Townsend, who joined CardRunners in 2007, said in his blog on the site that he would still be using the site and participating in the forums, but that he will no longer be a member of the instruction staff.

Here’s part of what he wrote:

I have been considering leaving CardRunners for some time now. There is a lot that goes into being involved in the running of a small business while also playing poker full time and having a life outside of poker. It can be difficult to give enough time to everything. When I joined CardRunners back in 2007, I joined because I thought it was a great company and because I wanted to gain experience helping run my own small business. CardRunners is still a great business but it is one that is much more time consuming than I would have imagined. I value the friendships I have created here immensely, but over the previous months I have started to realize that it is time for me to move on and devote my time to playing poker.

The decision to step down from CardRunners comes at a time when Townsend is trying to dig himself out of a deep hole in cash games. He’s lost $2.5 million playing at Full Tilt’s high-stakes tables this year, and has been the biggest loser at the site for much of 2010.

Townsend also noted that two new training videos from him will be posted after his departure.

The move also means that Townsend will no longer be a “red pro” at Full Tilt Poker — CardRunners and FTP have been partners for some time. He will no longer play as “Brian Townsend,” and will return to his original screenname of “sbrugby.”

Townsend has been no stranger to controversy over the years. In December of last year, he had his “red pro” status suspended for sharing hand histories with fellow CR pro Brian Hastings. Sharing hand histories is a violation of Full Tilt’s terms of service. The hands shared involved mysterious Swedish player Isildur1, and came at about the time that Hastings won about $3 million from Isildur1 at the tables. In 2008, he had admitted to having more than one account on both Full Tilt and PokerStars.

While turnover in the industry is normal, it is the second major departure for CardRunners in recent months — Cole “cts” South left the training site in April. South cited reasons similar to Townsend — he said he needed more time to focus on his poker game.

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Townsend first started playing poker as a senior in college in $5 buy in games with his friends. He began playing online and in casinos shortly afterwards and was hooked. In the beginning, he played limit hold’em and built his bankroll to a few thousand dollars. In January 2006, two critical changes for his game occurred; Townsend discovered Cardrunners.com and changed his game to No Limit hold’em. This combination allowed him to continue to move up in limits and increase his knowledge of the game.

Despite the breakneck pace of his astronomical rise to the top, Townsend never deviated from a bankroll management strategy that required him to have at least 20 buy ins for the level he was playing at the time. If he dropped under his 20 buy in requirement, he also dropped levels until he had rebuilt his bankroll sufficiently. Townsend has also tried his hand at tournament poker and been successful in that arena as well, with over $200,000 in winnings to date.

Brian Townsend is now a co-owner and lead instructor for Cardrunners.com, where he frequently posts videos, joins in strategy discussions, and writes a daily blog. He can also be found playing as a “red pro” on Full Tilt Poker.

Learn from Brian at Cardrunners. You can get Cardrunners memberships for free – click here to learn more about Truly Free Poker Training.