The Laws of Trading: A Trader’s Guide to Better Decision-Making for Everyone
$13.78
Author(s) | |
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Format |
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Pages |
306 |
Published Date |
2019 |
The Laws of Trading: A Trader’s Guide to Better Decision-Making for Everyone by Agustin Lebron bridges the gap between Wall Street trading floors and everyday decision-making. Written by Agustin Lebron—an Oxford-trained engineer turned professional trader—this book distills the essential principles that drive success in financial markets and demonstrates how those same principles apply to business, investing, and personal choices.
The book opens by exploring the fundamental question: Why do we trade? and challenges readers to examine their true motivations . Lebron emphasizes that successful trading isn’t about luck but about disciplined decision-making rooted in clear reasoning, risk management, and self-awareness .
Through a series of practical “laws,” Lebron addresses core market dynamics such as adverse selection, liquidity, risk, and transaction costs . He explains how to recognize when you are being outsmarted in the markets, how to avoid the trap of overconfidence, and why aligning incentives is essential for long-term profitability. Drawing on information theory, Bayesian reasoning, and real-world examples—from IPOs to the 2008 financial crisis—he reveals how traders can use probabilistic thinking to avoid common pitfalls and exploit genuine edges .
Later chapters tackle advanced topics such as the “Wave Principle” of market behavior, model building and testing, the impact of technology, and the necessity of adaptation in an ever-changing market environment . Lebron also highlights the role of human behavior, incentives, and organizational culture in shaping trading decisions.
Far from being a niche manual, this book is designed for both financial professionals and anyone seeking to improve decision-making under uncertainty. By blending trading expertise with insights from psychology, philosophy, and mathematics, Lebron provides readers with a framework to think rigorously, act decisively, and thrive in unpredictable environments.
The Laws of Trading is not just for traders—it is a guide for anyone who wants to make smarter choices in business, investing, and life.
Contents:
- Motivation
- Adverse Selection
- Risk
- Liquidity
- Edge
- Models
- Costs and Capacity
- Possibility
- Alignment
- Technology
- Adaptation
The Laws of Trading: A Trader's Guide to Better Decision-Making for Everyone By Agustin Lebron pdf
10 reviews for The Laws of Trading: A Trader’s Guide to Better Decision-Making for Everyone
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Amelie Orr (verified owner) –
How should you look for a new car or a new job? In this entertaining book, Agustin Lebron argues that the world of financial trading offers principles that apply to decision-making in general. And although he explains why no book can give a specific strategy that will make money, you will find some advice for your investments here as well. Consider his words, and you should fare better than the bankrupted firms whose mistakes are chronicled in Chapter Eight. Highly recommended.
Braxton Raymond (verified owner) –
It’s very fun to read. Having said that it will not make you a successful trader. It may make you a better trader.
Noemi Tran (verified owner) –
I was a little put off by the cover reviews that said this book will teach me how to think like a trader in ordinary life. Most books that apply lessons of one field to another rely on limited understanding (of one or both fields) and stretched analogies. I’m glad I ignored these reviews and read the book anyway because I learned a lot, not so much about life but about trading. I’ve been trading for 25 years and every few pages I learned something: either a new idea or a new framing of something I had previously considered.
Apart from certain technical publications, this is the best trading book I’ve read in many years and one of the few that will be of most benefit to experienced people. The only traders who haven’t learned from this book are those that haven’t yet read it.
Julieta Lindsey (verified owner) –
This book is a must read for anyone with a serious interest in trading but also delivers some great unexpected insights into important day-to-day decision making. The principles are simple but there’s also a wealth of information in concrete examples and stories that really add value to the reading. It’s a great read!
Jayson Barr (verified owner) –
hard to read, lots of rhethorical questions. no real structure, he might be a good trader, but this is not a good book. Really don’t know why Aaron Brown put a foreword to this.
Kai Gentry (verified owner) –
This book is one of those rare books that manages to enlighten, inform and advise. I was worried that it was going to be a book by a Wall-street insider intended for other Wall-street insiders, but I was delighted to find just the opposite. Lebron breaks down trading in to a series of laws that are applicable in all sorts of useful ways. What he ultimately concludes is that trading is distilled decision making. Since we all make thousands of decisions a day, it is enlightening to think about how the learnings of market trading can be generally applied to personal decision making. I found myself thinking about these ideas in my personal decisions and especially in decisions I make at work. Aside from people interested in the world of trading and finance, I’d certainly recommend this book to business leaders and management leaders in any field. I am an engineering director myself and found this book super useful. The breakdown of the book in to “laws” made it an easily digestible and fun read. Recommended!
Thaddeus Reeves (verified owner) –
This book provides a deep first principles analysis of how and why markets move the way they do.
You cannot un-see this. It will break many retail trader’s hearts, and give a clear guide to whether or not investors should trade (mostly not, unless they have edge, and drawing lines on charts isn’t edge)
Not all of this is stuff I wanted to read, but I’m glad I did. I’d give it 10 stars if I could
Hadlee Castillo (verified owner) –
Great read!!!! I originally bought the book for my brother as a birthday but ended up reading it myself! I particular enjoyed Lebron‘s sense of humor and his strategic thinking. Will definitely incorporate his decision making approach into my work and play life. And will now give the book to my brother 🙂
Lana Finley (verified owner) –
A very good book for applicants or people who start to buy and sell financial products on their own.
Calum Jefferson (verified owner) –
I would recommend this book to anybody interested in trading. It gives the reader an idea of the decision making process he needs to develop