Jose Ignacio Barbero

Like scores of other poker players, Argentina’s Jose Ignacio Barbero started out playing the strategy game Magic: The Gathering. He competed in tournaments for his national team, and it was while at one of these events that he was introduced to Texas Hold’em and the glamourous lifestyle that he would soon be living.

His first successes on the poker circuit were a string of modest but steady cashes at events across Europe, especially in Paris and Barcelona. He made his first trip to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker* in 2006 and cashed in two events. He returned the following two years and cashed three more times for a combined total of $95,718, including a top-100 finish in the same Main Event that saw fellow Team Pro Peter Eastgate win the title. Jose has also scored big in events on the PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). He came second in a side event at the Punta del Este leg of Season 1 for $30,000, followed by a final table appearance in the Main Event at the Mar del Plata stop in Season 2, worth another $28,220. But the biggest cash of his career so far came when he won the $925 side event at the 2009 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) for a cool $73,183. Later in the same year Jose also made his first WSOP* final table, finishing eighth in a $1,500 Limit Hold’em Shootout event for $13,655. He then became only the second Latin American player to win an LAPT title, when he took down the Season 3 event in Punta del Este. First place paid out $279,330, and the win cemented his reputation as one of the top players in the region.

Jose is proud to be representing his country for PokerStars, and is keen on winning his first LAPT title in the near future. He plays online at PokerStars using the screen name ‘nachobarbero’.

Career Highlights