Howard Lederer grew up in a family of 5 where he enjoyed participating in various card games at a young age. He found himself becoming very competitive in these particular card games while playing his father. After finishing secondary school, Howard decided to place college on hold for a little bit and moved to New York City to compete in some big-time chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were difficult as he would play extensive hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some extra cash by becoming an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He judged he possibly could improve his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to get more sleep and focus more on the game.
The real improvement in his game happened when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the best players would regularly wager against each other. Howard had access into a number of the foremost players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would sharpen his strategic thinking skills. He applied these strategy ideas to the game of NL holdem.
He also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn the game of poker. Annie Duke was a great student of the game as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the proper choice. Howard Lederer told Annie to head out to Sin City and play in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the strongest women players the poker world has ever seen. He headed to Las Vegas in 1993 and played cash games for the successive decade. When the WPT gained popularity, he decided to play more tournaments.