Paul Magriel
Encyclopedia
Paul David Magriel Jr. (born July 1, 1946) is an American
professional backgammon
player, poker
player and author
based in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
.
The sobriquet
X-22 originates from Magriel's simulation of a real backgammon tournament (compare simultaneous exhibition
in chess) with 64 boards, designated X-1 through x-64, in which the player designated "X-22" has eventually won.
Magriel first came into prominence on the backgammon circuit when he won the World Backgammon Championship in 1978. From 1977 to 1980, he wrote weekly backgammon columns for The New York Times
.
Paul Magriel and Renee Magriel (his first wife) have written two books, Backgammon, widely considered to be the bible of the game, and an abridgement for beginning players, An Introduction to Backgammon: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Magriel features in the commentary in the televised backgammon series, High Stakes Backgammon, produced from the 2005 World Backgammon Championships held in Monte Carlo. It was the pilot series that led to the World Series of Backgammon
and showcased Magriel's extraordinary oratory skills.
s from the mid-1990s in Europe
, playing in London
, Paris
and Vienna
in Omaha, hold'em and seven-card stud
events. He won the €2,000 no limit
hold'em event at the Aviation Club de France in September 2002, defeating a field including Pascal "Triple P" Perrault
, Patrick Bruel
and Simon "Aces" Trumper
on the way to the €48,600 first prize.
In March 2003, he made his first World Poker Tour
(WPT) final table, finishing 4th in the $5,000 no limit hold'em World Poker Challenge event in Reno
.
Magriel has finished in the money eight times at the World Series of Poker
(WSOP), which includes one cash in the Main Event in 2010, he has also made the final table on the Professional Poker Tour
and Ultimate Poker Challenge
.
Magriel created the "M Principle" (better known since as the M-ratio
) - a theory elaborated on at great length in the book Harrington on Hold'em Volume II by former WSOP Champion "Action" Dan Harrington
and Bill Robertie
. The theory explains at which stages of tournaments expected value
exists to make moves on other players, depending on the ratio between chip stack sizes and antes.
Whilst playing poker, Magriel often shouts "Quack quack!" whilst making a bet, usually to declare a bet which has a numerical value beginning in 22 (e.g.: 2200, 22000.) This is a reference to a pair of 2's being known in backgammon as "double ducks" and poker as ducks.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $490,000.
player and teacher Nicolas Magriel. He has one son, Louis Fairchild Magriel (Louis being the name of all four grandfathers) by his wife, poker player Martine Oules.
After receiving perfect College Board
scores, he became, while an undergraduate, a fellow
of the Courant Institute at New York University
and later a National Science Foundation
fellow at Princeton University
with a primary interest in probability
.
Magriel was a mathematics
professor
at the Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology
) between 1969 and 1973.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional backgammon
Backgammon
Backgammon is one of the oldest board games for two players. The playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and players win by removing all of their pieces from the board. There are many variants of backgammon, most of which share common traits...
player, poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
based in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Chess
Paul was New York State Junior Chess Champion at the age of 19, while a student at New York UniversityNew York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
Backgammon
Known as X-22 on the backgammon circuit, Magriel has arguably won more major backgammon tournaments than any other player in the world. He is widely considered the world's premier backgammon teacher, an original and clear-thinking theorist and one of its best players.The sobriquet
Sobriquet
A sobriquet is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. It is usually a familiar name, distinct from a pseudonym assumed as a disguise, but a nickname which is familiar enough such that it can be used in place of a real name without the need of explanation...
X-22 originates from Magriel's simulation of a real backgammon tournament (compare simultaneous exhibition
Simultaneous exhibition
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".In a regular simul, no chess clocks are used...
in chess) with 64 boards, designated X-1 through x-64, in which the player designated "X-22" has eventually won.
Magriel first came into prominence on the backgammon circuit when he won the World Backgammon Championship in 1978. From 1977 to 1980, he wrote weekly backgammon columns for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Paul Magriel and Renee Magriel (his first wife) have written two books, Backgammon, widely considered to be the bible of the game, and an abridgement for beginning players, An Introduction to Backgammon: A Step-by-Step Guide.
Magriel features in the commentary in the televised backgammon series, High Stakes Backgammon, produced from the 2005 World Backgammon Championships held in Monte Carlo. It was the pilot series that led to the World Series of Backgammon
World Series of Backgammon
World Series of Backgammon is a major televised live tour. The television shows capture the match action, jeopardy and background around some of the world’s largest backgammon tournaments, and have broadcast throughout Europe on Eurosport 1 and 2 whilst being distributed worldwide by ESPN...
and showcased Magriel's extraordinary oratory skills.
Poker
Magriel had several notable finishes in poker tournamentPoker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s from the mid-1990s in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, playing in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in Omaha, hold'em and seven-card stud
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...
events. He won the €2,000 no limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
hold'em event at the Aviation Club de France in September 2002, defeating a field including Pascal "Triple P" Perrault
Pascal Perrault
Pascal "Triple P" Perrault is a French professional poker player, who specialises in tournament play. The nickname "Triple P" is short for Pascal "Poison" Perrault, a reference to his other profession as a pharmacist....
, Patrick Bruel
Patrick Bruel
Patrick Bruel is a French singer, actor, and professional poker player of Algerian Jewish descent.-Biography:...
and Simon "Aces" Trumper
Simon Trumper
Simon Trumper is an English professional poker player from South Kensington, London, England. He is chiefly noted as the winner of Late Night Poker series 2 and runner-up of series 4...
on the way to the €48,600 first prize.
In March 2003, he made his first World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) final table, finishing 4th in the $5,000 no limit hold'em World Poker Challenge event in Reno
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
.
Magriel has finished in the money eight times at the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP), which includes one cash in the Main Event in 2010, he has also made the final table on the Professional Poker Tour
Professional Poker Tour
The Professional Poker Tour was a series of televised poker tournaments, spinning off from the World Poker Tour television series. It billed itself as the first professional poker league, and was limited to players who have established themselves on the World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker,...
and Ultimate Poker Challenge
Ultimate Poker Challenge
The Ultimate Poker Challenge was a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD...
.
Magriel created the "M Principle" (better known since as the M-ratio
M-ratio
In no-limit or pot-limit poker, a player's M-ratio is a measure of the health of his chip stack as a function of the cost to play each round. In simple terms, a player can sit passively in the game, making only compulsory bets, for M laps of the dealer button before running out of chips...
) - a theory elaborated on at great length in the book Harrington on Hold'em Volume II by former WSOP Champion "Action" Dan Harrington
Dan Harrington
Dan Harrington is a professional poker player, best known for winning the main event world championship at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career...
and Bill Robertie
Bill Robertie
Bill Robertie is a backgammon, chess, and poker player and author. He is one of three backgammon players to have won the Monte Carlo World Backgammon Championship twice . Robertie also won the Pro-Am in the Bahamas in the year 1993 and the Istanbul World Cup in 1994. In chess, Robertie won the 1970...
. The theory explains at which stages of tournaments expected value
Expected value
In probability theory, the expected value of a random variable is the weighted average of all possible values that this random variable can take on...
exists to make moves on other players, depending on the ratio between chip stack sizes and antes.
Whilst playing poker, Magriel often shouts "Quack quack!" whilst making a bet, usually to declare a bet which has a numerical value beginning in 22 (e.g.: 2200, 22000.) This is a reference to a pair of 2's being known in backgammon as "double ducks" and poker as ducks.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $490,000.
Family and Miscellaneous
Magriel is the son of Paul Magriel Sr., an art collector and author, and Christine Fairchild Magriel. His younger brother is the sarangiSarangi
The Sārangī is a bowed, short-necked string instrument of India which is originated from Rajasthani folk instruments. It plays an important role in India's Hindustani classical music tradition...
player and teacher Nicolas Magriel. He has one son, Louis Fairchild Magriel (Louis being the name of all four grandfathers) by his wife, poker player Martine Oules.
After receiving perfect College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
scores, he became, while an undergraduate, a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Courant Institute at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and later a National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
fellow at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with a primary interest in probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
.
Magriel was a mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Newark College of Engineering (now New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
) between 1969 and 1973.