Thomas James Cloutier was born in 1939. He went to the University of California on an athletic scholarship and played in the Rose Bowl in 1959. He could not continue because of family financial problems. He then was drafted into the U.S. Army and started playing poker there. Out from the Army, Cloutier played football in the Canadian Football League but had to give up due to a knee injury. He started a food company but that did not work out. So he moved to Texas to work on the oil rigs. He picked up on poker again and was soon making more money playing poker that through his pay check. Therefore he began to play full time. He used to go to Dallas very often to Pot Limit poker games.

Soon Cloutier was playing live poker tournaments in Las Vegas. His performance at WSOP has been excellent with six bracelets. The first bracelet was won in 1987, then two came in 1994, the fourth in 1998 and the last two in 2005 and 2006. He is the only poker player to have won a bracelet in all three types of Omaha events played at WSOP. He is second to poker professional Phil Hellmuth in the most final tables and third in overall WSOP earnings. Despite being in the top five four times and placing second twice he has yet to win a WSOP Main Event.

Cloutier also plays regularly in the WPT live poker tournaments. His highest placing there has been third in the 2003 Legends of Poker event. Cloutier has also played in stand alone poker tournaments like the Ultimate Poker Challenge, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages. Cloutier’s total live poker tournaments are at about $9.1 million. He has had 251 cashes and 39 first place finishes.

Cloutier does not have a significant presence in online poker.

Cloutier’s greatest achievement away from the tables has been his induction into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006. The requirements for induction to the Poker Hall of Fame are that the player must have played high stakes; the player must have played against acknowledged top competition; the player must have played well consistently and gained the respect of his peers and the player must have stood the test of time. Cloutier meets all these requirements. In his acceptance speech Cloutier said, “It’s one of two things I’ve always wanted to win.” The other is the WSOP Main Event.

Cloutier has been a prolific poker writer. With Tom McEvoy he has authored four books: Championship Tournament Practice Hands, Championship Hold’em, Championship Omaha and Championship No Limit and Pot Limit Hold’em. His latest book released in 2006 is How To Win The Championship: Hold’em Strategies For The Final Table. Cloutier also writes for Card Player magazine. He has a photographic memory, which has come in handy in his writings. He features in the PC Game World Class Poker with T.J. Cloutier.

Cloutier lives in Texas with his wife and six children. His hobbies include golf and traveling.