The Mental Game of Trading: A System for Solving Problems with Greed, Fear, Anger, Confidence, and Discipline

The Mental Game of Trading by Jared Tendler is one of the most valuable books a trader, especially a beginner, can read. Most trading books focus on strategy, setups, charts, and risk management, but this book goes deeper into the part of trading that silently destroys performance: the mind. Jared Tendler shows that trading is not only a technical skill, but also a psychological battle against fear, greed, impatience, overconfidence, hesitation, revenge trading, and self-doubt. What makes this book so powerful is that it does not treat these issues as personal flaws or signs of weakness. Instead, Tendler explains that every emotional reaction in trading has a cause. He helps readers understand that when they break rules, panic, hesitate, or chase trades, there is a deeper mental pattern behind it. That shift alone is huge, because it moves the trader from self-blame to self-awareness. For beginner traders, this book is especially important because many of them believe their biggest problem is lacking the perfect strategy. In reality, the real struggle often comes from not understanding what is happening inside them while they trade. A beginner may think they are just “bad at trading,” when in fact they are being influenced by fear of losing, the need to be right, frustration after a loss, or unrealistic expectations. The Mental Game of Trading brings these hidden problems into the light. That is the true essence of this book: awareness. Before a trader can fix anything, they first need to clearly see what is affecting their decisions. And that is where Jared Tendler does an exceptional job. He gives language to emotions and behaviors that many traders experience but do not fully understand. He helps readers recognize the internal habits that sabotage them, often without them even noticing. The book is also honest about the challenge of improvement. Becoming aware of your mental leaks is only the first step, and fixing them is often the hardest part of trading. Changing emotional patterns, building discipline, and responding with logic instead of impulse takes real work. But without awareness, there can be no progress. Tendler makes that first step much clearer and much more practical. What I appreciated most about this book is that it feels useful, not theoretical. It does not just tell traders to “control emotions” or “be disciplined.” It explains why those problems happen and how to start working through them. That makes it far more actionable than most psychology books in trading. Overall, The Mental Game of Trading is an outstanding book and one I would highly recommend to any trader, especially beginners. It teaches that the biggest enemy in trading is often not the market, but the unnoticed emotional and mental patterns within ourselves. Jared Tendler helps bring those patterns to your awareness, and that awareness can be the beginning of real growth. It is a book that can change the way a trader sees both the market and themselves.

I have read a lot of books about trading Psychology. This book is by far the best psychology book on the market. I am impressed by the way the author shows a simple method to do the X-Ray of an emotion and how to fix the problems it causes in five simple steps. The only caveat is that you need to take time to read the book and do the required work if you are serious about taking your trading career to the highest level possible. I read practically all the other psychology books from the so-called best psychologists and coaches. Tendler's book is excellent and is in a class by itself! It starts to help me solve one of my biggest emotional issues that no other manual could help me with. This book is unbelievably excellent!

The most important piece of developing your edge isnt obvious in the beginning, in fact,, developing an edge isnt obvious in the beginning. This book helped me overcome psychological barriers i did not know existed. It helped me to develop the right mindset to build and edge as a trader. When you truly are confident in your process it becomes natural to avoid tilt or going off the rails. This book is an essential part of developing your edge and making the turn from neg expectancy to positive expectancy (edge). Dont be fooled by gurus that tell you you can be the casino with a particular strategy, the casinos edge is guaranteed, think of yourself as a player with an advantage, but your edge isnt guaranteed, you have to maintain it because if one aspect of your edge isnt working then neither is your positive expectancy. This book helps to maintain the mindset needed to be aware of triggers that could send you off the rails. It is in my top 4 books.

Great book

So i've been trying to find a no b.s book that can get to the root of my mental flaws when trading. I've felt like my technical skills are on point, its just that my mind often stands in the way of me and consistently making profits for me to make this my full time job. Wow, this book is amazing. I NEVER write reviews, seriously. I'm naturally a tough critic of all things in life, but when i bought this book, it changed so much for me. Please note, that i am actually listening to the audible and i think that helps a lot. It's like being in a 1 on 1 therapy session. It really resonates. This is not a book you read a chapter a night or anything. I recommend listening to 20-30 minutes a day, and then re-listening to it over and over again, creating bookmarks as you move thru it. I like to put on my headphones and listen to the audible version when walking the dog, or walking on the treadmill. Physical exercise + mental stimulation is a good combo especially when your life is trading. Anyways i'm rambling but seriously, buy this book, you won't regret it unless you don't want to face the real demons behind your under performance in trading. Good luck to all of you guys!

Helps with learning to trade

Highly recommended if only for the way it reframed how I think about my trading, how I view myself, and for the gift of seeing myself, my behaviors, and my emotions described on every page. The easiest (and probably most accurate) way for me to review this book is by allowing it to speak for itself with two quotes. The first describes my experience trading: "Trading is a unique test that can bring out your deepest fears, unresolved rage, and personal insecurities. These problems directly affect your execution and profitability, compelling you to take on too much risk, lock up profit prematurely, or chase losses, but they have nothing to do with trading." The second quote sums up the potential the process suggested by and detailed in the book holds for me: "I liken the process to chopping down a tree. You may want a chainsaw, but you get an ax. For some of you, the tree is large, you're weak, and the ax has a blunt edge. Over time, as you work the process, you get stronger, and learn how to sharpen your ax. Just like becoming a skilled trader, you have to put in a lot of work. There's no other way." To accurately review this book I'd need to do more than read it, I'd need to work it, which is exactly what I intend to begin doing. Just as trading offers the allure of quick riches, the reality is very different. And just as understanding mental game problems can be as easy as reading a book, addressing my mental habits to create effective and lasting change can take monumental effort. I suspect that finally I've been offered a map towards resolution that with diligent focus and a light touch will allow me to progress towards my goals and away from the nightmares that regularly sink me. I'll re-review once I've travelled down the path some.

Every trader should read this book! Simply wow! I bought this book in 2021 and didn’t touch it till now. I am about to finish it and I’m glued to the book. His tools help me a lot. If I could give it 10 stars I would.

Ótimo livro para o tema

Excellent information for traders regarding the emotional side of investing a topic rarely covered by other trading books. Great book on how to help improve your behavior in trading based on emotions. To get the most out of this book you'll have to use it as a workbook as well. Read 10% of the book the day I received it and was immediately able to recognize a major flaw in my trading over the years. Most importantly this book offers you a clear guide how to recognize and correct the emotional obstacles preventing you from making better decisions at key moments in your trading. This is not a pill to turn you into an instant great trader but a comprehensive guide to improve your trading behavior - if you are willing to put in the effort. This book is not to teach novices how to trade but rather for people who have already had some trading experience. It can help you spot and recognize your weaknesses and help you become a better trader.

Nice book on trading psychology

The books breaks down 90% of what problems people face trying to achieve a better life for them selves and then gives you step by step ways in addressing those problems. If your a professional or aspiring trader this book is for you

J'ai commencé à lire et je comprends mieux la psychologie du trading