Paul Magriel

Paul David Magriel Jr. was born on July 1, 1946 and is the son of Paul Magriel Sr. and Christine Fairchild Magriel.

Paul known first by his exceptional backgammon play and is considered the world's premier teacher at the game. He is nickanmed X-22 and has won more major backgammon tournaments than any other player in the world. Magriel won his 1st World Backgammon Championship in 1978.

Magriel won the €2,000 no limit hold'em event at the Aviation Club de France in September 2002, and the €48,600 first prize.

Paul made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table in 2003 when he finished 4th in the $5,000 no limit hold'em World Poker Challenge event in Reno, Nevada.

Magriel has finished in the money three times at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), and has made the final table of events on the Professional Poker Tour and Ultimate Poker Challenge.

Magriel created the "M Principle" or "M-ratio" which is a theory that explains at which stages of tournaments value exists to make moves on other players, depending on the ratio between chip stack sizes and antes.

Paul Magriel wrote two books with his first wife, Renee Magriel, "Backgammon", which is considered the bible of the game, and "An Introduction to Backgammon: A Step-by-Step Guide".

Fun Facts:

• Was a mathematics professor at the Newark College of Engineering between 1969 and 1973.
• Received perfect College Board scores.