Insider experts pick the best products and services to help you make smart decisions with your money (here’s how). in some cases we receive a commission from our partners, however our opinions are our own. terms apply to offers listed on this page.
- Best for Beginners: “A Beginner’s Guide to Online Day Trading” by Toni Turner
- Best for Beginners, Finalist: “Start Day Trading Now” by Michael Sincere
- best for learning strategies: “technical analysis of financial markets” by john j. murphy
- best for intermediate traders: “the simple strategy” by markus heitkoetter
- best for day trading psychology: “trading in the zone” by mark douglas
- best for learning about risks: “the truth about stock day trading” by josh dipietro
- best for a complete overview: “how to day trade for a living” by andrew aziz
- best for advanced day traders: “advanced techniques in day trading” by andrew aziz
day trading seems like a fairly simple concept: you buy a stock or other asset, then sell it on the same day to maximize any upside moves that occur during the day.
You are reading: Day trading for beginners books
However, day trading well enough to make a profit is not as simple as it seems. it’s pretty tough – between the complexities and trying to “time the market” every day, it’s an extremely risky strategy that we don’t recommend for most people. day trading usually ends up being a full time job and you have to be prepared to lose all the money you invest.
However, there are a small number of people who day trade and make money. We recommend eight books that can help you get started and help you decide if you’re ready to take this risky path.
best for beginners: ‘a beginners guide to online day trading’ by toni turner
toni turner walks you through everything a beginner needs to know about day trading: pros and cons, trading platforms you need for day trading, strategies, stock picks, and more. also discusses how to decide whether to hold a stock overnight (also known as swing trading) rather than sell it the same day.
He writes about dry topics in an engaging style and makes complicated jargon relatively easy to understand.
best for beginners, runner-up: ‘start day trading now: a quick and easy introduction to making money while managing your risk’ by michael sincere
michael sincere divides his book into two parts: “how to get started” and “what day trading is really like”.
“Getting Started” has five chapters that teach you the basics of day trading, such as understanding what day trading is and reading charts with various patterns. Part 2 focuses on the realities of day trading (including the bad!) and looks at professional day traders. Honest also includes a glossary of terms and a list of resources for when you’re done reading.
best for learning about strategies: ‘technical analysis of the financial markets: a complete guide to trading methods and applications’ by john j. murphy
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This book focuses on technical analysis, which is the most common type of analysis used for day trading. Technical analysis examines the performance history of a stock (or other asset) to indicate how it might perform in the future. this is different from fundamental analysis, which looks at a company’s current financial condition to predict how it will perform.
There are several types of strategies you can use to implement technical analysis in day trading. John J. Murphy dives into continuation patterns, candlestick patterns, reversal patterns, and more. And while these terms may sound like gibberish, they won’t after reading the book!
best for intermediate traders: ‘the simple strategy: a powerful day trading strategy for trading futures, stocks, etfs and forex’ by markus heitkoetter
You should already have some basic knowledge of day trading before reading this book. Many people focus on stocks when day trading, but Markus Heitkoetter also introduces you to trading other types of assets: ETFs, Futures, and Forex.
Learn a simple strategy for day trading, and then apply that strategy to all of these asset types. in this way, you can diversify your portfolio.
best for day trading psychology: ‘trading in the zone: dominating the market with confidence, discipline and a winning attitude’ by mark douglas
Day trading can be exhausting, and for many people, it’s a full-time job. “trading in the zone” focuses on the psychology behind day trading. this includes what might attract you to day trading in the first place, as well as the state of mind you need to maintain to be a successful and healthy trader.
Day trading is also a risky investment strategy. mark douglas explains how to understand and mitigate risk, and how to react to gains and losses in the market. To be a long-term profitable day trader, the psychology behind trading can help you stand out.
the best for learning risk: ‘the truth about stock day trading’ by josh dipietro
As mentioned above, day trading is risky. it has the potential for massive profits, but also for significant losses. In this book, Josh Dipietro helps you understand what you’re getting into with day trading. could be a good book to combine with “trading in the zone”: the combination could help you understand the risks, but also how to react to them.
dipietro explains how to know if you’re ready to day trade, both monetarily and with experience. He also writes about how to set stop-loss orders so you don’t lose too much money, how to pick the right stocks, and what a bad day of trading looks like.
best for a complete overview: ‘how to make a living day trading’ by andrew aziz
andrew aziz is a big name in the world of day trading. His program, bear bull traders, tops our list of the best day trading courses. Reading “how to make a living day trading” is a great way to get some of the information in this course for a lower price, and maybe decide if you want to enroll in his full course.
This book addresses multiple topics for new day traders. aziz explains how day trading works, how to choose stocks, how to choose a day trading platform and more. Some of the other books on our list delve into these topics, but this book gives a good comprehensive overview of multiple parts of day trading.
best for advanced day traders: ‘advanced techniques in day trading’ by andrew aziz
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yes, another andrew aziz book! however, unlike “how to make a living day trading”, this one is for people who already have experience day trading and want to take things to the next level.
You will learn about stock scanners, which analyze the markets to find the best stocks for you. You will also read about various day trading software and platforms. aziz explains more complicated day trading techniques such as trailing stop-loss orders, stop ranges, and hotkeys.
other day trading books we consider
There are numerous daily trading books. we’ve rounded up the best ones, but you might want to read some of the following as well. (Note that many websites recommend books on trading in general; we focus only on books on day trading.)
- “interactive day trading: ultimate trading guide” by satish gaire
- “candlestick charting techniques: a contemporary guide to ancient far eastern investing techniques” by steve nison
- “Technical Analysis Explained, Fifth Edition: The Successful Investor’s Guide to Spotting Investing Trends and Turning Points” by Martin J. pring
- “the mental strategies of the best traders: the psychological determinants of trading success” by ari kyiv
- “day trading for dummies” by ann c logue
- “Forex Day Trading and Swing Trading: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Movements” by Kathy Lien
- “Digital Day Trading” by Howard Abell
- “Day Trading Grain Futures: A Practical Guide to Trading for a Living” by David Bennett
- “How to Day Trade” by Ross Cameron
- “Pit Bull” by martin schwartz
- “how to day trade stocks for profit” by harvey walsh
- “charting and technical analysis” by fred mcallen
frequently asked questions
how can i learn to day trade?
To learn to day trade, you need to understand how the stock market (or the market for other assets you’re trading) works. then you need a deep understanding of technical analysis so that you can choose which strategy or strategies to use.
Any of the books on our list can help you learn to day trade, but on their own they probably won’t give you the in-depth understanding you’d need to profit from this risky strategy. You may decide to take a course with additional features such as chat rooms, stock simulators, and mentors, or consider a different trading style.
should i day trade?
No, we do not recommend most people to day trade. it is very risky and there is a high probability that you will lose money if you try to “time the market”. you may prefer dollar cost averaging, which involves investing a certain dollar amount at regular intervals rather than betting everything on a stock in one day.
For example, you may decide to invest $100 in a stock each month, regardless of the price of the stock. Some months the shares will be more expensive and you will get fewer shares, and other months they will be less expensive and you will end up with more. this is less risky than trying to maximize trends that occur in one day, such as with day trading.
Do day trading books help?
Yes, day trading books can teach you the necessary information about day trading. however, if you want to practice in the real world before investing real money, you can also sign up for a day trading course.
what is the most profitable day trading strategy?
A day trading strategy is just a way of using charts and data to decide which assets to buy and sell, and when. every expert, book, and website will have a different answer on which strategy is best. The key is to review the list of day trading strategies, such as scalping, fading, or pullback, and decide which one makes the most sense for your personality and goals.
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