What Is RTA in Poker and Why Is It Prohibited?

How Poker Networks and Rooms Define RTA?

The main rule of almost any poker operator is “any kind of assistance that gives players unfair advantage during their play is prohibited”.

However, not every network or room has an explicit definition about RTA in their security and ecology policies, terms and conditions, etc. Some of them even use different naming for it that doesn’t help players better understand their restrictions.

For example, WPT Global states in their “Play on the SIte” document:

“Players are prohibited from using devices such as robots or any other external player assistance (EPAs) program that distort normal play on the Site and give the player an unfair advantage. Players are required to make their own decisions when playing, without the aid of any information other than that obtained during the Players’ own play.”

It also has the “We reserve the right to scan the user’s active software applications and processes to detect the possible use of AI or RTA assistance” rule which is the only mention of RTA abbreviation in “Poker Terms & Conditions”.

On the other hand, GGPoker defines RTA as “any external assistance which provides users with an unfair advantage over their opponents, influences their decision making in real-time, or allows them to play in a manner they otherwise would not be able to replicate”.

888poker specifies RTA in the form of tools that “help players make optimal decisions in real-time while at the tables.”

Curiously, PokerStars in its “General Terms of Service” doesn’t include using RTA in “Prohibited Player Assistance Practices” section but indirectly mentions it in the next section “Prohibited Tools and Services”:

“Any online or offline tool or service (including artificial intelligence, “bots” and other computer programs and software) which is used to execute or assist in the execution of any action relating to the Services and is designed to provide an unfair advantage to Users, including those which: […] offer real-time advice on what action to take; share hole card data with other Users or services.”

Why RTA Is Prohibited By Licensed Poker Rooms?

Real Time Assistance is very bad for poker ecology because it makes the game unfair and scares away the most important people for survival of the game — recreational players.

When they know that others may use different RTA tools and methods to gain advantage without mastering skills, they start to see poker as a rigged game where in the end you always just lose money to some “bots”. And if you can’t rely on luck and your skills because of someone’s cheating — why bother playing anyway?

However, not only recs see the situation with RTA this way. In discussion around Nachogate 2025, renown poker player Patrick Leonard confessed that even he refuses to play some online tournaments and series because of RTA, especially — people’s usage of solver GTO Wizard that doesn’t have delay:

“The unarguable has to be that GTOW needs to have a delay, it’s needed a delay for so long but surely it needs to happen before wsop this summer. I didn’t fire any wsop online last year and don’t play the venom, I literally love online poker and tournaments more than 99% of people. If I won’t play because of GTOW imagine how many hundreds/thousands don’t play because of it?”

Availability of RTA tools also make the field stronger and more difficult to beat, which isn’t good for attracting and retaining new high-potential players conquering poker. So, for all parties, except the cheating one, this form of gaining unfair advantage isn’t profitable.

Actually, it isn’t profitable for cheaters in the long term too because they not only risk every time they break rules but also make the game more difficult for themselves and lose potential profit by damaging the game’s reputation.

Are Verbal Tips From Other Players RTA?

Poker networks usually don’t even consider or mention verbal cues, advice or tips from other people during an online poker session as RTA.

The only room whose ruling can be interpreted as prohibition of this form of assistance is PokerStars but they are also sticking more to tools in this area than people.

The only things between players that widely described and prohibited on any licensed poker website are:

• Collusion in the form of conspiracy between two or more players participating in a cash game or tournament with a final goal to gain an unfair advantage over other opponents there.
• Bum Hunting where players chase less experienced players in cash games and avoid playing against more experienced players.
• Chip Dumping when a player consciously loses their chips to other users.
• Account Sharing when more than one player plays through one account.
• Ghosting when someone plays on behalf of the account holder as well as when someone gives access to their account to the other player to play on the account holder’s behalf.

Let’s return to Nachogate 2025, where the first response of Nacho Barbero about using GTO Wizard with open ACR Poker client was this:

Barbero’s statement about helping others by solving their spots in GTO Wizard while they were playing  brought to the light a few dilemmas related to the definition of real-time assistance and its difference from ghosting.

Logically, if you are cuing others in real time and they decide how to play according to these cues — it may be considered a real time assistance. It also can’t be considered “Ghosting” because you do not play instead of others — they listen to you and then decide to either follow your advice or not.

However, since we technically can interpret cues as subjective tips from another human being, who can deceive you or be mistaken, their ability to give others an unfair advantage is a subject of doubt and discussion.

On the other hand, if someone reads cues to you directly from solvers, other software or dynamic charts — it is 100% clear RTA because they are based on mathematics. But rooms don’t really have rules for situations like that because they just can’t catch this type of cheater red-handed.

Considering all issues with verbal tips, the poker community has a real problem to find an ideal solution for this type of assistance because it requires to take into account too many factors where the majority are uncontrollable.

How To Protect Myself From RTA Ban In Poker?

The best way to avoid problems with any room’s security team is to not use any tools for assistance during an active online poker session except permitted ones.

The ultimate list of prohibited tools includes all kinds of solvers and equity calculators, dynamic HUD and advanced charts.

If you want to check your decisions from any game — mark spots and check them with proper tools only after the end of the poker session and logging out from any poker clients.