T. J. Cloutier was born in Albany, California is 1939. He is married, has six children and now makes his home in Richardson, Texas with his second wife, Joy. He was attending the University of California at Berkeley on an athletic scholarship for both baseball and football and in 1959, played in the Rose Bowl. He dropped out of school to help his father pay his mother’s medical bills and was later drafted into the United States Army.
The first time he played poker was in 1956 and he played poker very often in the Army. After completing his military stint, he played pro football for awhile but a knee injury ended his career as a football player. He again played poker to earn a living until such time as he went into business with his father and brother-in-law. When the business went south, he and his wife divorced. He then went to Texas to work on the oil rigs, playing poker on his days off.
When T.J. realized he was making more money from playing poker than working on a regular job, he quit work, decided to play poker full time and the rest is history.
Cloutier has written four books, together with Tom McEvoy:
• Championship Tournament Practice Hands
• Championship Hold’em
• Championship Omaha
• Championship No-Limit and Pot Limit Hold’em
He has thus far won over fifty tournaments that have had buy-ins of $500 or more and is considered one of the best players in the world. However, although he has been in the top five in the World Series of Poker, he has never won the main event but has placed second twice – once in 2000 to Chris Ferguson and once in 1985 to Bill Smith.
T. J. has won a number of WSOP Bracelets:
• 1987 – $1,000 Limit Omaha Hi – $72,000
• 1994 – $1,500 Limit Omaha 8 or Better – $135,000
• 1994 – $2,500 Pot Limit Texas Hold’em – $163,000
• 1998 – $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi – $136,000
• 2004 – $1,500 Seven Card Razz Poker – $90,500
• 2005 – $5,000 No Limit Hold’em – $657,100
Cloutier has written a number of articles for Card Player Magazine. The most recent is “The Biggest Mistake You Can Make in Poker” in which he answers the question “What separates great poker players from average players?” Some of his other articles are:
• “It’s About Time to Bury Dead Money”
• “Mystery Hands and Dinner Breaks”
• “The Cowboy and the Queen”
• “Bad Beats and Warning Bells”
• “The Right Play at the Wrong Time”
• “Nominal Affection”
• “Mr. Brooks and the Two Jacks”
• “The Sailor and the Owl”
• “The Thin White Line”
T. J. has also made a computer game tutorial along with Masque Publishing Company teaching players how to implement or improve their games. There are two CD’s which are filled with valuable tips from this expert on Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Seven Card Stud and Five Card Draw and also a number of quiz questions with detailed answers from Cloutier himself.
T. J.’s total winnings as of 2005 are in excess of $5,365,000.
Kenneth Bateman writes numerous articles on the subject of poker and its players. To read more player profiles, visit online poker at xlpoker.com.