Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 where he loved betting on numerous card games when he was young. He found himself getting very aggressive in the above-mentioned card games while competing against his dad. After finishing high school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little while and relocated to New York City to participate in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s 1st two years were rough as he would play countless hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some extra cash by being an assistant for the poker players. He believed he could better his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to get more rest and focus attention more on the game.
The definite improvement in his skills happened when he started wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the the most favorable players would frequently play against each other. Howard was able to access a few of the best players in chess. With their assistance, Howard Lederer would hone his strategic thinking skills. Howard applied these strategic ideas to the game of NL holdem.
Howard also helped his sibling Annie Duke master the game of poker. She was a great student of the game as she constantly asked questions about how to make the correct decision. Howard told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the strongest female players the poker world ever. Howard Lederer moved to Sin City in 1993 and played money games for the subsequent 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament gained popularity, Howard made the decision to play more tournaments.