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T. J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy have written a book that is very much needed by poker players. They may be giving too much away in Championship No-Limit Hold'em and Pot-Limit Ho Id'em ... but that's OK with me! In fact, I was very surprised when T. J. told me that he and Tom were writing this book because in the past, there have been times at the poker table when I would say something to another player
that I thought might help him, and T. J. would go ballistic about not wanting to "educate" the opposition. I am very glad that he has changed his mind. All of the top poker players think that if they get lucky, they are unbeatable. But during the World Series of Poker, or in any other big no-limit tournament, if there is any player in the world that I would like to trade a piece with, it is T. J. Cloutier. When I first met him in 1989 in Malta, it was the first
time that he had ever played against Europeans. After just a few hours of play, he basically knew everything about everybody who played poker in Europe. All he had to do was play you for a few hands and he knew exactly what you were made of and who was capable of doing what. He sits in a tournament and moves from one table to another table and he soon knows every poker player in the world; and if he doesn't, he will find out in a few minutes ... quicker than anybody else that I know. Sometimes, I can't figure people out as quickly as he does, but the way that he plays them is a good enough example for me to follow. I have
never seen anybody so strong.
We played head-up at the Diamond Jim Brady tournament in 1990 just after I had won the World Series of Poker. I was running good at the final table, making hands, betting and raising ... but I never bluffed because basically, I didn't need
to. When the final hand came up, T. J. had a small pair and a flush draw, 7 ¥ 3 ¥. My hand was 6 ¥ 9 ¥. Two overcards were on the board. There was no movement to this pot until the turn. A seven came on the turn, which gave T. J. a pair and gave me a straight draw. The river card was another overcard.
He checked it and I bet all my chips. It was the first time at the final table that I had bluffed at the pot. With no hesitation, he called me with two sevens. No other player in the world would have done that! Later, we were joking about it.
This was the last $10,000 tournament at the Diamond
Jim Brady; the first prize was $250,000 and second place was
$160,000. There hadn't been a deal — we were playing for it
all. How could this guy have read his opponent like that? I
will never foget that hand ... and I have told him many times
that he made the greatest play that I have ever seen. He is the
only player in the world that is capable of calling a pot like
that. I think that T. J. is the best psychologist in the world!
Some of us might miss things at the poker table... we get
involved in conversation and other things that are going on.
But it seems to me that when T. J. is involved in conversation
at the table, he still isn't missing a thing. Somehow, as he is
talking, he is still playing his opponents correctly. It comes so
naturally to him. I think the rest of us have to work hard at it.
Sometimes, when we are making decisions about calling or
not calling, we think about it for a few minutes and then we
might change our minds. But T. J.'s decisions are based on his
first instinct — The first thing that crosses his mind is his last
action. He acts more quickly than anyone else I know.
Tom McEvoy and I are more logical, mathematical, and
theoretical in our style. Basically, we are looking more at the
value of the hand than the value of the opponent... and that