Howard Lederer lived in a family of five in which he liked participating in numerous card games at a young age. He discovered himself becoming very aggressive in these particular card games while competing against his father. After finishing secondary school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a little while and headed to New York to compete in some big-time chess. While competing in chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the rear of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he played many hours and don’t win a majority of the time. He earned some extra cash by being an runner for the poker players. He judged he possibly could better his game by balancing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to acquire more sleep and focus even more on poker.
The real advancement in his abilities happened when he started playing at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best gamblers would regularly play against one another. He had access into several of the greatest minds in chess. With their help, he would hone his logical thinking abilities. Howard used these strategy ideas in the game of No-Limit hold’em.
He also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn the game of poker. She was an excellent student of the game as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the proper decision. He told Annie to head out to Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the greatest women players the poker arena today. Howard Lederer moved to Sin City in 1993 and played cash games for the subsequent decade. When the WPT gained popularity, he decided to play more tournaments.
