Thomas James “TJ” Cloutier is an enormously successful professional poker player. Don’t let his stark, straight-forward, “retired athletic coach” appearance fool you; TJ Cloutier is one of the most fierce, calculating poker players on the circuit today. At the age of 69, Cloutier’s professional, live tournament earnings total $9,042,758. TJ has finished in the money 50 times over his career, including 39 1st place wins and 6 World Series of Poker Bracelets. In 2006, TJ Cloutier was rightfully inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

Born October 13, 1939, TJ Cloutier hails from Albany, California. Cloutier received a scholarship for football an baseball that saw him attending the University of California at Berkley. During this time, Cloutier could be found playing in the 1959 Rose Bowl - the most prestigious college football championship in the United States. Unfortunately, TJ’s family fell on hard times, and Cloutier was forced to drop out of college before he could graduate.

TJ found himself drafted into the army where he served his time, and coincidentally learned to play poker, before joining the Canadian Football League, playing for Toronto, then Montreal, before an injury ended his athletic career. TJ Cloutier changed his focus, opening a food company, but found it to be unsuccessful. Instead, Cloutier moved to Texas to work on oil rigs. He eventually found himself working as a caddy on a golf course. He spent his time off playing poker, and it wasn’t long before he found himself earning more money at the tables than on the job. Thus, TJ Cloutier made the life altering decision to quit conventional work and pursue a career as a professional poker player.

TJ Cloutier and the WSOP
TJ Cloutier is one of today’s most accomplished WSOP participants, having achieved a very rare position among professional poker players. TJ Cloutier has cashed at least once in every single World Series of Poker tournament since 1987. TJ’s first live tournament win came in the 1985 WSOP, where he earned more than a quarter of a million dollars in his first prize purse. Cloutier finish in 2nd position overall at the ‘85 WSOP Main Event for $280,000.

Two years later, TJ received his first WSOP Bracelet for taking down Event #3 Limit Omaha at the 1987 WSOP, worth $72,000. It wasn’t until 1994 that TJ Cloutier received not only his second, but also his third WSOP Bracelet. Cloutier took down Event #14 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo on April 29, 1994, and Event #15 PL Hold’em the very next day. Cloutier pocketed $135,000 and $163,000 respectively for these back-to-back victories.

The 1998 WSOP rewarded TJ Cloutier with his fourth WSOP Bracelet for skillfully omitting the field of Event #11 PL Omaha for $136,000. Even more notably, however, was TJ’s 3rd place finish overall in the 1998 WSOP, in which he earned $437,500. In May of 2000, TJ came his closest to winning the entire WSOP Main Event, but finished just shy in 2d place, collecting $896,000 for his skilled efforts.

Cloutier’s fifth WSOP Bracelet came in 2004, earning $95,000 for derailing the opposition in a Limit Razz event. TJ went on to receive his sixth and thus far final Bracelet at the 2005 WSOP, claiming an impressive $657,100 for prevailing over Event #13 NL Hold’em.

TJ Cloutier is currently tied with Phil Hellmuth for the most final table finishes at the WSOP with 39.

TJ Cloutier and the WPT
TJ Cloutier has earned a decent portion of his career winnings on the World Poker Tour (WPT). Since it’s inaugural season in 2002, TJ has accumulated nearly one million dollars in WPT tournament winnings. Cloutier has finished in the money 27 times in WPT events, totaling about $860,000 in career earnings.

His first major victory in the WPT cam on April 5, 200 at the WPT Five-Star World Poker Classic Championship, where TJ took down the NL Hold’em event for $98,940. His next notable triumph came as a 3rd place finish in the 2nd season of the WPT, Legends of Poker tournament, for $146,775. That prize purse is thus far Cloutier’s largest single-match WPT cash.

TJ Cloutier’s Other Achievements
In 1990, TJ Cloutier advanced to the final table at the Superbowl of Poker, where he cam out victorious for a 1s place prize of $240,000. Later that same year, Cloutier outwitted the field at the Jim Brady Tournament, earning another $256,000. TJ’s luck continued into December of 1990 when he took down the NL Hold’em tables at the Hall of Fame Poker Classic for $113,400.

In 1991, TJ Cloutier once again prevailed over the Jim Brady Tournament NL Hold’em Championship for $230,000. In 1992, Cloutier took 1st in an early NL Hold’em event at the Jim Brady Tournament for yet another $126,000. side from the WSOP, Cloutier’s next significantly lucrative win came in the 2001 Tournament of Champions, were TJ finished 2nd for $123,885.

Cloutier’s most recent major victory came at the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge on November 18, 2007. TJ won the NL Hold’em Championship event outright, pocketing $240,560 in prize winnings.