mrmr has a point - as an "0ld timer" myself I'd agree it was usually small change compared to the stakes we were playing and most of us laughed it off. I never heard about a serious scam.

He had charges for passing a bad cheques in Canada while he played professional football for the Montreal Alouettes. The total of bad cheques at the time were a total of 2300 in early 60's money which would be around 20K now in Canadian money.

I don't know how this was settled and if it was a possible bounced cheque not taken care of but that seems on par for his later shenanigans with strangers and fellow players.

Jesus Christ the guy is 82 years old. Is he really supposed to be in the lab with solvers, hes 82 years old and was playing for 14k first prize. That's not a bad day.

The fact that at 82 years old this man is playing a small buyin tournament imo is pretty sad. I doubt he even had 100% of himself too.

Also what does it say about this man's reputation that a player with his resume isn't in Vegas getting staked in some capacity at the wsop or other venues 1k, 1600 buyins?

You are not allowed to play small buyin tournies when you turned 82? Sounds sad.

It says he had a helluva run burning both sides of the candle. Who is still grinding out 1k's at 82. And who is going to put up stake for an 82 year old to grind 2-4 day events in COVID soup.

Really? So the stake won't happen because of a chance of getting covid? That based on the crowds not many seem to care about.

He is still playing tournaments anyways in Oklahoma so he is still risking getting covid every time he plays.

I just think it's telling that this man who has a poker resume most would dream of, can't get staked in seemingly any capacity at the wsop, Wynn. Venetian, etc... Obv I don't know for sure but I think it's safe to say he has burned a lot of bridges and people don't trust him that he will pay what he owes if he cashes, especially big amounts.

Or people with insight to current playing abilities deem him a bust even or losing player in the current environment. I know after seeing his frail sight and obvious historical gambling addiction I felt sad for anybody that is close to TJ.

Interesting stories. Dude is a legend in his own right. 82 and still fting daily deepstacks what a ***** legend

My only Cloutier story is in vegas 2009 or 2010, playing some low limit craps on the strip, TJ lumbers up without saying a word, punts off a couple hundo, and lumbered off without saying a word.

A lifetime of bad beats can do that to you. And the great players get many more bad beats than the average player because they usually have the best hand in the big pots with one card to go.

In the year 2000 TJ lost a chance to be champion in three $10,000 tournaments when he was heads up and the other player was pretty much dead unless a 9 fell and in all three tournaments the 9 did fall. The most famous one was when he had Ace Queen and Chris Ferguson had Ace 9. TJ almost certainly would have won that Main Event if the 9 didn't fall on the last card

Here is a quote from a TJ interview:

"...Yeah, the one I really think about is when [Chris] Ferguson caught the nine on the river [in the 2000 main event]. But a lot of people don’t know that there were two $10,000 tournaments right after that, in a row, and I got heads-up in both of those. Both times they were dead to a nine with one card to come, and they caught it too..."

https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-new...-my-craps-play

i don't recall hearing this. crazy ****!

A lot of younger people think nothing much happened in poker before the Moneymaker boom. But a lot of **** happened in the 80's and 90's in poker that the younger players don't know about or ever will know about.

Played with him in a $400 Choctaw tourney a few years ago. I didnt recognize him at first, only saw an old man. He c/r me on like a Q52 board and barrelled off blank turn and river and showed T9 after I folded. I had AQ so I probably call down if I knew who it was but just assumed it was a nitty old man who flopped a set. I only called the turn bc I had a fd too.

Table went kinda nuts with "old man still got it" type stuff and thats when I recognized who it was. The man has aged a lot since early '00s when I was teenager watching WSOP on ESPN, and he was old then too.

More degen TJ stories PLEASE!!

legend .

I play in the card rooms in Dallas and the guy has to use a walker or some kind of assistance to get around a lot of times. He lives in the area and probably doesn’t want the stress of having to get around in large crowds in Las Vegas at his age and probably just wants to enjoy life right now.

Man...Sheeiiitt.

I come here cause I'm considerin' playing a few small WSOP events and I catch this damn hand: A TJ thread.

Some of these ahhh... assertations, when you spin 'em around and make a call on 'em look a little condecscending and naive to my ol' ass. Not to mention craven in a way.

An 82 year old legend can play a damned old $60 sng at Madalay if he can feel it.

Someone misunderstood the covid comment as well I think. An 82 year old GAM is probably a little more likely to have the Reaper make a big call on the river than a younger grown ass man.
Nothing to do with staking I'd opine

It ain't sad at all that Mr. Cloutier to you is playing or doing whatever it is he's on. And i ain't sent here to speak for his degen ass. Tighten up, b's!



TJ Mr. Cloutier to you is checking out on a Sunday at a casino in Tunica in the early 00's. Man...shiiittt. That MMaker poker boom was right on time for him and a few others. Here he was mansplaining to the checkout lady about how he was charged for a PPV movie he didn't buy. He had been playing a little $10 craps earlier. I guess it is sad to somebody since he was prolly bout a 60 year old GAM at the time. Hands were huge.

Ate with him at one of those morning spreads they lay out for the players. Nice guy, nice stories. Some of the others would always josh about how they knew they'd get back what he owed because they'd be there when he cashed.

TJ would play the $100 sats to git in the next days event. If he got an early stack he was in. Of course, it was so easy in those early MMaker days. Carloads of wet behind the ears been taping the Travel Channel. Some of these same posters here prolly bout the same.

In LV he had the respect downtown I think.

Anyhoo, that's it for me. Had to email 2 plus 2 to get my damn name and word cause it's been a minute like the kids say. Guess I'm a sad ol' case too.

Didn't Mr. Cloutier to you make a nice little run in a bracelet event a couple years back. I dunno.

Yeah, looks like he had a pleasant 2017 at the WSOP. MIA since that is ancient history.

who cares he would have pissed the money away in craps anyway

And a bunch of things had to go right first to get to heads up in those tournaments in the first place.

https://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=51

TJ probably has the sickest Hendon Mob in history with as many as 18 cashes as recent as 2018. That was his last totally active year and he bought in from $200 to $1600. He was 78 years old then.

He obviously has had weaknesses outside poker. Many players do. But when it comes to just poker tournaments, the guy might be the GOAT. Second in the Main Event (thanks to a bad beat) in 2000. Third in 1998. Last table in 1995. He won back to back to back of the main event in a tournament called Diamond Jim Brady which had a buy in of 5k back in the 80s.

Possibly the tourney GOAT.

I consider it a badge of honor that TJ Cloutier owes me $600. It was practically a right of passage back in the day.

He still owes you?

It hasn’t even been 20 years. I’m sure he’ll get me next time he hits something good. Not his fault the dice ran bad.

And he has 14 cashes from 2019 up to June 4, 2022.