Howard Lederer grew up in a family of five in which he loved gambling on various card games at a young age. He discovered himself getting really aggressive in these particular card games while playing his father. After graduating from high school, Howard decided to place college on hold for a little while and moved away to New York to compete in some serious chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s first two years were tough as he would play many hours and lost a majority of the time. He made some extra cash by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He believed he possibly could boost his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an attempt to get more rest and concentrate more on the game.
The real advancement in his skills began when he began playing at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable gamblers would frequently compete against one another. He had access into a few of the best minds in chess. With their help, Howard would tweak his cunning thinking techniques. He used these strategy concepts in the game of No-Limit holdem.
Howard also assisted his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. She was a great student of poker as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He told Annie Duke to head out to Vegas and play in the WSOP tournaments. Annie is one of the best women players the poker arena ever. Howard headed to Vegas in 1993 and competed in cash games for the following decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, he made the decision to compete in more tournaments.