Howard Lederer grew up in a family of five where he enjoyed participating in numerous card games at a young age. He discovered himself getting really competitive in these card games as he was competing against his father. After finishing secondary school, Howard made a decision to place higher education on hold for a little while and relocated to New York to compete in some formidable chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were difficult as he played many hours and don’t win a majority of the time. He earned some extra cash by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He judged he possibly could better his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more sleep and focus attention more on poker.
The real advancement in his skills began when he began wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable players would regularly play against one another. He was able to access several of the best players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his cunning thinking skills. He applied these strategy concepts to the game of NL holdem.
Howard also assisted his sibling 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. Howard told Annie Duke to move out to Sin City and compete in the WSOP tournaments. Annie is one of the strongest female players the poker world has ever seen. Howard headed to Las Vegas in Nineteen Ninety Three and participated in cash games for the subsequent 10 years. When the WPT gained popularity, he made the decision to play more tournaments.