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I’ve been sitting here thinking of certain headlines that we will not likely see anytime soon in Poker. When I thought of the series of unlikely headlines, I tended to side on the humorous, but in the following case, I thought a more serious twist was more appropriate.  (Note:  This is a work of fiction meant for entertainment purposes only.)

T.J. Cloutier wins 2011 WSOP Main Event

T.J. Cloutier emerged as the 2011 WSOP Main Event champion after outlasting a final table that consisted primarily of online satellite winners. As the only professional at the table, Cloutier played a very tight aggressive style that is in stark contrast to the style employed by many of today’s young guns.

It was a pair of hands with three players remaining that set the pace for Cloutier’s win. After hovering around the middle of the pack all day, Cloutier slipped to the short stack when he picked up pocket kings against chip lead Jose Gonzalez. Gonzalez happened to pick up pocket jacks and went to war with Cloutier. A king on the turn sealed the deal and Cloutier sat 2nd in chips.

Just a few hands later, a hand that has been deemed the most explosive in WSOP history went down. Cloutier opened for a standard raise, followed by a shove from short stack Jack Timlin, a real estate investor from Oregon. Gonzalez then moved all-in over the top and before he could move to put in his chips, Cloutier yelled out “Call!” and leaped up turning over pocket aces. Gonzalez held pocket queens and Timlin held pocket nines.

The flop sent the entire room into a frenzy and nearly killed Cloutier when it fell Q-9-10. Cloutier literally fell back into his chair with a stunned look, seemingly conceding another runner-up finish. The turn then fell the 5c and Cloutier continued to shake his head.

Almost prophetic, someone yelled out “Barry on the river!”, referring to Barry Greenstein’s book Ace on the River. The turn then fell the ace of spades and both the crowd and Cloutier exploded in celebration. Timlin was eliminated and Cloutier now held a massive chip lead of 185 Million to 15 Million chips.
The final hand saw both players limp into the pot to see a flop of A-2-4. Gonzalez moved all-in and a stunned looking Cloutier said merely “call.” Gonzalez turned over A-7 and Clouter turned over 3-5 for a wheel. Cloutier then walked over to the dealer and said “Young lady, if you want to make an old rounder very happy, you will put a picture card on the turn.” The turn was then dealt, and it was the Queen of hearts. The crowd erupted as Gonzalez was drawing dead. Cloutier’s family and friends rushed table to congratulate Cloutier for his win.

“I think I’m pretty much done now” said Cloutier to ESPN’s Norman Chad. “I now have accomplished about all that I have ever wanted to accomplish in this game and so maybe it is time for this old cowboy to ride into the sunset.”

Whether or not T.J. rides into the sunset remains to be seen, but if this is his last rodeo, at least he went out on top.