Howard Lederer lived in a family of 5 in which he liked taking part in various card games when he was young. He discovered himself becoming very competitive in these card games while competing against his father. After finishing Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a bit and headed to New York to participate in some big-time chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s initial 2 years were rough as he would play countless hours and don’t win a majority of the time. He made some additional money by being an assistant for the poker players. He believed he could improve his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more sleep and concentrate even more on the game.
The actual advancement in his abilities began when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable gamblers would regularly challenge each other. He was able to access some of the foremost minds in chess. With their assistance, he would sharpen his cunning thinking abilities. Howard applied these strategy concepts to the game of NL holdem.
He also assisted his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie was a great student of the game as she would always be asking questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He told Annie Duke to move out to Las Vegas and play in the WSOP tournaments. She is one of the strongest women players the poker arena ever. Howard relocated to Sin City in Nineteen Ninety Three and competed in cash games for the successive 10 years. When the WPT gained popularity, Howard made the decision to compete in more tournaments.