ACR Poker Rolls Out ScreenShield on WPN After Remote-Access Concerns
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, the Winning Poker Network contacted a group of players who met its detection criteria for software with remote-access or screen-control capabilities. For those accounts, the network quietly switched on a new protection called ScreenShield, according to Card Player. The move came as a precaution before the underlying issue was demonstrated publicly, and WPN has since activated the feature more broadly for ACR Poker players.
ScreenShield is designed to keep protected WPN table content visible on a player’s own monitor while blocking it from the external screen-capture and screen-sharing methods the feature covers. That includes information shown at the table, such as a player’s hole cards. Play on the local screen is unchanged. WPN CEO Phil Nagy framed the tool as a partial measure rather than a cure-all.
“It’s another layer of protection, not a magic button.”
WPN’s Sept. 29 Contact and the Game Integrity Review
Being contacted does not mean a player cheated. Card Player notes that WPN’s outreach should not be read as a finding that every flagged device was compromised or that every flagged player broke the rules. Remote-access tools have routine uses, from work presentations and collaboration to connecting to another computer or receiving IT support. Nagy told the outlet that simply having such software installed does not, on its own, indicate cheating or a hacked machine.
WPN said its review found no compromise of its own systems, its poker software or its official downloads. The network’s Game Integrity team is investigating relevant player and account activity separately from the ScreenShield rollout. If wrongdoing and harm to WPN players are established, the network says compensation will be determined based on the findings.
Why ScreenShield Is Not On by Default
The capture functions ScreenShield blocks are the same ones streamers, content creators and players reviewing sessions with coaches depend on. Turning the protection on for every account would break those workflows. WPN has opted instead for regular scans and more proactive activation whenever its detection criteria are met.
Players do not need to be selected to get it. Any WPN player can request ScreenShield through Support, and the network asks for up to 48 hours for activation. Those who legitimately need streaming, recording or screen-sharing can have Support review their account settings. A toggle that would let players switch ScreenShield on or off directly inside the client is in development. It is not yet available.
GTO Wizard Cross-Checks and Final-Table Analysis
ScreenShield sits alongside an existing arrangement between ACR Poker and GTO Wizard. The two companies already cross-check whether situations played on ACR were solved in GTO Wizard, a process aimed at catching prohibited solver use during play. GTO Wizard’s new preflop ICM solver handles tournament spots with customized payout structures, and its public Fair Play Check now includes those solutions along with data on when they were generated.
The partners are also working toward broader final-table analysis. Card Player is careful on this point: the stated goal is to cover every ACR final table, but the material does not say that full coverage is in place today. For now, ScreenShield remains available on request, with activation inside 48 hours.