ACR Pro Nacho Barbero Faces RTA Controversy

Barbero’s Defense: Coaching, Not Cheating

Upon being confronted with the evidence, Barbero quickly responded, stating that he was coaching his horses (backed players) via Discord at the time and had the GTO Wizard open for instructional purposes rather than for personal use during play. He further claimed that he rarely plays online tournaments—less than four per year—which, while slightly inaccurate, is supported by his Sharkscope data showing minimal online MTT participation.

Many of his supporters, including fellow high-stakes players, backed his claims, emphasizing that Barbero’s playstyle does not align with strict GTO strategy. Additionally, Barbero voluntarily submitted his hand histories and GTO Wizard activity for review, lending credibility to his defense.

ACR’s Initial Response and Public Outrage

Despite Barbero’s explanation, the poker community was quick to scrutinize ACR Poker’s response. Initially, ACR dismissed the concerns with a tweet stating, “Nacho 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.”

This casual and dismissive response—especially from an operator already facing past allegations of bot use and collusion—only fueled the controversy. Adding to the backlash, ACR locked comments on the post, preventing open discussion. The poker community responded with a wave of criticism, highlighting the lack of professionalism in handling such a serious issue.

ACR Backtracks, Conducts Official Investigation

“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. We understand that independent parties are conducting their own reviews, and we are confident that they will come to the same conclusion.”

Barbero Responds: Forfeits Venom Stacks

After ACR’s findings, Barbero released his own statement, expressing relief that the investigation confirmed his version of events. However, acknowledging the controversy, he decided to forfeit his remaining stacks in the Venom tournament.

“I am very happy that the ACR investigation verifies what I have said previously: I did not cheat, and I have never cheated. I love this game too much to ever do anything that would compromise my integrity or my reputation. I know that Patrick Leonard is reviewing the situation, and I’m sure he will find the same thing.”

Despite clearing his name, Barbero admitted that he should have been more aware of how his actions could be perceived, especially as a brand ambassador.

Patrick Leonard’s Independent Review

High-stakes pro Patrick Leonard conducted an independent analysis of Barbero’s hand histories. His findings aligned with ACR’s, indicating that Barbero’s play did not reflect GTO Wizard’s optimal recommendations. In multiple close spots, Barbero either used incorrect sizings or made decisions inconsistent with solver outputs. Leonard concluded:

“Nacho was in no way using GTO Wizard to cheat preflop or post-flop. In almost every close spot he used either a different sizing to what GTO Wizard would use or a different hand selection. Post-flop he had completely different ideas of what GTO Wizard would do.”

Leonard further emphasized that while Barbero’s actions were likely innocent, they still posed a risk to game integrity. He suggested that GTO Wizard and similar tools implement a delay to prevent potential RTA abuse.

Final Thoughts: A Lesson in Transparency

While ACR Poker managed to salvage the situation with a proper investigation, their initial misstep in handling the allegations exposed a deeper issue within unregulated online poker. The backlash serves as a reminder that operators must take cheating allegations seriously from the outset to maintain player trust. Meanwhile, Barbero walks away with his reputation intact but with a valuable lesson learned.