Howard Lederer grew up in a family of 5 in which he liked taking part in different card games when he was young. He discovered himself becoming very aggressive in these card games as he was playing his dad. After finishing secondary school, Howard made a decision to put higher education on hold for a bit and headed to New York to compete in some big-time chess. While playing chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he played extensive hours and don’t win most times. He earned some extra cash by being an runner for the poker players. He believed he could improve his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to get more sleep and focus even more on poker.
The actual improvement in his abilities happened when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the best gamblers would frequently challenge each other. Howard was able to access several of the greatest players in chess. With their help, Howard would tweak his strategic thinking techniques. Howard applied these strategy ideas to the game of NL Texas Holdem.
Howard also helped his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of poker as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He told Annie to move out to Sin City and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the greatest female players the poker world has ever seen. Howard relocated to Vegas in Nineteen Ninety Three and competed in cash games for the successive decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to play more tournaments.