.
Every planned trade must address three essential angles:
1. Trade setup-determine entry price, profit target, and stop-loss before entering. The reward-to-risk ratio should typically exceed 2:1.
2. Risk management-decide the dollar amount you're willing to risk, then divide by per-share risk to calculate position size.
3. System alignment-each trade must fit a specific trading strategy or system. "Looks good to me" is not a system!
The Triple Screen system, developed by Elder in 1985, applies three tests to potential trades, rejecting many that initially appear attractive. It combines trend-following indicators on longer-term charts with countertrend oscillators on intermediate charts, plus specialized entry techniques and money management rules.
Triple Screen addresses a fundamental challenge in technical analysis: different indicators give contradictory signals in the same market. Trend-following indicators generate buy signals during uptrends while oscillators become overbought and give sell signals. Similarly, trend indicators turn bearish during downtrends while oscillators become oversold and signal buys.
The system works with three timeframes related by a factor of five. First, identify your preferred intermediate timeframe (e.g., daily charts). The long-term timeframe is one magnitude longer (weekly charts), and the short-term timeframe is one magnitude shorter (hourly charts). Triple Screen demands examining the long-term chart first and only trading in the direction of that "tide." When the weekly trend is bullish, daily declines create buying opportunities; when weekly trend is bearish, daily rallies provide shorting opportunities.
Chapter 8
Risk Management: The Foundation of Trading Success
Even carefully designed trading systems can't guarantee success on every trade. As German field marshal Helmuth von Moltke noted, "No plan survives contact with the enemy"-or as Mike Tyson put it more bluntly, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." The inability to manage losses is one of trading's worst pitfalls, as beginners freeze when deep losses erase profits from many good trades.
Money triggers powerful emotions that can devastate your trading. Beginners often feel giddy with excitement when placing orders, but markets offer an expensive form of entertainment. Professional trading success requires methodical, somewhat boring work-sifting through market data, calculating risks, and maintaining records. Another emotional mistake is counting money in open trades. Novices dream about what they'll buy with open profits or panic comparing open losses to their paychecks. Professionals focus on trade management and only count money after positions close.
Trading requires safety nets beneath the tightrope. Even the best-planned trades can fail due to market randomness. What you can control is risk through position sizing and stops. This keeps inevitable losses small rather than allowing them to paralyze your account. The two pillars of money management are the 2% and 6% Rules. The 2% Rule protects against "shark bites" while the 6% Rule protects against "piranhas."
The 2% Rule prevents catastrophic losses by prohibiting risking more than 2% of account capital on any single trade. For example, with a $50,000 account, you can risk maximum $1,000 per trade. If buying a stock at $40 with a stop at $38, risking $2 per share, you could trade no more than 500 shares.
While the 2% Rule protects against shark attacks, the 6% Rule saves you from being nibbled to death by piranhas. It establishes a limit on the maximum monthly drawdown in any account. The 6% Rule prohibits opening new trades for the rest of the month when the sum of your losses for the current month and risks in open trades reaches 6% of your account capital. This forces you to step aside during bad streaks rather than pushing harder and taking larger positions to trade out of a hole.
When risk levels rise, our performance ability declines. Beginners make money in small trades, start feeling confident, and increase position size-which is when they begin to lose. Higher risk levels make traders rigid and less agile. You must train yourself to accept risk slowly in well-defined stages. Be profitable for two time units before increasing risk size, but drop back one step after a single losing period.
Chapter 9
The Discipline of Record-Keeping
The market is perversely inconsistent in handing out rewards and punishments. There's always a chance that a poorly planned trade may bring profits, while a well-planned and carefully executed one can end in loss. This random reinforcement undermines our discipline and encourages careless trading.
Good record-keeping is the best tool for developing and maintaining discipline. It unites psychology, market analysis, and risk management. Whenever Elder teaches a class, he says: "Show me a trader with good records, and I'll show you a good trader." Writing your trading plans ensures you won't miss essential market factors and saves you from stumbling into impulsive trades.
A trading plan must specify your strategy, check for predictable events like earnings dates and dividend payments, explain your anticipated entry, target, and stop, as well as position size. Writing down a trading plan makes it real. Once you enter a trade and your capital starts fluctuating, stress might make you forget certain tasks. The plan written before entering becomes your island of sanity and stability during market turbulence.
Memory is the cornerstone of civilized life, allowing us to learn from both successes and failures. Keeping a detailed trade journal helps you grow into a better trader, despite feeling burdensome. When interviewing successful traders for his book "Entries and Exits" (2006), Elder discovered they all maintained excellent records despite trading different markets with different methods.
The Trade Journal offers three key benefits: immediate structure, retrospective learning, and equity curve analysis. Documenting your plan, entry, exit, targets and stops creates discipline and reduces impulsive decisions. Reviewing trades one or two months later provides invaluable learning as patterns that seemed vague at the right edge of a chart become clear when viewed in the center of the screen. Finally, analyzing equity curves for specific strategies, markets, or exit tactics reveals what's working and what needs improvement.
Chapter 10
The Journey of Continuous Improvement
While the figure of 10,000 hours is often cited as the time needed to become an expert in major activities, Josh Kaufman argues in "The First 20 Hours" that you can achieve basic competence much faster. The first hours of practice are always the most frustrating-whether learning a new language, playing an instrument, or hitting a golf ball. To learn a new skill effectively, find experts and their materials, create an action plan, and commit to focused practice without distractions.
With just 20 hours of concentrated, deliberate practice, you can go from zero to performing reasonably well in many fields. Trading requires more hours than this but far fewer than 10,000. The intellectual demands aren't high-we're dealing with just five numbers (open, high, low, close, volume). The main difficulty comes from our emotions, particularly greed and fear.
Most traders are terribly isolated and never see how others practice their craft. This isolation contributes to impulsive trading. A private trader making serious mistakes remains invisible to others-no one warns them or praises good trades. In the past, brokers knew what we were doing, but now we place orders online. The only human who might contact you about your trades is the margin clerk-never a good sign.
To escape isolation, see what good traders are doing, and be rewarded for performance, consider joining communities of like-minded traders. There, traders share ideas, participate in friendly competition, and comment on each other's trades. People often enter at a basic level, submit voluntary picks, earn performance bonuses, and develop into serious traders.
Trading is one of the hardest activities on Earth but an infinitely fascinating adventure that can be very rewarding. Elder has been on this journey for decades and still looks forward to Mondays when markets reopen. While trading has made him free, he still catches himself making occasional mistakes and must focus on discipline. He reserves the right to be smarter tomorrow than he is today. It's a great journey, and he hopes to share it with you.
