Howard Lederer grew up in a family of five in which he loved gambling on various card games at a young age. He found himself getting very competitive in these card games while competing against his dad. After graduating from Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to place higher education on hold for a bit and moved away to New York to play some big-time chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s 1st two years were difficult as he played many hours and don’t win a majority of the time. He earned some additional cash by being an assistant for the poker players. He theorized he possibly could better his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to acquire more sleep and focus even more on the game.
The actual improvement in his abilities happened when he started playing at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the greatest gamblers would often challenge one another. He was able to access a number of the greatest players in chess. With their help, Howard would hone his logical thinking skills. He applied these strategy concepts to the game of No-Limit Texas Holdem.
Howard also assisted his sister Annie Duke master poker. Annie was a great student of the game as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. He told Annie Duke to move out to Las Vegas and play in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie is one of the strongest female players the poker arena has ever seen. Howard headed to Sin City in 1993 and competed in money games for the following decade. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard decided to participate in more tournaments.
