Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five where he loved playing various card games when he was young. He found himself becoming very competitive in these card games as he was playing his dad. After graduating from Sr. High school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a bit and headed to New York to compete in some formidable chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were tough as he played many hours and lose most times. He earned some extra money by being an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He believed he might better his game by balancing his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more sleep and focus attention more on poker.
The definite advancement in his game happened when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the best gamblers would regularly play against one another. He had access into some of the best minds in chess. With their assistance, he would tweak his strategic thinking abilities. He applied these strategic concepts to the game of NL Texas Holdem.
Howard Lederer also assisted his sibling Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of poker as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and play in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the greatest women players the poker world today. Howard Lederer headed to Sin City in 1993 and participated in cash games for the following 10 years. When the WPT gained popularity, Howard decided to participate in more tournaments.
