Mastering the Mental Game of Trading

What I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about this book from Steven is that it helps you sharpen your mental game by sharing entertaining and enlightening real-world stories from his 25 years of trading experience and then coaching traders. This is a special book of trading wisdom that needs to sit on your bookshelf. -- Mike Bellafiore, co-founder of SMB Capital and SMB Training

I have known Steven for many years; he is the best trading coach I’ve seen. He’s also an excellent writer who can seamlessly mix compelling stories and practical information. His real-world trading experience, his years of coaching, and his ability to communicate clearly make Mastering the Mental Game of Trading one of the most important trading books in years.
Mastering the Mental Game of Trading is full of actionable advice, useful models, and powerful frameworks for thinking that will help you master both your outer and inner trading game. Steven’s decades of experience, his empathy, and his expert coaching and trading knowledge make this book an instant must-read. I strongly recommend it for traders of every experience level.

-- Brent Donnelly, author of Alpha Trader and The Art of Currency Trading
An inspiring and thought-provoking book that uniquely views trading performance and alpha generation through the lens of purpose, presence and process. The journey through the book is vividly brought to life by Steve’s own front-line trading experience and the stories of many others. Essential reading! -- Mark Randall, market veteran, performance coach and co-host of the AlphaMind podcast
This wonderfully written book demands thoughtful introspection. It is a far cry from the cookie-cutter coaching books and instead encompasses a life philosophy for traders. It unravels the intricate relationship between emotions, decision-making and financial success in the world of trading. I could read it once a month – it is that enjoyable! -- Linda Raschke, renowned trader featured in Jack Schwager’s New Market Wizards
Steven Goldstein’s experience encompasses both a 25-year career as a proprietary trader and a second career as a highly regarded trading coach. In fact, several of the best traders I have ever interviewed have engaged Steven as their trading coach. Most traders don’t realize that the inner game of trading (the disciplined control of one’s mental state) is as critical to success as the outer game of trading (the strategy and its execution). Traders typically fail because of a deficient or non-existent inner game rather than due to a poor outer game. In Mastering the Mental Game of Trading, Steven Goldstein guides the reader through the process of integrating the inner and outer games of trading. The lessons of the book are brought to life through actual trading anecdotes drawn from both Steven’s own experience and those of the traders he has coached. -- Jack Schwager, author of the Market Wizards book series
Steven’s easy to read book deftly addresses the most important subject in creating sustained success – what goes on in your head. He adroitly tackles the complexities of developing an effective strategy for the ultimate edge in any endeavor – the mental game. As one of the few performance coaches who first traded for his living, Steven is a mental coach whose words should have weight in any trader’s arsenal. -- Denise Shull, leading performance coach for hedge funds and professional athletes, author of Market Mind Games
In his book Mastering the Mental Game of Trading, Steven Goldstein first lays a foundation for understanding the “inner” and “outer” aspects of trading, explaining the interplay of the trader’s ego and self. He then shows how this interplay depends on the specific trading game that we’re playing and the phase of the performance cycle we are currently in. Filled with real-world examples of mental game mastery and specific strategies for achieving that mastery, this book is a valuable resource for beginning traders and experienced money managers alike. -- Brett N. Steenbarger, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at SUNY Upstate Medical University and author of The Psychology of Trading: Tools and Techniques for Minding the Markets, and several other major books