The Playbook: An Inside Look at How to Think Like a Professional Trader Paperback – July 9, 2013

This is a great book worthy of reading. If you are involved in the US financial markets, you should read this book. Bella is the best. I couldn’t thank him enough for his decades of experience and expertise in this industry.

After studying several other books on the subject such as Trading for Living (Elder), Come into my trading room (Elder), Trading in the Zone (Douglas), Beginner's guide to day trading online (Turner), I consider that The Playbook is one of the Jewels of the crown that you need to read in order to take your trading to a professional level.Mr. Bellafiore does an excellent narrative on how several individual traders from his desk evolved from "non-profitable" to "very profitable" in a process that requires work, dedication, planning and working on your playbook.The main philosophy on this book is build a collection of your best trades (more profitable) and then keep them as your book of best trades and study them and make them even better, so when you see in the market these setups, you can play them with confidence and precise execution, although you can find with each trader described on the book some setups that you can clone at the end of each chapter, the important thing is something more like the old saying, "give a man a fish and he will eat today, teach him fishing and he'll eat every day", you need to emulate the way these traders work in order to become a good trader, and Bellafiore is very honest when he disclose that you have to make a journey from losing a lot money, losing less money, going flat, being lightly profitable, being constantly profitable and very profitable (with your playbook) as the only path to succeed, no short cuts no magic indicators, only work and dedication (the good thing is that if you are willing to simulate for a while like if you were using real money, you can avoid losing really big money)I know some traders would not find this book good to learn technical analysis, indicators, etc and I have read some other reviews complaining about this from this book, if you are starting with trading I would recommend start with some other books like Elder's, Turner's or somebody else, but when you are ready to approach your trading as a profession (as it should be) then many of the histories in this book would be really good to auto impose some of the things that SMB does to their traders, i.e. Overtrading problems... go to the simulator, violating your daily limit to often...go back to the simulator, want more money but still not profitable with your size ? No more money until you show that you are not losing money or reduce your size until you are back again.... (you get the idea)...I have applied some of these strategies to myself, and believe me, trading with your own money this rules protects you from blowing up your account.And for some skeptical about what is valuable on this book (more than the stories) I have the following things that have improved really my trading:Reasons to Exit a trade (Finally get the emotion out of the equation!)Importance of reading the tape (for improving entries and exits)Plan Trades2Hold (these are more profitable to me now!) and Trades to Move (Scalping)Record your trade execution with something as Camtasia to review them (your brain does not differentiate if this is a real trade or you are repeating it and reviewing it over and over, so with time you become better trader)Document your better trades (playbook..again your brain doesn't....bla bla)Techniques as using multiple tiers for risk management (selling or covering a portion of your shares to reduce your risk or giving you more confidence to wait for the big move)Learning where to add more size when your trade works being responsible (improving your trade and profit with appropriate risk management, even to generate sometimes cash flow meanwhile the trade moves from a consolidation area..wow!)Psychology and advice about being couched to improveKnow that all traders have their bad streaks and that this is normal (everything will pass...good to know for me, know those darkest hours are less dark knowing I am not alone...)And more...So in the end I really recommend to get this book if you are planning to day trade for living or professionally, I am starting to re-read again and well I am in the flat to being lightly profitable stage...but hopefully as many traders with hard work, dedication, such good advice and inspiration I can be better tomorrow than I am today...

When I started reading the book (the introduction), I thought I was reading a novel and was so captivated by the events that I started hoping for a happy ending. But that was real life -the author's personal life. It`s about resilience in the face of suffering and vicissitudes of life. The lesson is that you cannot control what life throws at you but you can control your reactions. Positive attitude and perseverance always prevail and the analogy with the market and trading is obvious. You cannot control the market but with hard work, determination, and persistence the trader can achieve positive outcomes.Most trading books give you "canned" methodologies. This book also give you a superb methodology to work with but it also opens the door wide open for creativity, urges the trader to keep an open mind and continually strive to hone one's trading skills in order to be able to adapt to new market conditions. Also, the book emphasizes that trading is not rocket science. It s all about doing one's homework, managing risk, and learning from one's mistakes by reviewing and scrutinizing one's trades daily. This is explained by giving real examples of real trades executed by real traders.On this basis, every trader has to create a "PlayBook" in order to "archive" the best patterns that work best, "internalize" them and make them his/her own. This creative mindset is the key to survival in the market. The following quote summarizes it: "Trading is a skill that must be learned and honed.. You must develop a PlayBook of trading patterns that make the most sense to you. To become great at these setups takes experience, practice, and a love for your game. Only then can you join First Team Wall Street." Pg 202Moreover, the author stretches the importance of constant coaching because even the best traders need coaches. He gives the example of famous athletes who surround themselves with teams of coaches and traders are no exception, they need coaches too. Needless to say, the trader has to be always pro-active, perpetually thinking of ways to improve his/her game. In other words, mentors are important but nothing replaces hard work and the daily endeavor for self-improvement. The author writes: "understand what the masters have done and then incorporate what you've learned into your own style." Pg 44One more thing I like in the book is the author's appreciation of the good work. He emphasizes the importance of reaching out to other traders, talking to them, inviting them for lunch. The interaction with other traders can play a vital role in the trader's development. The book refers to many resourceful works of other traders. I will mention only Dr Brett Steenbarger for whom the author has a special appreciation.It's important to note that this book is more than trading techniques and strategies. It's about the path to success and success is more about hard work and preparation than luck. The trader's focus should be on daily self-improvement and not the outcome or results. "Everyday is an opportunity for continuing education." Pg 360 With this mindset, the results will come naturally. The daily challenge is how good can you be? It's the path to self-actualization. It's a very inspiring and empowering bookFinally, I liked the quotes mentioned by the author especially the Bruce Lee quote "Use whatever works, and take it from wherever you can find it." Pg 17 It's very relevant. Bruce lee studied hundreds of fighting styles but he came up with his own style -his own PlayBook- his own fighting method. This idea is the gist of "The PlayBook". Traders have to be open to all "trading styles" and work diligently to find the setups that work best for them. The author writes: "My hope for you is that this book gives you the tools to build your trading PlayBook. It will help you frame your own unique PlayBook that best utilizes your strengths." Pg 52Bottom line, the book is an excellent read and worth your intellectual energy and time. It will push you to think out of the box when it comes to trading and inspire you to have a positive attitude towards life in general.