Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 where he loved taking part in various card games when he was young. He found himself getting really competitive in these card games while playing his father. After graduating from Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to put higher education on hold for a bit and moved to New York to participate in some serious chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial 2 years were rough as he would play extensive hours and do not win a majority of the time. He earned some additional money by being an assistant for the poker players. He believed he could better his game by balancing his life away from poker. He made an effort to get more rest and concentrate more on poker.
The actual improvement in his abilities began when he began gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the greatest players would regularly challenge one another. He had access into several of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would sharpen his logical thinking skills. Howard applied these strategy concepts to the game of NL texas hold’em.
Howard also assisted his sibling Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of poker as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the correct decision. Howard Lederer told Annie Duke to move out to Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie is one of the greatest female players the poker arena ever. Howard Lederer moved to Las Vegas in 1993 and participated in cash games for the successive 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to play more tournaments.