Introduction: The Truth About Most Trading Books
Let’s face it—most trading books are just polished versions of the same old playbook.
They tell you to:
- Buy at support.
- Sell at resistance.
- Enter when RSI crosses 70, exit when it dips below 30.
- Memorize chart patterns like double tops, triangles, flags, and the all-too-glorified head and shoulders.
You read one, and suddenly you’re having déjà vu by the time you’re on your third.
It’s like attending ten different trading seminars and realizing every speaker just rewords the same strategies.
And if you’ve read as many trading books as I have—over a hundred in the last decade—you start noticing the pattern.
90% of them sound similar.
The techniques are recycled, the language is different, but the core? Identical.
But here’s the unspoken truth:
Trading success doesn’t come from memorizing setups.
It comes from understanding how price moves, why it moves, and how your mind behaves while it moves.
Indicators can tell you what’s happening, but they can’t teach you how to think like a trader.
Support and resistance are important, sure—but what happens when the market breaks through those levels and doesn’t look back?
That’s why most traders—even after reading dozens of books—still struggle.
They have the knowledge, but lack the psychological readiness and practical experience.
In this blog, I’ll walk you through my top favourite books that truly transformed my trading career—the ones that cut through the noise, reshaped my mindset, and helped me transition from a confused trader to a full time trader
The First Book I Ever Bought: My Sentimental Starting Point
Book: How to Make Money Trading Derivatives by Ashwani Gujral
Back in 2013, I was like many aspiring traders—eager to learn and desperate for success.
This was the first trading book I ever purchased, and although it wasn’t a game-changer, it still holds a special place in my heart.
Ashwani Gujral, a well-known face in Indian financial media, wrote this book with a focus on basic technical analysis, chart patterns, and a few F&O strategies. However, despite its title, the book barely scratches the surface of derivatives trading.
What I liked:
- Easy-to-understand writing style
- Basics of trend analysis and options
- Insights from a seasoned trader
What it lacked:
- Not enough depth on derivatives (as the title suggests)
- Very basic book for anyone beyond the beginner stage
- Nothing much in it for an experienced traders
💬 Sentimental value aside, I wouldn’t recommend this as a go-to book for derivatives. But it was a starting point, and I still have this one.
This Book not included as a recommendation, but purely for sentimental reasons—it was the very first trading book I ever purchased
A Turning Point: Discovering Price Action With Oliver Velez
- Book: Strategies for Profiting on Every Trade by Oliver Velez
This book was a revelation.
Oliver Velez didn’t just teach strategies—he helped me understand the why behind market moves.
Before reading this, I was obsessed with indicators. But Oliver helped me appreciate the simplicity and power of price action, especially when paired with 20 EMA.
Here’s what I learned from this gem:
✅ The Power of 20 EMA: It’s not just a line—it’s a dynamic level that helps you ride trends smoothly.
I still use it in 90% of my intraday trades.
✅ Trading Gaps: Gaps are not just empty spaces; they’re messages from the market.
This book taught me to trade the open with structure.
✅ Opening Range Strategy: It introduced me to the idea that the first 30 minutes to 1 hour of market open set the tone for the day.
This book laid the foundation for my price action journey, and I still recommend it to all beginners.
The Book I Once Hated But Later Loved
2. Book: Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas
Let me confess something: I hated this book when I first opened it.
Why? Because I expected trading strategies—and all I got was “mindset talk.”
But a few months later, when I kept missing trades due to trading psychology, hesitated to pull the trigger, and struggled emotionally despite perfect setups—I gave this book another shot.
And wow, it changed everything.
Mark Douglas in this book doesn’t give you trade setups or strategies.
He gives you something far more powerful—the ability to stay calm, rational, and detached and controlling your emotion while trading.
Key Takeaways:
✅ Fear of missing out (FOMO) is your worst enemy.
✅ You don’t need to be right in every trade. You just need to follow your plan.
✅ Emotions kill your edge more than bad entries do.
After reading this, I started to respect the mental game of trading, i.e. Trading Psychology.
If you feel emotionally drained, lacking trading psychology or overthink your trades—this book is your cure.
The Book That Changed My Entire System: The Secret of Pivot Boss
3. Book: The Secret of Pivot Boss by Frank Ochoa
This book was the turning point.
It gave me a complete trading system—from structure to execution.
Until then, I’d never heard of CPR (Central Pivot Range) or the true power of pivot points.
But after reading this book, everything made sense.
Here’s what I took from it:
✅ Understanding CPR as a market balance point
✅ Using CPR & pivot levels for natural support and resistance
✅ Combining Camarilla levels, Volume Profile, and EMA for precision trades
The strategies in this book are tailored to the US market, but I back tested and adapted them to the Indian market—and the results were incredible.
To this day, much of my 25 intraday strategies is inspired by this book along with my own findings and my backtested strategies based on Indian market.
This book is pure gold.
Ashwani Gujral’s Best Book (In My Opinion)
4. Book: How to Make Money in Intraday Trading
While his earlier book was basic, this one surprised me.
It felt like Ashwani was finally sharing what actually worked.
What made it special?
✅ Use of 20 EMA + CPR + pivot points in trading
✅ Discussions around momentum-based setups in intraday trading
✅ Aligned with everything I had learned from Frank Ochoa and Oliver Velez
When I read this book, I was still doing a 9–6 job and was planning to quit.
The Hidden Gem: YTC Price Action Trader
5. Book: YTC Price Action Trader by Lance Beggs
This book is not for beginners—but it’s the best book I’ve ever read on price action.
It doesn’t give you just “strategies.”
It teaches you to speak the market’s language.
What makes it powerful?
✅ Candlestick-by-candlestick breakdown on charts with psychology
✅ Buyer-vs-seller psychology explained in real-time
✅ Why fake breakouts happen
✅ How to spot traps, reversals, and liquidity grabs and profit from it
After this book, you’ll never see a candlestick the same way again.
This book is available in ebook format, and is available only in Lance Beggs Website for the purchase, in a pdf format with almost 600 pages, I purchased this ebook and got printed all 600+ pages and studied every chapter.
If you can get through this ebook, you don’t need another price action book—just back test, refine, and practice.
Honourable Mention: Market Wizards
This book by Jack Schwager doesn’t teach you how to trade—but shows you how the best traders think.
It features interviews with legends like Paul Tudor Jones, Ed Seykota, and many more traders.
The most common thread?
✅ Every trader has a different trading method and different strategies—but they all are successful, because they all have the same mental discipline.
Lesson: It’s not only your strategy. It’s your consistency, discipline and mindset.
Books Alone Aren’t Enough: Action Builds Skill
Let me be clear: reading books alone won’t make you profitable.
You can’t learn swimming without getting wet.
You can’t learn trading without facing the market.
After reading these books, here’s what you must do:
- Back test the concepts
- Paper trade or use small lots
- Build your own rules
- Track your trades
- Review & refine
Reading Roadmap: Where Should You Begin?
If you’re wondering which book to read first, here’s the sequence I recommend:
Beginner:
- How to Make Money in Intraday Trading – Ashwani Gujral
- Strategies for Profiting on Every Trade – Oliver Velez
Intermediate:
- The Secret of Pivot Boss – Frank Ochoa
- Trading in the Zone – Mark Douglas (for trading psychology)
Advanced:
- YTC Price Action Trader – Lance Beggs
- Market Wizards – Jack Schwager (for perspective)
Conclusion: My Journey, Your Shortcut
Trading is a marathon, not a sprint.
These books helped me reduce years of struggle into a roadmap.
If they helped me, they can help you too—provided you combine them with back testing, practice, and discipline.
Read smart. Trade smart. Evolve.
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