ACR Poker has cut ties with ambassador Nacho Barbero after the Argentinian pro made disparaging remarks about the site’s security protocols.
During a US Poker Open livestream last week, Barbero said he didn’t believe ACR was even trying to combat players using real-time assistance tools.
In a statement posted on X on Monday afternoon, Phil Nagy, ACR Poker’s CEO, wrote, “We hold our team members to the highest standards of integrity and commitment. Recent comments by team pro Nacho Barbero regarding the use of GTO Wizard have raised serious concerns about his understanding of our security measures and his role as an ambassador…
“We never censor our pros or tell them what to say, but we do expect them to speak truthfully and be well-informed about our security efforts so they can represent us — and the facts — accurately. The nature of these comments reflects a fundamental misalignment with our values. As a result, we have decided to part ways with Nacho.”
You can read the full statement on ACR Poker's X account.
Barbero digs hole for himself
The original story dates back to the end of January, when Barbero posted an image of himself on Instagram playing the site’s flagship Venom tournament with GTO Wizard open in the background. GTO Wizard can provide real-time assistance to help players make optimal decisions while they’re playing. Although an investigation by both ACR Poker and GTO Wizard cleared Barbero of using the software to cheat, he agreed to forfeit his Day 2 stacks in both Venom tournaments.
Many players felt the punishment was too lenient — a sentiment openly shared by fellow ACR ambassador Chris Moneymaker. Talking on PokerOrg’s The Interview, Moneymaker said that he’d asked Nagy how a ‘normal’ player would have been treated in the same situation.
“Well, basically, not to get too in-depth on how our security protocols work, but they'll go through, and they'll look at the account,” Moneymaker said. “And if the account hasn't used RTA, they'll get a warning. And after the warning is issued, if it's found to happen again, then they would get banned.
"Now, I'm under the impression that, as an ambassador, we should be held to a higher standard… If I owned ACR, I would probably get rid of both of them if I'm being real with myself… You're probably not cheating. You're probably just an idiot, which, honestly, I really don't want idiots working for me either.”
Barbero doubles down on mistake
Fast forward to last week and Barbero did his best to prove Moneymaker’s view of him. Playing in the US Poker Open at the PokerGO Studio, Barbero delivered his opinion both on what happened and on ACR Poker’s commitment to security.
“This thing about GTO Wizard, bro," Barbero said. "I should have never posted it. How they gonna know? I should never have posted it online.”
Ike Haxton responded to him, saying, “I’m surprised ACR didn’t just catch it automatically, to be honest."
Barbero laughed at this and said, "I use it [inaudible]."
Haxton continued, saying, "You can just have GTO Wizard open on your computer while you’re playing and ACR doesn’t even know? Are they even trying?”
To which Barbero laughed and replied, “I don’t think they’re trying.”
You can watch the clip below.
‘It's really hard to get fired from ACR’
Immediately following this incident, ACR Poker issued a statement that read, “We take our game integrity and our responsibility to ensure a fair and competitive environment for all players seriously. We expect the same from the ambassadors who represent our brand. That expectation has been tested a lot this year and in light of recent comments made by ACR ambassador Nacho Barbero on a live poker stream — comments which misrepresented our stance on third-party software and game integrity — we have already reached out to Nacho to discuss this event and consider his future with ACR Poker."
Less than a week later, ACR Poker has considered Barbero’s future and acted decisively.
Talking on The Interview, Moneymaker also said of ACR Poker: “Phil [Nagy] hates firing people… When he fires somebody, he gets really sick. It really hurts him. So, we always joke, it's really hard to get fired from ACR. Like, you really got to screw up.”
Barbero may have just shown the world exactly where that line is.
Additional image courtesy of Triton Poker
