What Is RTA in Poker and Why It's Banned
RTA is real-time assistance — using software to make in-game decisions. What counts as RTA, why it's banned everywhere, and where the line sits.
On this page · 6 sections
RTA means real-time assistance — using software, a program, or outside help to make decisions during a hand you’re actively playing for money. It’s banned by every legitimate poker room on earth, because it turns a game of skill into a game of who has the better computer. The same solver that makes you a better player when you study it is cheating the instant you consult it mid-hand.
What actually counts as RTA
RTA is defined by when you use a tool, not which tool it is. The exact same solver output is legitimate study material on Monday and a bannable offense on Tuesday if you open it while a hand is running for real money.
The category covers anything that feeds you an answer in real time:
- Solvers consulted mid-hand — the classic case, plugging your spot into a GTO solver while the action is on you.
- Real-time bots or “assistants” that read the table and suggest actions.
- Live charts or files consulted during a hand, where the site prohibits it.
- A coach or friend telling you what to do while you’re in the pot.
- Any HUD or overlay that outputs strategy advice rather than just displaying opponent stats.
The unifying idea: if a source outside your own brain is shaping the decision as you make it for money, it’s real-time assistance.
Why it’s universally banned
Poker’s entire economy rests on the assumption that everyone is making their own decisions. RTA breaks that in three ways at once:
| Problem | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Unfair edge | A near-perfect strategy on demand beats any unaided human over time |
| Undetectable to opponents | Victims can’t see they’re up against a machine, so the game looks fair |
| Erodes trust | If RTA is tolerated, honest players leave and the ecosystem collapses |
Because the harm is structural, rooms don’t treat RTA as a minor infraction. Confirmed use typically means a permanent ban, seizure of the account balance, and often redistribution of confiscated funds to the players who were cheated.
The gray areas
Most of RTA is black and white, but a few spots genuinely aren’t, and they trip up honest players:
- Memorized charts. Playing from a range chart you studied and internalized is just knowing strategy — that’s fine. The gray zone is glancing at a printed or on-screen chart during a hand. Some rooms tolerate static charts; many ban consulting any file mid-hand. Read your site’s rules.
- HUDs. A HUD that displays opponent frequencies is allowed on most sites, because it reports observed data rather than prescribing a play. A HUD that outputs “raise here” crosses into RTA.
- Note-taking. Reading your own notes on an opponent is universally fine. It’s information you gathered, not a strategy engine.
The safe default when a rule is ambiguous: assume the stricter interpretation and keep every decision tool off the table during real-money play.
A worked example: same tool, two worlds
Picture a tough river spot — you’re facing a big bet and unsure whether to call.
- Legitimate (study): After the session ends, you save the hand, open a solver, and work out that this is a pure call. Next time a similar spot comes up, you play it correctly from memory. This is exactly how you’re meant to use a solver, and it makes you stronger.
- RTA (cheating): While the action is on you and the clock is ticking, you tab over to the solver, input the spot, and copy its answer. Identical software, identical output — but now you’ve cheated everyone at the table.
The only difference is timing, and that difference is everything. One builds a skill you carry; the other rents an answer you didn’t earn.
How sites catch it
Detection has grown far more sophisticated than most cheaters assume:
- Timing analysis. Consistent, unusual pauses that match “input the spot, read the output” patterns get flagged.
- Decision-pattern detection. Play that’s too accurate — matching optimal strategy at a rate no human sustains — stands out statistically over a large sample.
- Software monitoring. Clients can detect known assistance programs running on the same machine.
- Player reports and manual review. Security teams investigate flagged accounts hand by hand, and suspicious patterns often surface through opponents’ complaints.
No single signal is proof, but combined they build cases that hold up, which is why RTA bans are usually final.
The bottom line
RTA is using any outside tool or help to decide a hand while you’re playing it for money, and it’s banned everywhere because it quietly breaks the fairness the whole game depends on. Study solvers and charts all you want between sessions — that’s how you actually improve — but play every real-money decision from your own head. Learn the right way to use these tools in how to use a poker solver, understand the engine itself in what a GTO solver is, and see the full legitimate toolkit in the tools & software hub. For the wider rules of online play, start at the online poker hub.
Frequently asked
What does RTA mean in poker?
RTA stands for real-time assistance — using any software, chart, or outside help to make decisions during a live hand. Consulting a solver, a strategy program, or even an unauthorized chart mid-hand for money all counts as RTA and is banned by every major poker room.
Is using a solver cheating in poker?
Using a solver to study away from the table is fully allowed and encouraged. Using one during a hand you're playing for money is RTA — that's cheating, and it will get your account seized and funds confiscated on any regulated site.
Are preflop charts considered RTA?
It depends on the site's rules. Most rooms treat glancing at a static, memorized chart as a gray area, but many explicitly ban consulting any chart or file during real-money play. When in doubt, study charts off the table and play from memory.
How do poker sites detect RTA?
Sites use timing analysis, decision-pattern detection that flags superhuman accuracy, and monitoring for known assistance software running alongside the client. Security teams also act on player reports and review flagged accounts by hand.