Howard Lederer lived in a family of five where he enjoyed playing different card games at a young age. He discovered himself getting very aggressive in these card games as he was playing his dad. After finishing secondary school, Howard decided to place higher education on hold for a little while and headed to New York to participate in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the rear of the room. Howard’s initial two years were difficult as he would play countless hours and lose a majority of the time. He earned some extra cash by being an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He believed he possibly could improve his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to acquire more rest and focus attention more on the game.
The real improvement in his skills began when he began 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 challenge each other. Howard had access into a few of the greatest minds in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his strategic thinking abilities. He used these strategy ideas in the game of NL Texas Holdem.
Howard Lederer also assisted his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard Lederer told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the strongest women players the poker arena ever. Howard Lederer moved to Vegas in 1993 and played money games for the following decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard decided to participate in more tournaments.