José Ignacio Barbero, also known as Nacho Barbero, is an Argentine poker player. Barbero has one World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet to his name, plus more than $29.9 million in live poker tournament earnings.
Similar to Bryn Kenney, David Williams, and Justin Bonomo, Barbero was a top-tier Magic: The Gathering player before he turned his attention to poker. Barbero represented the Argentine national team and won the national championship.
Barbero was better known for grinding online poker cash games before switching to tournaments. According to The Hendon Mob Database, Barbero's first live tournament cash came in July 2005, an outright victory in a €500 buy-in event in Paris, which earned him €19,200. Two months later, Barbero finished second in a €540 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Barcelona festival, banking €27,200.
A deep run (89th place) in the 2008 WSOP Main Event saw Barbero receive a career-best $64,333. He smashed that sum in February 2010 when he won the $3,700 Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) event in Punta del Este, Uruguay, for $279,330. Barbero won his second LAPT Main Event in June 2010, taking down the Lima edition for $250,000. In October 2010, Barbero won the £20,000 High Roller at EPT London for £556,000.
His rise through the ranks did not go unnoticed, and he became a member of Team PokerStars. However, he left the company in July 2014.
Five-figure scores became the norm for Barbero, with a sprinkling of six-figure prizes, including a $208,4000 haul for a sixth-place finish in the $25,000 PokerStars Championship High Roller in The Bahamas in January 2017.
In July 2021, Barbero reached the final table of the $5,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Venetian Main Event but ultimately finished in eighth place, earning $115,685.
Barbero became a WSOP bracelet winner in the summer of 2022. He came out on top in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Super Turbo Bounty, earning $587,520. Fastforward to January 2023, and Barbero raked in his first seven-figure haul. He finished fourth in the $25,000 PokerStars Players Championship (PSPC) in The Bahamas for $1,551,300.
From March 2023, Barbero began playing Triton Poker Super High Roller Series events worldwide. He won a $15,000 buy-in event in Vietnam for $600,000 and finished second in a $25,000 buy-in event a few days later for another $460,000. Triton headed to London in August 2023, and Barbero banked the largest score of his career; he won $3,445,807 for a runner-up finish in the $200,000 NLHE 8-Handed event.
Three months later, Barbero finished second in a $100,000 NLHE 8-Handed Triton event in Monte Carlo for $2,190,000. Another seven-figure prize came his way in April 2024 after winning the €50,000 Super High Roller Second Chance at EPT Monte Carlo; he scooped €1,079,290.
In May 2025, Barbero netted $1,025,000 for a victory in a $30,000 NLHE 8-Handed event at Triton Montenegro before following that up with a $1,897,000 score at Triton Jeju.
Nacho Barbero's Top Five Live Poker Results
| Date | Event | Rank | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2023 | $200,000 Triton London | 2nd | $3,445,807 |
| Oct 2023 | $100,000 Triton Monte Carlo | 2nd | $2,190,000 |
| Sep 2025 | $100,000 Triton Jeju | 2nd | $1,897,000 |
| Jan 223 | $25,000 PSPC | 4th | $1,551,300 |
| Apr 2024 | €50,000 EPT Monte Carlo SHR | 1st | €1,079,290 |
Nacho Barbero Controversies
In April 2023, Barbero became part of the Team Pro roster at ACR, an unregulated online poker room. Almost two years later, eagle-eyed X users spotted what appeared to be a GTO Wizard chart on Barbero's screen while he was playing on ACR. using so-called Real-Time Assistance (RTA) is against the terms and conditions of every online poker room, including ACR.
Barbero claimed he only had GTO Wizard open because he was coaching other players on Discord, and that he didn't use it to help his own play in real time. His excuse didn't wash with the poker community.
ACR launched an internal investigation, which found no RTA use by Barbero. Subsequently, high-stakes pro Patrick Leonard studied 1,371 hands Barbero had played, and came to the same conclusion.
Three months later, Isaac Haxton asked Barbero if ACR was even trying to prevent cheating on the site, while the pair battled at the live tables. barbero replied, "I don't think they're even trying," much to the dismay of the ACR management. ACR released Barbero from his contract.
In August 2025, WPT Global signed Barberbo as a sponsored pro, with Barbero stating he is "good for the game."
