Ebony Kenney admits to use RTA, but says she didn't use it during the game

First we had the scandal surrounding Nacho Barbero, who posted a video on Instagram in which an open GTO Wizard can clearly be seen during an online game. A few weeks later, there's another ACR gaming ambassador, namely Ebony Kenney, who is currently in the poker community's crosshairs for the exact same offense. Using, or even just opening, such software during a game is against the rules of this and many other poker rooms.

Ebony was still playing an online Venom tournament during January 2024 and made sure to brag about it on her Instagram profile. There, she shared a video in which an open solver could clearly be seen during gameplay. This was noticed by user Eric James, nicknamed "nemoplayspoker", who alerted the player herself of using the illegal RTA software. The latter should have responded by blocking his profile. Subsequently, he also alerted the gaming room concerned, which did not react.

News in the case

Eric saved the video originally shared by Ebony Kenney and has now posted it following the Nacho Barber scandal. The poker community has once again endured a wave of criticism on the poker room itself, and on Ebony as well.

After much interest from both the media and the poker public, Ebony herself has now weighed in on the case, giving an official statement, "I want to address the screenshot recording in question. This clip was posted by me more than a year ago, which was also viral during that time. After losing a big hand, I opened GTO Wizard to run the spot during a hand I did not play. Let me be absolutely clear: I have not, and have never, used RTA software in real time to gain an unfair advantage while playing.

While I do use GTO Wizard, it's rare because I don't study nearly as much as I'd like to. When I do use it, it's strictly to review past hands or run drills – never during play. I fully understand how this looks and the weight of my actions, not just as a poker player but as an ambassador for the game. I take full responsibility. I love poker with my whole heart and stand firm in doing my part to uphold the integrity of the game.

Additionally, I know there's been speculation surrounding my recent Venom run and bounty pull. I'm more than willing to share my hand histories with anyone who wants to review them. I stand by my play and guarantee you'll find no evidence of RTA use. I continue to strive for transparency and to ensure that we all continue to love and respect this game."

Following her statement, the online gaming site itself also provided a public statement, "We are aware of a recently resurfaced screenshot showing ACR Poker Pro, Ebony Kenney, with GTO Wizard open while playing The Venom tournament in January 2024. This image first circulated on social media at that time and there was no evidence that the software was used in real-time to gain an unfair advantage.

Following the recent concerns, we re-reviewed the facts and reached the same conclusion. We want to assure players that we take all concerns about game integrity seriously. ACR Poker remains commited to maintaining a fair and competitive environment for all players. We continuously implement and refine security measures to uphold the highest standards of integrity in online poker."
 

Patrick Leonard also weighed in on the topic again
 

Back when the Nacho Barbero allegations were made, Patrick Leonard also got involved in the topic and reviewed Nacho's hands played at the time and compared them to GTO Wizard. He reportedly found that Nacho did not use the solver in the game. He also weighed in on the topic now with Ebony Kenney's accusations and asked the following questions of the game room after the announcement:

1 - Is checking hands in GTOW after a hand is finished ok?
2 - Are pre flop charts allowed?
3 - Do you have anything in place to stop either of the above if they are against ToS?
4 - What is the punishment if found guilty of either of the above?
5 - Are GTOw a partner of ACR
6 - If 5 is yes, do you consider them to be an undetectable and destructive threat to your site?

What does the poker community have to say about this?
 

There has been a huge wave of criticism under the statements from ACR, Ebony Kenney and Leonard. Commenters didn't believe Ebony was taking responsibility at all, pointing out that she certainly wasn't using GTO Wizard for the first time, she was just caught doing it for the first time now. Commenters also didn't like the comments made by the game company, which, according to them, once again investigated itself, and once again found nothing. Comments also pointed out that just opening an RTA during a game is a violation of the rules, and any other player would have been banned immediately for it, but no action was taken against the game room ambassadors. Will such actions by players and the subsequent inaction of the poker rooms kill the whole of online poker? What do you think?

Source - Twitter/X, Pokernews, Tomas Stacha