ACR Poker has posted the results of its investigation into ambassador Nacho Barbero after he came under fire for potential RTA infractions.
Barbero posted an image on his Instagram account that showed him playing the site's flagship Venom tournament, with GTO Wizard open in the background.
Barbero admitted to using GTO Wizard – a tool that can help you make optimal decisions in real-time – but denied using it as RTA. Instead, he said he was using it to coach other players on a Discord call.
The ACR investigation has backed this up. A statement from ACR reads: "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."
You can read its full statement in the X post below.
Barbero forfeits Venom stacks
Following this post, Barbero posted his own statement. He said, "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.
"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. 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."
His full statement is in the X post below.
As Barbero referenced, Patrick Leonard is conducting his own investigation and has published the first results on X which, so far, say the same as ACR.
Quick move after backlash but is it enough?
It's a better response from ACR Poker after it initially tried to brush off the allegations on X.
This ill-advised post, with comments turned off, received a huge backlash from the poker community (check the quote tweets) and ACR moved quickly to diffuse the situation with a second post promising an investigation.
ACR Poker will now hope that this is enough to draw a line under the issue, although some people were looking for sanctions against Barbero.
As high-stakes player Sam Greenwood pointed out, Barbero did break the rules, even if what he did wasn't the most serious of infractions.
Details of what tools and software are prohibited are covered on the ACR Poker website.
Meanwhile, players like Patrick Leonard have called for the owners of GTO Wizard and other similar software to add a delay so that the tools can't be used in real-time.
Barbero is a hugely successful high-stakes pro who has live career earnings of $21,670,348.
