Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five in which he enjoyed playing various card games at a young age. He found himself getting very aggressive in these card games as he was competing against his father. After graduating from secondary school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a little while and headed to New York to compete in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were tough as he would play extensive hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some extra cash by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He judged he possibly could better his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more rest and focus attention more on poker.
The actual improvement in his skills began when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best gamblers would often compete against each other. Howard had access into several of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his strategic thinking techniques. Howard used these strategy concepts in the game of NL Texas Holdem.
Howard Lederer also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of the game as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the proper choice. He told Annie to head out to Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. She is one of the best women players the poker arena ever. He relocated to Sin City in 1993 and participated in money games for the subsequent decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to play more tournaments.
