Recently, the ITH family suffered a loss when two long-standing members announced their departures from the community after years of loyal service and devotion. On Friday, Sept. 1, BernardDogs posted a lengthy farewell piece outlining his imminent departure from the world of poker and ITH.com. One day later on Saturday, Sept. 2, robrobrob authored a similar post announcing a leave of absence from the community.

“This is a big loss for the ITH community and I want to thank them for everything they did to help build the community,” said ITH.com creator Matthew Hilger, following the announcements from BernardDogs and robrobrob. “At the same time, I’d like to wish them well in their future endeavors.”

Both ITHers cited unique, valid reasons for their respective departures from ITH.com. BernardDogs stated that a family history of compulsive behavior alerted him to a necessary hiatus from the poker world following a recent trip to Atlantic City. He said he plans to devote more time to his family, his business and his teaching career at a local community college in Vermont.

“I'm officially ending my career as a poker player and will channel that energy into endeavors I've been putting off for some time,” BernardDogs said in a statement to ITH.com last week. “I just haven't wanted to take on new hobbies or explore new interests much since budgeting my time to include poker.”

He will now have that time available to him. Aside from contributing countless posts since December of 2003 regarding poker discussion and strategy/hand examples, BernardDogs also is responsible for designing the ITH logo. He did not mince words regarding what the ITH community has meant to him over the years, and provided some parting advice for his colleagues.

“I've met so many great people [at ITH] willing to offer poker insight for the sake of collective improvement,” he said. “Most have done so with a true commitment to the site and have been willing to stay active in both poker and non-poker related threads.

“I guess I want to be remembered as a member who spoke his mind with a deliberate honesty. I tried to do this with an appropriate amount of humor as well. Most importantly, I hope that my most recent disclosures of coming to terms with my self-destructive side may serve as a warning flag to anyone who may be questioning similar trends for themselves. Poker is a great game and can generate a very nice bankroll when played well. This, however, should never come at the expense of personal health or family well-being.”

robrobrob, known to ITHers as the founding father of the legendary 53 off-suit hand, said he plans to devote more time to his true calling in life following his announcement that he will be leaving the poker world and ITH.com. Set to complete graduate school next year, he intends to pursue full-bore his aspirations of becoming a psychometrician.

“Much like Mike McDermott's defining moment in Rounders where he realizes he needs to be a poker player and not a lawyer, I realized I am a psychometrician and not a poker player,” said robrobrob in a statement to ITH last Saturday. “I am going to be spending the next nine months working on my dissertation, doing research, and getting the hell out of graduate school, and finding a job. I will not be playing much, if any, poker during that time. And since I won't be playing, I probably won't be coming around here much either.”

Hilger recognized robrobrob as “really the first loyal [ITH.com] member.” In late 2003, Hilger announced a $50 stake in his 2004 World Series of Poker for the ITHer who posted the most in a set timeframe. From that point on, robrobrob became a mainstay on the forums and a true ITH.com poster child.

“robrobrob posted like crazy and won the very first stake in my WSOP winnings [80K],” said Hilger. “He promoted ITH and brought many people to the site.”

robrobrob explained what it was that initially drew him to ITH.com three years ago.

“I was looking for a place to learn the game about the same time ITH was launched,” he said. “I liked the description of the book [Hilger’s “Internet Texas Hold‘em”], and bought it directly from the site. In those early days, Matthew answered every question personally and thoughtfully. It allowed me to learn to play winning poker during the time when the online games were probably at their softest. As a result, I have been able to survive on my initial $25 deposit, never depositing again.

“As the site grew, I actively attempted to foster the community spirit with LegalEagle. We were the first moderators, and we sponsored added prize tourneys out of our own pockets for the fun and sense of community…over time, as the site became even bigger, I was amazed that the sense of community remained in tact and continued to grow. It was pretty cool.”

Though he intends to put his nose to the grindstone over the next year to accomplish other goals in life, robrobrob said he does not foresee himself remaining a complete ghost to ITH.com in the future. He said there has been a lot of give and take between himself and ITH.com, and he will not soon forget the role the community has played in his life. How does he hope to be remembered?

“I am pretty psyched that I am the 53o guy, and I would like that myth to blossom,” said robrobrob. “I would hope that I would be remembered as someone who really just liked ITH, and sometimes said something worthwhile.

“I am sure I will be back. I can't imagine going to a new forum when I start playing again, and I certainly can't imagine quiting the game forever.”

But, for the time being, ITH bids farewell to a pair of its beloved members. The contributions of robrobrob and BernardDogs have left a lasting impression on ITH.com and will not soon be forgotten. The ITH family wishes them both the best as they head down different paths towards their respective futures.