Day Trading for a Living (Stock Market Trading and Investing)

Three months ago, I resigned from my 6-figure career as a research scientist at a fortune 500 company to pursue day trading. I was weary of the constant travel, the politics, and the lack of leadership. Let me also mention that I had already amassed a comfortable nest egg (and could afford to lose 50k+ in a trading account without hardship) and my wife is currently employed as a professional who makes 6-figures, so we can allow time for me to paper trade in a simulator indefinitely, until I become consistently profitable or decide to do something different. Not to rain on your parade, but if you can’t afford do this, don’t quit your day job. Trading is hard enough, and worrying about paying bills would make it impossible. For the past several years, I dabbled in trading and found it really interesting and moderately profitable (mostly swing trading), but I knew that to replace my income by trading, I needed to become a more active trader who constantly monitored price action each day. This is by far the best book I’ve read on day trading. Aziz doesn’t pull any punches and lets the reader know that successful trading is going to take time and a lot of hard work. He also provides fantastic charts from his past trades—the setups, rationale, strategy, and psychology behind successful trading. More importantly, Aziz alerts you on what NOT to do! I’ve put these ‘bad practices’ to the test in my paper trading account, and almost every time I blow up my fake account in a few days. Aziz also shows his end of the day P&L which allows you to back-calculate the kind of buying power you will need to achieve similar results (usually income of $1-1.5k per day, at least on his good days that were published). This kind of comprehensive insight is not available in any other text I’ve read, and I find myself returning to this book often. I’ve read many books on technical analysis, technical indicators, swing trading, and I’ve also read Aziz’ previous book, which is where you should start if you’re brand new to day trading. The bottom line is that Amazon is full of day trading books, and you should be leery of any book published under Amazon’s Createspace publishing, especially if they have over 4.5 stars and are full of bogus reviews that were all written within 2 weeks of publication despite the book being 3 years old. These books are almost entirely written by unsuccessful traders who get a few bucks for every copy they sell, after having lost their entire fortune to the market, then glean repeat income from their book sales-- books which provide little more than a glossary of terms. I recently became a member of Bull Bear Traders and find their chatroom insightful and unintimidating, yet the members have the mentality of professional traders and keep me tuned in from pre-market to close. I always learn something new. Definitely not a bunch of warrior traders looking to get rich on a $500 account trading penny stocks. I have not been contacted by Aziz or Bear Bull Traders and am receiving no compensations for this review. I respect Aziz’ credentials, the community he has built, and his commitment to teaching. If you are looking for the best book on day trading, spend the nominal fee and get this book. It might give you the clarity and confidence to step boldly into a new trading career. I’ll update this review at the end of the year.

This book is an excellent continuation of the day trading education journey. Building on the solid foundation laid in the first book, How to Day Trade for a Living, Andrew expands on advanced strategies and practical techniques to help traders become consistent and disciplined. The content is well-structured, easy to follow, and packed with actionable insights that reinforce core principles while introducing new concepts for long-term success. A must-read for anyone serious about improving their day trading skills.

Preface: This review is not just about the book, but it's also about the author, his work, BearBullTraders, and your journey to becoming a daytrader. If you don't want to read all that, you can skip to the TLDR. I've also read Aziz's prior book, so I picked this one up on release as I found that book to be an easy read. It covers a lot of what the prior book did, but adds on to the knowledge base with more strategies (low-float based, etc). If you're familiar with the prior book or have some experience in markets, you may be able to just jump straight to this one. If you are not confident in your foundation, reading both would be good as this one can serve as reinforcement + expansion. Yes, there's a lot of overlap, but I believe it's by design since some may choose to skip just to this book. In daytrading and in most things, this is not easy work. The first thing I remember standing out about Andrew's first book was his brutal honesty in telling you that the vast majority of retail traders will fail. That stuck with me as it's a very negative note to start a book off with (marketing101 says you stay away from the negative), like a "hey, congrats on thinking you can do this, but you can't". That may turn off a lot of readers, but it's that brutal honesty that made me stick to his book more than others. He wasn't trying to sell me something right off the start, he didn't try and say "hey, you can make $2000 a day just by sitting at home!" like many con-artists try to push. When trying to learn about anything that can be a self-run business or job, you have to be very careful about the charlatan. I grew up with a parent that seemingly always got sucked into the "free seminar." After seeing a few, I understood what they were selling - not knowledge or education, but hope. Their free marketing seminar was really just a loss-leader to get people into the door so they could sell them on hopes and dreams, then push them to hand over a couple thousand dollars. It's like a time-share for information. They're experts in social psychology and know how to sell you on your desire to have financial freedom, when in actuality they're just freeing your wallet of extra cash. This is especially true in the DayTrading education market as there seems to be a lot of con-men in it. I've watched "seminars" of people who spend 20minutes trying to convince you it's a live seminar and not recorded (it was totally pre-recorded), pitching "new ideas" that are just recycled common strategies with a new name.. I've read about others who seemingly never lose a trade (it's not possible), and I've witnessed what seems like organized pump and dump schemes, where the guy sharing the screen uses his slight video delay and large following to seemingly "pump" a stock. -- Side note, if you want a great read on the social psychology of sales tactics, I highly recommend Influence by Robert B. Cialdini, you'll start to see sales interactions in a different light. So when I started to actually look into Andrew's other work, like his courses, and his chatroom, I was intrigued. I did a trial version of the chat and observed him. One thing that stuck out more than other "gurus" in this area is that he seemingly wants to educate people. It's not so much a business where profit is the number one driving factor as much as it's a passion to share. That struck home with me as I'm of the same mindset, I get more pleasure from helping others than I do making money. I like to help people be their best for the sake of helping someone. It was a refreshing change from what I've seen in the day trading space. The chatroom is fun because it's more of a community where you can have discussion, ask questions, and joke a little - this is in contrast to some other chatrooms which are strictly "stock callouts" only. If you have a bad trade or a bad day, others jump in to talk you through it. You learn together. I've seen a few reviews that don't like the fact his other services (chatroom, courses) are mentioned in the book. By all means, you should shop around! If someone is selling you a product within a product, be skeptical. I did my research and was satisfied with what I found, I felt my lifetime membership provided enough value to justify the cost. If you stay with this profession and want to actually learn, you have to put in the hard work. Most won't be able to read just a book and be proficient in it, you do have to practice, and you do have to ask questions and get answers. Wherever you end up in your journey, if you stick with it, you can find success. TLDR Review: - The book is an easy read and provides good value (tremendous value if you bought the Kindle version for under $10). It hits all the common points that you'll find in day trading education books, so if his writing style suites you, this will work. - If you're curious about day trading, this will be a good book for you as it doesn't sell you on "make thousands a day, it's easy!", it's honest in what you can expect. - If you've read the prior book, expect a lot of overlap, but there's enough new stuff to justify it being a new title and not just a new edition to the old. - There's no master strategy or knowledge that can be obtained from books. You're not going to become a master day trader overnight through information osmosis, you have to be willing to put in the hard work as well. Good luck.

I can see why Andrew Aziz states that Advance Techniques in Day Trading is the more explanative extension to his prior book How to Day Trade for a Living. It really is. In all honesty, I would highly recommend both books because each have their own focus despite the heavy overlap. How to Day Trade for a Living really set into stone the fundamentals of day trading in psychology, basic introduction to fundamentals, and core principles to have when pursuing such a career. Focused but also very general in the subject matter. Advance Techniques in Day Trading however, overlaps with familiar fundamentals in the first book but also adds in more. Such is like with chapter on simple trading strategies. There where more advance concepts than what was in the first book. It was only clearer when I read the first book to even grasp the more advance concepts in this one. Do I recommend this book? Yes I do. It's not a five star because the charts and candlestick examples are not in color. As a visual learner (and as with all trading platforms that have charts), color coordination and recognition helps. Aside from that, learning important fundamentals with the power of Google and Youtube is extremely helpful to use alongside this book when there is a concept you don't understand (Candlesticks, VMA, RSI, Support/Resistance). Also, I don't recommend skipping the first book for beginner traders looking to take a shortcut into a fountain of day trading knowledge. Sure there is heavy overlap, but from reading both books I can see that this book expects you to be familiar with the basic concepts of day trading introduced in the first book. I believe that this isn't some marketing gimmick (Aziz rarely advertises trading resources and when he does, it's only when the situation that calls for it. However, if that is all you are looking for or can see, then you must not be actually reading the book). Learn the core principles first (book one) and work on the technicals/fundamentals later (book two). You cannot and must not rush the process when it comes to being a profitable trader but with time you can grow to become one. p.s. NEVER forget the 2% rule!

This is the first time I am writing a review for any of my thousands of Amazon purchases. Why? Because I found this book to be extremely valuable. I did read the first book Andrew put out and found a good primer for intraday retail trading. I then moved on and found other online tools / classes to actually start to develop my trading skills. I found myself floundering within months. It was then that I discovered Advanced Techniques in Day Trading. I am definitely a novice trader who wants to make this a full time career. While this book does rehash the first one's points somewhat, it is much more thorough. Chapter 3 on watchlists was great. Identifying the proper stocks in play had been an issue for me. Everyone has scanner settings they are willing to promote for a price. He publishes the scanners he uses and the settings he has for each one while describing which trading strategy they are applicable for. This chapter alone made the price of the book worth it. Chapter 6 was invaluable to me. I read a complaint about the charts not lining up with the text making it difficult to follow trade descriptions. I purchased the kindle edition, so I was able to open it on my PC, screen capture the chart (or print it) and look at it as I was reading the trade breakdown. I could see how this would have been frustrating in the paper back edition. Still, it was very detailed and much more down to earth than some of the much hyped classes out there online. Chapter 7 on risk management was equally important to me as well. While other online sources delve into risk management, none that I found do so in as clear a manner nor do they discuss passing on the trade. As a new trader, calculating risk real-time to ensure I find the proper entry, profit target, and stop loss has proven very challenging. The insights here have helped me. Lastly, I also appreciated the psychology aspect of the book. It clearly describes the dedication it takes to make this a full-time occupation. One of my main struggles has been on the psychological roller coaster that is trading. I now realize I am not alone in these feelings and I need to work through them. I like how he discusses the dual challenges of learning how to trade properly while in a simulator and then learning how to deal with the emotions that come with trading in a live account. All in all a great value. When you consider how much money the online chat rooms and classes cost for several of the high profile trading personalities, the amount needed to invest in this book is nothing. Also, while he does talk about his services in the book, he goes out of his way to keep from blatantly advertising.

I've now read both of Andrew's Day Trading books and they have changed my life as they open up the world of day trading to me. Before reading I was a novice and hungry for more helpful information on how to learn about day trading, where to start, and where to go for more information. Andrew Aziz is a great teacher and hosts a fabulous online community as well. After reading this book I checked out the online BearBull Traders community for its 7 day deal, and then about 2 weeks later joined as a lifetime member. I haven't missed a day since, now about 3 months. The books talk realistically about what it takes to day trade: the learning requirements, the commitment, the setups, technical indicators, patterns, hot keys, risk management, software apps... Without these books, I was lost and eager to play, which would have resulted in losing money unnecessarily. Andrew clearly states that not only is day trading risky, but that it takes time to practice and learn - as much as 6 months to a year or more. He encourages his community to start learning and practicing by solely paper trading in a simulator, and for a minimum of 3 months. I followed this counsel and am now in my second month of simulator trading only. This is essential and the only way to learn without blowing out your account. Wealth creation through day trading isn't made fast and takes time to master. I've been working at it for about 4.5 months daily and still feel like a beginner, but I'm now arming myself with tools, books, webinars, two communities... Andrew Aziz is a true leader in the field with heart, honesty and open sharing of vital information. I'm very impressed with him as an author, trader and community leader. He also knows how to run and build a vibrant online trading community. The content, structure and other leaders are all superb.

I just finished studying this book and thought I'd write a review. You can tell the author cares about educating traders. He gives excellent methods, and teaches not only the strategies, but also the mindset. While many other books try to up-sell you, this one was written to help you be self-sufficient, while also inviting you to the author's chatroom (but it isn't pushed, which I appreciate). Although the daytrading theories are easy to understand, thanks to clear writing, putting them in practice takes practice (pun intended) and the author encourages you to do so, preparing you for the road ahead. I found this book incredibly helpful and insightful. This book doesn't need improvement, but if I was to point at any, the only points for improvement is that (1) in the images, the different trend lines were all the same color due to the black and white print, sometimes making it hard to see which line is which (would've been better if one was dotted, for example). (2) It would also be great if the author showed possible losing trades per method, to normalize losing well/gracefully when trades go wrong. (3) Finally--and I'm yet to find a book that does this--it would be great to see examples from the scanner to the trade. Although this book definitely shows scanner settings and scanning for stocks, it's in a separate chapter. What I mean is, it would be great to see the scans a trader sees, which he'll reject and which he'll keep, which tickers almost fit his criteria and which don't. I feel that selecting the right ones is half the battle. It can be disillusioning to see what crap a scanner spits out and you're like, "in the book all scans looked great, why do I have so many blippy/spazzy stocks!?". All together, a great book, which I gladly finished rapidly and will study again.

I think Andrew Aziz has some great information in this book but I'm a bit disappointed. Some of the reviewers on here are clearly fake. Even with verified purchases, if you look on the profiles of these accounts, many have 1 or 2 reviews. Seems a bit suspicious, especially considering some reviewers stating they've read dozens of books and this one is the best? I mean, it's a good book full of trading strategies and proper risk management but of all the books out there (there are a few good ones) and this is the only book you've reviewed. Even though I'm getting great use out of the book, the fact that there are fake reviews of this product leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, if you read some of the reviews you can see they are artificial, sponsored, and borderline fake advertisements. Also, there are other day trading books out there that are just as useful and well-researched. For that reason I can not give this book a better rating. The most useful takeaway from this book is proper risk management, and I do appreciate Aziz focuses on this. Trade the plan and plan the trade. Traders fail because they break their own rules. That is the most important takeaway from this book for sure.