Howard Lederer lived in a family of 5 in which he enjoyed participating in numerous card games at a young age. He found himself becoming very aggressive in these card games as he was playing his father. After graduating from high school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a bit and moved to New York to compete in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were difficult as he played many hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some additional cash by being an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He theorized he possibly could improve his game by analyzing his life away from poker. He brought about an attempt to acquire more rest and focus attention more on poker.
The real improvement in his skills happened when he began playing at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable players would frequently challenge each other. He was able to access several of the best minds in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his logical thinking abilities. Howard used these strategy ideas in the game of No-Limit texas hold’em.
Howard also helped his sister Annie Duke master poker. Annie was a great student of the game as she constantly asked questions about how to make the correct decision. Howard told Annie Duke to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. She is one of the greatest women players the poker world has ever seen. He headed to Sin City in 1993 and played money games for the following decade. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard decided to compete in more tournaments.