Twitter customers alleged on Friday that high-stakes poker professional Jose ‘Nacho’ Barbero was utilizing RTA (real-time help) whereas taking part in in a web-based poker event – an allegation that he denied.
The storm started with a screenshot of Barbero’s Instagram that confirmed poker instrument GTO Wizard operating within the background whereas the sponsored professional performed the Venom occasion on ACR Poker. That’s an enormous no-no within the on-line poker world.
Barbero claimed ignorance, and stated that whereas this system was open on his laptop, he wasn’t truly utilizing the solver whereas taking part in. The Argentinian stated he was utilizing it for teaching functions for different gamers, and was prepared to show it.
“I was coaching four of my horses on a Discord call,” Barbero wrote on Twitter. “I don’t play online. They don’t have the GTO Wizard Pro, so I was looking at some spots for them. My bad. I emailed GTO Wizard game integrity and they’re going to send all the spots I searched yesterday and are going to publish them.”
ACR Response, Investigation Begins
ACR Poker responded on Jan. 31 that Barbero “is a goofball and we love him. Anyone who’s played with, against or around him knows he’s not a GTO-style player and likely never will be. We’re confident he was not using GTO Wizard to gain any advantage for himself.”
A day later, nevertheless, the positioning acknowledged that response was too flippant “and did not convey the seriousness with which we take the situation. We sincerely apologize for this.”
The web site deliberate to analyze the problem each internally and externally, and work with GTO Wizard to handle the problem. A day later the corporate launched an announcement in regards to the incident, backing up Barbero’s declare that he didn’t use the instrument whereas taking part in.
“Following a thorough internal investigation of all hands played in the tournaments Nacho participated in, we have concluded that at no point did he use real-time assistance (RTA) to aid his or any other player’s decision-making during live hands,” ACR famous. “We understand that independent parties are conducting their own reviews, and we are confident that they will come to the same conclusion. We remain committed to transparency and fairness, and we will continue to work to earn the continued trust of our players and community.”
Further Investigation
Fellow high-stakes standout Patrick Leonard launched his personal findings based mostly on an evaluation of over 1,000 palms and likewise decided Barbero was telling the reality.
“From his 240 hands total [VPIP], he made 105 ‘wrong’ plays,” Leonard defined. “So around 40 percent of the time, he made the incorrect play.”
He went additional, saying that Barbero’s play was indicative of a stay participant, not somebody counting on solvers. Leonard did observe, nevertheless, that this was nonetheless a nasty search for on-line poker.
I spent this weekend doing an investigation into the Nacho Barbero GTOW/ACR/Venom scandal. I attempted to offer as a lot info/knowledge/precise palms to offer a illustration of his sport play on that day. I went over 1300 palms (652 intimately) analysed his GTOW historical past and used the… https://t.co/omQeYGLNIM pic.twitter.com/AU2ZziYb7B
— Patrick Leonard (@padspoker) February 3, 2025
Barbero was happy to see ACR and Leonard’s findings clear him of dishonest, however determined to bow out of the multi-day event anyway.
“As someone who represents not just ACR Poker but the game itself, I should have been more aware of how my actions could be perceived,” he stated. “And I understand that some people will continue to question my actions during Venom. For that reason, I’ve decided to forfeit the rest of my play in the Venom and the two active stacks I still have in play.”
Barbero, a former Magic: The Gathering champion, has racked up practically $22 million in stay event earnings throughout his profession, together with a WSOP bracelet.
The use of RTA continues to make headlines and the World Series of Poker Paradise not too long ago made a rule to ban using this sort of expertise throughout play.
An on-line participant in Michigan was additionally not too long ago banned on WSOP Online for alleged RTA use, and in November, a excessive curler winner was disqualified within the WSOP Online worldwide sequence, dropping out on a bracelet.