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Nacho Barbero and ACR Poker Face Backlash Over RTA Allegations

Nacho Barbero and ACR Poker Face Backlash Over RTA Allegations
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Iva Dozet News Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: February 3, 2025 · 3 minutes to read

There’s rarely a slow week in the poker world, and the last few days of January were (un)fortunately no exception. This time, the center of the storm was none other than WSOP bracelet winner and ACR Poker ambassador Nacho Barbero. Last Friday, his seemingly innocent Instagram story snowballed into a full-blown controversy, raising some big questions about real-time assistance (RTA) tools, online poker integrity, and the way poker platforms are taking on cheating allegations.

The Instagram Story That Sparked the Debate

The entire controversy began when Gilles “Ghilley” Simon, the inaugural EPT Cyprus Main Event winner, shared a screenshot from Barbero’s Instagram story.

As you might have noticed, the image showed Barbero playing multiple tables in ACR Poker’s flagship event, The Venom, with a GTO Wizard chart visible in the background. GTO Wizard is a well-known tool for game theory optimal strategies but more importantly, it’s considered an RTA tool when used during active play — something that’s strictly prohibited by ACR Poker’s terms of service.

Barbero was quick to respond, claiming the chart wasn’t being used to aid his play. Instead, he stated he was coaching others via a Discord call at the time. In a tweet, he doubled down on his defense, even offering 10-to-1 odds that he could prove he wasn’t using the tool for personal advantage.

The poker community, however, wasn’t buying it. Twitter user @jscamrks questioned, “Why leave space between windows to have GTO Wizard visible when you’re not using it?” Others, like @Lasken83, pointed out that even if Barbero wasn’t using the chart himself, it could still breach ACR’s terms if one of his horses was.

ACR Poker’s Response Adds Fuel to the Fire

While Barbero’s explanation drew some skepticism, ACR Poker’s response didn’t do much to de-escalate the situation, only adding more fuel to the fire. In a now-infamous tweet, ACR Poker stated:

It would be an understatement to say that the dismissive tone did not sit well with the poker community. Comments were swiftly disabled on the post, but that didn’t stop players from using the quote tweet function to voice their frustration. @AndreasFroehli didn’t mince words: “This is easily top5 of whats wrong with Poker in 2025.“

Reddit also chimed in, with threads on r/poker dissecting both Barbero’s defense and ACR’s lackluster PR strategy. One user remarked, “The issue isn’t just Barbero’s chart; it’s how ACR keeps fumbling every time they have to address cheating.“

Realizing the backlash wasn’t dying down, ACR Poker issued a follow-up statement: “We acknowledge that our initial response to the concerns surrounding Nacho Barbero’s play was in poor taste and did not convey the seriousness with which we take the situation. We sincerely apologize for this. We want to assure the poker community that we are conducting a thorough and objective investigation.“

So, What Does This Mean for Online Poker Integrity

While the incident originally began on Friday, it doesn’t look like it’s going to blow over any time soon. After all, this reignited the debate about the use of RTA tools in online poker and the responsibilities of platforms to uphold fair play. While Barbero’s intentions remain under scrutiny, the broader issue is how sites like ACR handle such allegations. It’s more that obvious what the poker community expects_ transparency and decisive action — two things ACR failed to deliver this time around.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this story as it potentially unfolds further.

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