Online poker site WPT Global announced that Irish poker streamer Alan Finn has been banned for breaking their terms of service while streaming on the site.
Finn, who streams on Twitch and Kick as “AlanFPoker,” appeared to have Excel sheets visible on screen while streaming. One of them appeared to have a matrix dictating his hand selection for preflop play. In fact, one of the sheets was titled “WPT Range.”
In the site’s opinion, preflop charts were equivalent to the use of real-time assistance. Considering recent issues in online poker involving RTA use, the site announced the ban quickly on Thursday.
“We don’t tolerate RTA,” WPT Global noted on Twitter. “AlanFPoker has been banned with immediate effect. Let’s keep the game alive, please guys.”
Latest RTA-Related Ban
Finn has yet to comment on the move and has deleted the video of the stream.
Poker pro Patrick Leonard was the first to share screenshots of the potential RTA usage, but later removed that once the site officially banned him.
“I deleted the Tweet, no need to destroy him publicly,” he noted. “_WPT Global_ banned him within 30 minutes, so good job to them. Hopefully he learns from it.”
Leonard later added: “I just had an anxious feeling I was putting this guy out to 100k+ views. His punishment of being banned should probably be enough. Not sure why I felt bad for him really.”
Mixed Reactions
Most online poker sites, including WPT Global, prohibit players from using RTA. Many on social media chimed in on the issue claiming the ban was justified. However, others felt having Excel sheets easily available on screen was different than using traditional RTA.
“Why is there no need to shame him publicly?” one Twitter user said. “These guys need to know there will be repercussions and shaming from trying to cheat people out of their money.”
Others questioned whether the incident equated to unethical play as the sheets weren’t an app offering solver-like real-time assistance.
One user noted: “Having Excel sheets open is not true RTA – that would be, e.g. ACR letting Nacho get away with looking at specific spots on GTO Wizard. Although Alan’s situation is not great, it is worthy of a warning, and not an outright ban.”
Those opinions have some merit. When Doug Polk and Daniel Negreanu were negotiating terms for their high-stakes heads-up grudge match in 2020, the two agreed preflop charts were acceptable to use during play.
But the ban comes shortly after there were several RTA controversies on the virtual felt.
ACR Poker recently severed ties with former ambassador Jose “Nacho” Barbero. He posted a picture of his online poker grind and GTO Wizard was open in the background.
Then, he was overheard on a livestream saying the site “wasn’t trying” to stop cheating, at which point the company parted ways. He later apologized for the incident and defended himself against cheating accusations.
