The best trading books that helped me become a champion trader

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been trading for over 30 years now, and I was lucky to be one of the part-time “hobby” traders to be successful enough to trade full time. Along the way, I was a 3-time trophy winner in the world’s premier real time, real money futures trading contest. My passion is trading, both for my personal accounts and in assisting my students with their trading. While I always say “trading is the hardest way to make easy money” this field is my lifelong passion.


I wrote...

Entry and Exit Confessions of a Champion Trader: 52 Ways A Professional Speculator Gets In And Out Of The Stock, Futures And Forex Markets

By Kevin J. Davey,

Book cover of Entry and Exit Confessions of a Champion Trader: 52 Ways A Professional Speculator Gets In And Out Of The Stock, Futures And Forex Markets

What is my book about?

Are you looking for trading entry and exit ideas for your trading strategies? If so, this book is just what you need. This informative guide includes 41 entry ideas, 11 exit ideas, and code in Tradestation format and plain English for each (NinjaTrader 7 and 8 code available in the complimentary Book Bonuses described in the book).

Each entry and exit has been used in actual strategies by Champion trader Kevin J. Davey. Also included are detailed steps for how best to incorporate these entries and exits into your own trading. Start building strategies today with these fully described entries and exits!

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

Kevin J. Davey Why did I love this book?

If you want to be a trader, you have to start thinking like a trader. And that is what this book does – after you read it a few times, you will start to think like a trader. I re-read this book probably once a year, and every time it gives me fresh insights into my own trading. It is strange and ironic that a book written generations ago could be so timely for today’s trading world, but this book will definitely make you a better trader.

By Edwin Lefèvre,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Reminiscences of a Stock Operator as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is a fictionalized story based on the trading career of Jesse Livermore. It follows his journey from the age of 15 when he made his first $1,000 to becoming a Wall Street legend.


Book cover of Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom

Kevin J. Davey Why did I love this book?

Good trading does not always involve just buying and selling decisions. If it was, trading would be much easier! To be a successful trader, you must have your psychological “house” in order. And that is what this book is superb for. Trade Your Way To Financial Freedom assists you in navigating the turbulent mental, emotional and psychological waters all traders face.

By Van Tharp,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The bestselling holy grail of trading information-now brought completely up to date to give traders an edge in the marketplace

"Sound trading advice and lots of ideas you can use to develop your own trading methodology."-Jack Schwager, author of Market Wizards and The New Market Wizards

This trading masterpiece has been fully updated to address all the concerns of today's market environment. With substantial new material, this second edition features Tharp's new 17-step trading model. Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom also addresses reward to risk multiples, as well as insightful new interviews with top traders, and features updated examples…


Book cover of Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders

Kevin J. Davey Why did I love this book?

There are quite a few titles in the Market Wizards book collection, but my personal favorite is still the first of the series. In the book, Jack interviews different successful traders and investors. You’ll get to learn the basics of what they did (I personally know of one reader who started a successful hedge fund after reading one chapter of this book), but more importantly, you will be able to understand and explore the mindset of winning traders. Reading this book will help you mimic the behavior of some of the great traders of our time.

By Jack D. Schwager,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Market Wizards as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The world's top trader's reveal the secrets of their phenomenal success! How do the world's most successful traders amass tens, hundreds of millions of dollars a year? Are they masters of an occult knowledge, lucky winners in a random market lottery, natural-born virtuosi Mozarts of the markets? In search of an answer, bestselling author Jack D. Schwager interviewed dozens of top traders across most financial markets. While their responses differed in the details, all of them could be boiled down to the same essential formula: solid methodology + proper mental attitude = trading success. In Market Wizards Schwager lets you…


Book cover of What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

Kevin J. Davey Why did I love this book?

It is a shame the author of this book died in the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack because I always wanted to hear more from him. As with most of the books on this list, for me the details of what he did (did he enter with moving averages? How did he apply stochastics to his entry signals? Etc.) are not nearly as important as his mental state of mind. What did he feel like losing $1 million? How did he recover mentally? For me, being a good trader involves dealing with losses, and this book does a superb job of detailing how one trader did just that.

By Jim Paul, Brendan Moynihan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jim Paul's meteoric rise took him from a small town in Northern Kentucky to governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet he lost it all-his fortune, his reputation, and his job-in one fatal attack of excessive economic hubris. In this honest, frank analysis, Paul and Brendan Moynihan revisit the events that led to Paul's disastrous decision and examine the psychological factors behind bad financial practices in several economic sectors. This book-winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal-begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the…


Book cover of Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts

Kevin J. Davey Why did I love this book?

For me, a big part of being a successful algo trader is having a lot of trading ideas to test and evaluate. I see trading ideas as the raw material to use in your trading strategy factory. This book on candlesticks surely delivers in that regard. The candlestick patterns in this book can supply hundreds of possibilities for your trading system development.

By Thomas N. Bulkowski,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Following in the footsteps of author Thomas Bulkowski's bestselling Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns -and structured in the same way-this easy-to-read and -use resource takes an in-depth look at 103 candlestick formations, from identification guidelines and statistical analysis of their behavior to detailed trading tactics. Encyclopedia of Candlestick Charts also includes chapters that contain important discoveries and statistical summaries, as well as a glossary of relevant terms and a visual index to make candlestick identification easy.


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American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason

By Brett Dakin,

Book cover of American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason

Brett Dakin Author Of Another Quiet American: Stories of Life in Laos

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Lawyer Traveler Dog lover Reader Swimmer

Brett's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Meet Lev Gleason, a real-life comics superhero! Gleason was a titan among Golden Age comics publishers who fought back against the censorship campaigns and paranoia of the Red Scare. After dropping out of Harvard to fight in World War I in France, Gleason moved to New York City and eventually made it big with groundbreaking titles like Daredevil and Crime Does Not Pay.

Brett Dakin, Gleason's great-nephew, opens up the family archives—and the files of the FBI—to take you on a journey through the publisher's life and career. In American Daredevil, you'll learn the truth about Gleason's rapid rise to the top of comics, unapologetic progressive activism, and sudden fall from grace.

American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason

By Brett Dakin,

What is this book about?

MEET LEV GLEASON, A REAL-LIFE COMICS SUPERHERO!

Gleason was a titan among Golden Age comics publishers who fought back against the censorship campaigns and paranoia of the Red Scare. After dropping out of Harvard to fight in France, Gleason moved to New York City and eventually made it big with groundbreaking titles like Daredevil and Crime Does Not Pay.

Brett Dakin, Gleason's great-nephew, opens up the family archives-and the files of the FBI-to take you on a journey through the publisher's life and career. In American Daredevil, you'll learn the truth about Gleason's rapid rise to the top of comics,…


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