Paul Magriel
| Paul Magriel | |
|---|---|
| File:PaulMagriel.jpg
Magriel in the 2005 World Series of Poker
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| Nickname(s) | X-22; Button |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Born | Paul David Magriel July 1, 1946 (age 77) |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | None |
| Money finish(es) | 8 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish |
683, 2010 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 2 |
Paul David Magriel Jr. (pronounced Ma-grill) (born July 1, 1946) is an American professional backgammon player, poker player, and author based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chess
Magriel became New York State Junior Chess Champion at the age of 19, while a student at New York University.
Backgammon
Known as X-22 on the backgammon circuit,[1] Magriel has arguably won more major backgammon tournaments than any other player in the world.[2] He is widely considered the world's premier backgammon teacher, an original and clear-thinking theorist and one of its best players.[3]
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.[4]
Magriel first came to prominence on the backgammon circuit when he won the World Backgammon Championship in 1978.[5] From 1977 to 1980, he wrote weekly backgammon columns for The New York Times.[3]
Paul and Renée Magriel (his first wife, later Roberts) have written two books, Backgammon,[6] widely considered to be the bible of the game,[7][8][9] and an abridgement for beginning players, An Introduction to Backgammon: A Step-by-Step Guide.[10]
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.
Poker
Magriel had several notable finishes in poker tournaments 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!"[7] 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.[11]
Family and miscellaneous
Magriel is the son of Paul Magriel Sr. (1906–1990), an art collector and author, and Christine Fairchild Magriel. His younger brother is the sarangi player and teacher Nicolas Magriel. He has one son, Louis Fairchild Magriel (Louis being the name of all four grandfathers) by his wife, French poker player Martine Oulés.
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.[12]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Backgammon. 1976 edition: Chicago: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company. ISBN 0-8129-0615-2. Backgammon. 2004 edition by Paul David Magriel Jr. and Renée Magriel Roberts. Harwich Port: Clock & Rose Press. ISBN 1-59386-027-7, ISBN 978-1-59386-027-1.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ An Introduction to Backgammon: A Step-by-Step Guide. An abridged version of the 1976 edition of Backgammon. Chicago: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, Inc. 1978. ISBN 0-8129-0735-3.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ See Newark College of Engineering. (1969). Catalog of Undergraduate Day and Evening Programs: 1969-1970. Newark, NJ: The Board of Trustees of Schools for Industrial Education; Newark College of Engineering. (1970). Catalog of Undergraduate Day and Evening Programs: 1970-1971 Academic Year. Newark, NJ: The Board of Trustees of Schools for Industrial Education; Newark College of Engineering. (1971). Catalog of Undergraduate Day and Evening Programs: 1971-1972 Academic Year. Newark, NJ: The Board of Trustees of Schools for Industrial Education; Newark College of Engineering. (1972). Catalog of Undergraduate Day and Evening Programs: 1972-1973 Academic Year. Newark, NJ: The Board of Trustees of Schools for Industrial Education. .
External links
- Paul Magriel at Library of Congress Authorities, with 3 catalog records
- Paul David Magriel, 1906– (father) at LC Authorities with 18 records
- Renée Magriel Roberts (first wife) at LC Authorities with 1 record
