Howard Lederer grew up in a family of 5 in which he liked gambling on various card games when he was young. He found himself becoming very aggressive in these particular card games while competing against his father. After graduating from high school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little bit and moved to New York City to play some serious chess. While competing in chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s 1st 2 years were rough as he played countless hours and fail to win a majority of the time. He made some additional cash by being an runner 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 even more on poker.
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 greatest gamblers would frequently compete against one another. Howard was able to access several of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard Lederer would hone his logical thinking skills. He used these strategy ideas in the game of No-Limit hold’em.
He also assisted his sibling Annie Duke learn the game of poker. She was an excellent student of the game as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the proper decision. Howard told Annie Duke to move out to Vegas and play in the World Series of Poker tournaments. She is one of the greatest women players the poker world ever. Howard Lederer relocated to Las Vegas in 1993 and competed in cash games for the following 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, he made the decision to participate in more tournaments.