With The Grinder's Manual, Peter Clarke aims to provide a 'comprehensive mega-course in No Limit Holdem cash games'. Perhaps 'comprehensive' is too strong a word for any poker book, given the sheer depth of the game, but The Grinder's Manual comes closer than any other poker book of which I'm aware. A hefty tome at 540 pages, the Manual is possibly the first book to truly bridge the gap between the facile introductions to the game perhaps best epitomised by Crushing the Microstakes, the transitional works which focus on covering a small number of topics with a good deal of substantive advice (Easy Game, Small Stakes No Limit Hold'em), and the heavily mathematical books aimed at those who already have a sensible understanding of core strategic concepts (Expert Heads Up No Limit, The Mathematics of Poker).

It does this by covering the common spots which make up 99% of the game, providing a fundamentally sound thought process to use in those spots, and, crucially, explaining why each element of that thought process makes sense. This allows the user to adapt the thought process to suit their own games, and also to refine it where game conditions change to render the thought process provided a little over-simplistic (in 2016 games on PokerStars, this would typically start to happen in some spots around 100NL). Thought processes are presented in a clear, logical way by way of flowcharts – a representation which allows for quick and clear reference.

A great boon to the book is that it is structured in a way which presents a logical progression through the stakes – starting through the what, why and how of preflop opening ranges, and ending up considering the equilibration process and the effects of various SPRs on postflop strategies, without exception, less fundamental material is positioned after more important material. This allows new and experienced players alike to begin at an appropriate stage for them, and nullifies the need to refer to other sources to gain a core understanding of topics up to an appropriate stage. On a similar note, the reader is also able to test their own understanding with the numerous hand examples provided – which avoids, to as large a degree as possible, the potential pitfall of a reader believing they have understood something when, in fact, they haven't.

Perhaps most importantly, nothing in this book is ostensibly wrong – which certainly sets it apart from many competing products. While I may not, for instance, agree with playing as tight as recommended preflop in many instances (especially insofar as defending the BB is concerned), this is much less concerning than errors in other books, since a reader who uses this strategy will only be forfeiting, at most, a negligible amount of EV. Further, since this book is targeted at a broad spectrum of players including rank beginners, it does make some sense to recommend a tight range in a number of spots leading to playing OOP postflop, as it reduces the possibility of making severe mistakes postflop. I would, however, have liked to have seen more in the way of noting the difference between the preflop ranges players should tend to be playing after two weeks and six months respectively.

I have little in the way of other criticisms. There are some omissions of material I would have liked to have seen – especially more in-depth HUD use (working out appropriate frequencies and statistical significance in general rather than numbers for both given for specific stats), bet sizing theory in greater detail, and perhaps consideration of 4bet pots in more detail – but it ought to be noted that these are peripheral topics which rely generally on more complex maths than is used in this book, so Clarke's discretion not to include these should not be the subject of too severe criticism. There are also one or two points at which a number of points are at odds with my understanding of concepts – for instance, the indifference principle – but these are minor problems which I suspect may be due to simplification for the target audience rather than misunderstanding on the part of the author; for the most part, simplification is insignificant and done in a manner to shed only irrelevant information.

The Grinder's Manual is perhaps best seen through its section on value betting. Of course, as a topic which is absolutely fundamental to every poker player, close to every poker book ever has covered value betting, but none have done so in a way which is as clear and accurate as TGM. Flowcharts cover the entire thought process in the abstract (e.g. in a way which is applicable to every hand on every street) in depth, every stage on the flowchart is explained and justified by reference to poker theory, and hand examples are given which encapsulate perfectly the essential distinctions being drawn. Much of the rest of the book is at the same standard. I can confidently say that detailed study of this (expect to use it much like you would a university textbook – not as a skim-read while sat on the toilet) ought to bring most readers at least to the stage of being a solid winner at 50NL on PokerStars, based on the state of the games in 2016. There are not many, if any books for which that can be said. This book has to be regarded as a steal at £39.99.