Who Is Peter Clarke (Carroters)?
In the world of online poker education, few names carry as much respect as Peter Clarke, better known by his online alias Carroters. As the founder of Carrot Corner, Clarke has established himself as one of the most trusted and methodical poker coaches in the industry. He specializes in No Limit Hold'em 6-max cash games and has spent over a decade helping players climb from the micro stakes to becoming confident, winning regulars at mid stakes and beyond.
Clarke's poker journey began with casual 5-card Draw games in high school. By the age of 22, after demonstrating consistent success in online cash games, he decided to pursue poker professionally. He honed his skills through poker forums, training videos, and studying the work of notable players such as Ben Sulsky. Within a single year, he progressed from NL25 to NL100 and began his coaching career at Grinderschool.com, one of the early online poker training sites.
Today, Peter Clarke does not play poker for a living. Instead, he dedicates his professional life entirely to poker education, a choice that underscores his genuine passion for teaching the game rather than simply profiting from it at the tables.
Books by Peter Clarke
Clarke is the author of three highly regarded poker books, each serving a distinct purpose in a player's development journey.
The Grinder's Manual (2016)
The Grinder's Manual: A Complete Course in Online No Limit Holdem 6-Max Cash Games is Clarke's landmark first book and a cornerstone of modern poker literature. Spanning 540 pages, it features 80 colorfully illustrated instructive figures and 152 carefully chosen example hands analyzed in exhaustive detail. The book was designed as a comprehensive mega-course covering every technical poker topic necessary for a player to crush the micro stakes, establish themselves as a winner at NL100, and build a solid foundation for moving even higher. It remains one of the most recommended poker books for aspiring online grinders worldwide.
100 Hands (2017)
100 Hands: 100 Detailed Solutions to 100 6-Max Cash Problems serves as the practical companion to The Grinder's Manual. Rather than teaching theory in the abstract, this book walks readers through 100 real hand scenarios as if they were playing a Zoom session. Each hand is analyzed in depth from both exploitative and GTO (Game Theory Optimal) perspectives, with quizzes and exercises at the end of each analysis. This book is aimed at intermediate to advanced players who already have a theoretical foundation and want to sharpen their application skills.
Poker Therapy (2019)
Poker Therapy: Rewire Your Mind for Poker tackles the mental side of the game. Unlike typical poker psychology books that discuss lifestyle and wellness habits, Poker Therapy focuses specifically on cognitive strategies at the table. Clarke addresses how to uninstall bad thought processes and emotional reactions and replace them with productive ones. The book offers practical exercises for managing tilt, maintaining focus during long sessions, and making clear decisions under pressure. It was published in collaboration with Run It Once.
Carrot Corner: The Training Platform
Carrot Corner is Clarke's dedicated poker education platform, offering a comprehensive suite of courses, coaching, and resources. The platform is built around the philosophy of university-level academic poker education, structured to guide players through a progressive learning path.
Carrot Poker School (CPS) Grades
The flagship offering is the Carrot Poker School, which delivers over 50 hours of structured, university-style content split into multiple tiers:
- Grade 0 – Designed for newer players and those with messy foundations. This introductory grade gently immerses students in theoretically sound thinking about the game.
- Grade 1 – Builds on the fundamentals with deeper exploration of pre-flop and post-flop strategy for cash game players.
- Grade 2 – Advances into more complex strategic concepts and refined decision-making processes.
- Grade 3 – The most advanced tier, tackling high-level theoretical concepts and nuanced exploitative adjustments.
- Grade E – A specialized grade focused on additional exploitative strategies and advanced topics.
Specialized Courses and Products
- Weapons of War (£299) – A focused mini-pack covering powerful strategic concepts that can be immediately applied to your game.
- Cash Injection (£99, 10 videos) – A compact course designed to deliver rapid, actionable improvements to your win rate.
- TrueEV (£99, 10 videos) – A course centered on understanding and maximizing expected value in common game situations.
- Ranges Through The Stakes (£99) – Pre-solved range packages that help players understand how ranges should shift as they move up in stakes.
- Silver Pro Library (47 videos) – An extensive video library covering a broad range of strategic topics.
1-on-1 Coaching and Community
Clarke offers personalized one-on-one coaching sessions for players ranging from NL10 to NL500. His coaching process is notable for its use of detailed PowerPoint presentations tailored to each student's specific leaks. Many of his students have progressed rapidly, becoming strong regulars at NL100 and NL200 levels. The platform also features an active Discord community where students can discuss hands, share insights, and support each other's development.
Additional Content and Presence
Beyond Carrot Corner, Clarke has made significant contributions across multiple poker education platforms:
- Run It Once – Clarke has produced training content for Phil Galfond's Run It Once platform, including the well-known From the Ground Up course designed for newer players.
- YouTube – The Carrot Corner YouTube channel serves as a free content hub where Clarke shares strategy videos, hand breakdowns, and educational content in various formats.
- Carrot Poker Podcast – Available on Podbean and other platforms, the podcast features discussions on poker strategy, theory, and the mental game.
- Twitch – Clarke streams live on Twitch under the Carrot_Corner channel, providing real-time gameplay analysis and interaction with the community.
Teaching Philosophy: What Makes Peter Clarke Unique
What sets Clarke apart from other poker coaches is his deeply structured, theory-first approach rooted in his background in psychology and mathematics. His core philosophy can be summarized in a few key principles:
- Theory before exploitation – Clarke teaches that strong exploitative play follows naturally once you have acquired a solid theoretical framework. He urges students to learn why things happen in game theory rather than blindly copying solver outputs.
- Think like a solver, then deviate – His approach teaches students how to think like a poker solver and then shows them when and how to deviate from GTO to extract even more value against real opponents.
- Academic rigor – The university-grade structure of his courses reflects a belief that poker education should be systematic and progressive, not scattered tips and tricks.
- Accessibility – Despite the depth of his material, Clarke is known for distilling complex concepts into language that low and mid stakes players can understand and apply. He bridges the gap between advanced theory and practical application.
- Holistic development – With Poker Therapy and his mental game content, Clarke addresses the full spectrum of what it takes to succeed, combining technical mastery with psychological resilience.
Whether you are a beginner looking for your first structured poker education or an experienced grinder seeking to refine your game with cutting-edge theory, Peter Clarke and Carrot Corner offer one of the most comprehensive and well-organized learning paths available in online poker today.
