Jose Ignacio Barbero

Nicknamed ‘Nacho’, Jose Ignacio Barbero is one of the best poker players in Argentina with a string of top tournament results from around the world. Before taking up poker he was no stranger to high level competition, having represented the Argentinean national team in Magic: The Gathering tournaments. It was at those events he was exposed to Texas Hold’em, and after a big Magic win he was able to set himself up online, and started clocking the hours required to begin a professional poker career.

Jose plays the global live circuit. His early successes came in Europe, in the card rooms of Paris and Barcelona, before winning money in Las Vegas and going on to carve out results in his home region on the Latin American Poker Tour. He’s a side event specialist, with a second place at the Season 1 LAPT Punta del Este Second Chance event, and a tournament win at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, when he took down the $925 No Limit Hold’em for $73,183. He went one better during Season 2 of the LAPT, when he final tabled the Main Event of LAPT Mar del Plata, finishing in ninth spot scooping $28,220. He also has two cashes at the biggest live poker tournament in the world, the World Series of Poker* $10,000 Main Event, the second of which in 2008 was a top 100 finish – 89th for $64,333. In total he has six World Series cashes, including a final table appearance in 2009, a strong record for a player that hasn’t been playing on the big stage for long.

Joining the PokerStars pro player roster has been a great honor for Jose. He’s a regular on the LAPT and as a proud Argentinean he loves representing his country at those events, and he hopes to take down a LAPT title in the near future. He is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and plays under the screen name ‘nachobarbero’.