Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 in which he enjoyed participating in various card games when he was young. He discovered himself becoming very competitive in these card games as he was competing against his father. After finishing Sr. High school, Howard decided to place higher education on hold for a bit and moved to New York to participate in some serious chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial 2 years were difficult as he played many hours and don’t win a majority of the time. He made some additional money by becoming an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He believed he might improve his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more sleep and focus attention more on poker.
The definite improvement in his skills began when he started wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the greatest players would regularly wager against each other. Howard had access into some of the best minds in chess. With their assistance, Howard Lederer would tweak his logical thinking skills. Howard applied these strategic ideas to the game of No-Limit texas hold’em.
Howard Lederer also assisted his sister Annie Duke learn the game of poker. She was an excellent student of the game as she would consistently be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. He told Annie Duke to head out to Las Vegas and play in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie is one of the greatest women players the poker arena ever. He relocated to Las Vegas in 1993 and played cash games for the subsequent 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to participate in more tournaments.