Phil Nagy: Finding the Doubling Cube of poker

The Doubling Cube Theory: The Next Big Leap for Online Poker

Phil Nagy often thinks outside the box to find answers. One of his sources of inspiration is the traditional game of backgammon.

Note: Backgammon, with over 5,000 years of history, has been played from ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire. Its most distinctive element is the doubling cube: created in New York in 1920, it revolutionized the game by allowing a player, feeling he has the advantage, to challenge their opponent to double the bets mid-game.

“Backgammon was a near-perfect knowledge game (few variables, very predictable). It almost died. Then someone introduced the doubling cube, which added a layer of complexity that revived the game. The question I'm trying to answer now is, what is poker's doubling cube?”

The most recent “doubling cube” in poker was the popular Spin & Go lottery sit & go or Mystery Bounties. With his product team, Nagy is moving from theory to practice. One idea is to add final tables with public “burned cards” at the start of some hands, adding a variable component of partial information for all players.

“My life is either right or wrong, that's just who I am. I choose what I believe is the best in its category and emulate it until I think I do it better.”

The logic is clear: poker needs to maintain a balance between recreational players and professionals without alienating them.

“There’s a delicate balance. If we only focus on the professionals, we won’t have a business. If we only cater to recreational players, the professionals won’t sit down to play 12 hours a day. We have to guarantee a win rate in our games.”

Nagy is emphatic. Players need a reason to sit down and play at the tables.

“I don’t promote casino games because I don’t want people to develop bad habits. It is a bad habit. However, this is real life. If you’re going to do it, do it with us. We reinvest the money in poker because I love poker.”

From 150 kg to 90 kg: Listening to the Experts

Our first encounter with Nagy was over three years ago at a conference in London. At that time, he weighed over 150 kg, and today we find a slim, athletic man weighing close to 90 kg.

“When I decided to embark on my body transformation journey, I went to my trainer and my doctor and told them: don't explain anything, just tell me what to do. I did everything they told me to do. I didn't argue with them.”

Phil confessed some of the side effects of his transformation, which include recurring pain that requires him to take painkillers every day. Losing over 50 kg involves some trade-offs you have to be willing to make. Every week, Phil allows himself a Starbucks candy as a reward, which he enjoys for over an hour.

“I’m going to do a triathlon. I won’t win it. I’ll go recreationally. I just want to participate. A lot of players just want to play a tournament and cash in. I’m a lifetime loser at poker, and I’m okay with it. You know what the difference is between Chris Moneymaker and me? I have a budget, he has a bankroll.”

The second part is more philosophical than technical: Phil had to make a conscious decision and change his language, replacing “I can’t” with “I won’t.”

“When the alarm went off at four in the morning to go to the treadmill, I had to stand in front of it and tell myself, ‘I won’t work out today.’ I couldn't say 'I can't,' because if you truly can't do something, you accept it. But saying 'I won’t put myself first and I won't get healthy' is a statement that can't be sustained.”

The connection to the world of poker is clear:

 “If there are no downswings, you don't appreciate the upswings. And life, unlike poker, isn't a zero-sum game. In poker, you have to take from someone to win. In life, we can both win.”

Phil closes this part of the interview by giving practical advice to poker players:

“When your coach tells you what to do, and exactly why, understand, but why argue with them until you're better?”

100% rakeback: Profitability or value for players

At the time of Phil's interview, some poker rooms were openly promoting 100% rakeback. Nagy had a clear opinion, though he expressed it more with questions than statements:

“I don't work for free. I don't do anything for free. And I don't expect anyone to work for free. When someone offers something with no apparent benefit for themselves, the first question I ask is: Why? Where's the benefit? How are they making money?”

If there's no rake, someone has to make money some other way. And if that someone is the poker room, it's necessary to consider the implications for the players.

Mobile Apps: Learning from Mistakes

The WPN team has been struggling with native mobile apps for two years, and in April they will launch their new PWA (Progressive Web App). However, the most striking thing isn't the launch itself, but the context in which it occurs.

“The funny thing is that just as I'm moving away from the native model, I see competitors moving in. They're going to go through exactly the same problems I just got through. And what I find fascinating about this industry is that nobody shares knowledge. We all make the same mistakes over and over."

Nagy has been in the industry for 25 years and insists he’s seen history repeat itself time and time again. Despite this unparalleled experience, he feels strange calling himself an industry leader.

“Being an industry leader feels strange to say. But it's true that other companies watch me and copy what I do. And that comes with responsibility: if I do something bad for poker, it affects a real percentage of the whole industry."

I want to be dealing cards in 20 years

Humor was recurring throughout this interview, culminating in a memorable moment when Phil was asked what independence having his own software development team afforded him:

“I’m the King of all poker.”

Laughing, he then revealed his main long-term aspiration:

“We’ve come a long way with different software developers. One of my aspirations is that I want to still be dealing cards in 20 years. I’m 54 years old. I’m happy. I enjoy what I do, and I want to keep doing it for many years. I don’t have an exit strategy.”

He concluded with a question many of us share: 

“How many people in this position want to continue doing it long-term?”

House bots and the problem of proving non-existence

The question no CEO of an online poker network wants to face; however, Nagy, after taking a few deep breaths, addressed the question directly, bluntly, and with irrefutable logic:

"The problem with accusations of house bots is philosophical rather than operational: how do you prove the non-existence of something? It's impossible."

In the middle of his response, Phil tells us that WPN will soon implement a feature allowing players to choose to display their real names at the tables, and that one of the first experiments was the launch of Phil's Thrill, his personal Sunday tournament.

"I wish there were external companies that could independently audit this. The industry needs more structural transparency, not just promises."

He also points out that WPN’s path is to humanize the experience by building trust. However, he emphasizes that he understands the industry's concerns, given that liquidity is a key value for an online poker room.

"I can have the worst software in the world, but if I have lots of players, I'm a great poker room. I can have the best software in the world, but no players and I'm the worst poker room. Players are the product"

He reflects on the industry, which he describes as almost "predatory":

"The more transparent you are with players, the more transparent you are with your competitors, which puts you at a disadvantage. I try not to hide anything, because when someone copies my ideas, I'm already winning."

And he concludes with one of the funniest quotes from this experience:

"ACR Poker and weed. They're virtually the same. Unregulated in some places, but 100% legit in every place."

The most direct CEO in the industry: from necessity to strategy

Phil Nagy's presence on social media is unusual for someone in his position. He responds to players, engages in real-time debates, and shares opinions that most executives would keep private. It all started out of necessity and evolved into a long-term strategy.

“Necessity is the mother of invention. After Blue Monday, we couldn't hire anyone to represent us. Nobody wanted to approach us. So I said to myself: I guess I'll be my own Team Pro. That's why I opened my Twitter account. Would I do it again? Absolutely.”

Nagy acknowledges that he's speaking publicly about this for the first time:

“It seems that throughout my life, I've consistently put myself in high-pressure situations, knowing that I'll find a way out. If I avoid difficult situations, I'll never hit those home runs."

Staking Tickets: WPN's Next Innovation

One of Nagy's goals is to make his poker client feel alive, starting with Spinz and expanding to every tab in the application. He acknowledges that sites like GGPoker and Stake do this almost perfectly. However, he acknowledges that he prefers to forge his own path in poker itself, while learning from others in different areas such as acquisition. The next big innovation is Staking Tickets:

"Imagine you want to run a promotion for The Venom on Worldpokerdeals. Instead of giving away a $100 ticket, you could give away a ticket where the player buys 50% of themselves for $10. Your budget doubles or multiplies by then, because a $100 ticket is still $100 worth of experience for someone who only invested $10.

The next phase, he explained, is the ability to follow your staking in real time from your mobile device, see how many chips they have, their position, how much they're winning, while you're at another table.

"I want to make it easy for you to follow your staking from Las Vegas while you're playing your own tournament. That's real-time sweating. That's what's going to change things."

Nagy's home game: the worst best home game in the world

Every conversation with the CEO of a poker network should end properly: with him sharing his gaming experiences with friends.

"We play $5/$10/$25, buy-ins of $2,000-$10,000. No rake. I pay for the food and drinks. We play $100 Bomb Pots, Omaha Bomb Pots, and simultaneous 7-2 and 8-3 games for $200 a person (imagine the preflop: raise, re-raise). And we have the Squid Game running continuously for $200. Every time the Squid Game ends, we play an Omaha Bomb Pot.”

The final thought is sincere:

“For my home game, I play $5/$10/$25, with Squid, 7-2, and 8-3, and I invite Triton friends. It's the worst-best live home game in the world. It's a lot of fun. I invited Chris Moneymaker to beat me. And he did. For the record: he's a better live poker player than I am.”

Lighting Round: a CEO's first response

At the end of the conversation, Nagy succinctly summarized why he opened his doors to this visit, and why he will continue to do so.

“Because I’m inviting people into my home game so they can get to know my company, so they can learn who we are. I can’t seem to convey what’s happening here. I don’t know how to get it out there. So I’ve decided to bring people here, and let you discover it for yourselves. If I can’t do it alone, maybe you can.”

We conclude this piece, while also thanking Phil for his hospitality, by recalling his words describing ACR and its position within the industry.

“We’re the Han Solo of poker. You may not love me, but you have to respect me for what I do.”

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