Table of Contents

Preface xiii Introduction 1 1. Trading?The Last Frontier 1 2. Psychology Is the Key 3 3. The Odds against You 5 ONE Individual Psychology 9 4. Why Trade? 9 5. Reality versus Fantasy 10 6. Self-Destructiveness 16 7. Trading Psychology 19 8. Trading Lessons from AA 21 9. Losers Anonymous 23 10. Winners and Losers 27 TWO Mass Psychology 31 11. What Is Price? 32 12. What Is the Market? 33 13. The Trading Scene 36 14. The Market Crowd and You 39 15. Psychology of Trends 43 16. Managing versus Forecasting 46 THREE Classical Chart Analysis 49 17. Charting 50 18. Support and Resistance 55 19. Trends and Trading Ranges 60 20. Kangaroo Tails 65 FOUR Computerized Technical Analysis 69 21. Computers in Trading 69 22. Moving Averages 74 23. Moving Average Convergence-Divergence: MACD Lines and MACD-Histogram 80 24. The Directional System 89 25. Oscillators 95 26. Stochastic 95 27. Relative Strength Index 99 FIVE Volume and Time 103 28. Volume 103 29. Volume-Based Indicators 107 30. Force Index 112 31. Open Interest 117 32. Time 121 33. Trading Timeframes 126 SIX General Market Indicators 133 34. The New High?New Low Index 133 35. Stocks above 50-Day MA 139 36. Other Stock Market Indicators 140 37. Consensus and Commitment Indicators 142 SEVEN Trading Systems 149 38. System Testing, Paper Trading, and the Three Key Demands for Every Trade 151 39. Triple Screen Trading System 154 40. The Impulse System 162 41. Channel Trading Systems 166 EIGHT Trading Vehicles 173 42. Stocks 175 43. ETFs 176 44. Options 178 45. CFDs 186 46. Futures 187 47. Forex 194 NINE Risk Management 197 48. Emotions and Probabilities 197 49. The Two Main Rules of Risk Control 202 50. The Two Percent Rule 203 51. The Six Percent Rule 208 52. A Comeback from a Drawdown 210 TEN Practical Details 215 53. How to Set Profit Targets: ?Enough? Is the Power Word 215 54. How to Set Stops: Say No to Wishful Thinking 219 55. Is This an A-trade? 225 56. Scanning for Possible Trades 230 ELEVEN Good Record-Keeping 233 57. Your Daily Homework 234 58. Creating and Scoring Trade Plans 238 59. Trade Journal 243 A Journey without an End: How to Continue Learning 249 Sources 253 Acknowledgments 257 About the Author 259 Index 261

About the Author

About the author ALEXANDER ELDER, MD, is a professional trader and teacherof traders. He is the author of several best-sellers, consideredmodern classics among traders. He also wrote books about Russia andNew Zealand. Dr. Elder was born in Leningrad and grew up in Estonia, where heentered medical school at the age of 16. At 23, while working as aship's doctor, he jumped a Soviet ship in Africa and receivedpolitical asylum in the United States. He worked as a psychiatristin New York City and taught at Columbia University. His experienceas a psychiatrist provided him with unique insight into thepsychology of trading. Dr. Elder is an active trader, but he continues to teach and isa sought-after speaker at conferences in the US and abroad. Dr.Elder is the originator of Traders' Camps week-long classesfor traders. He is the founder of the SpikeTrade group, a communityof traders whose members share their best stock picks each week incompetition for prizes. www.elder.com www.spiketrade.com