Howard Lederer lived in a family of five in which he loved playing various card games at a young age. He found himself getting really aggressive in these particular card games as he was playing his dad. After graduating from secondary school, Howard made a decision to place college on hold for a bit and moved 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 back of the room. Howard’s 1st 2 years were tough as he would play extensive hours and lose a majority of the time. He made some extra money by being an assistant for the poker players. He theorized he possibly could improve his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to acquire more sleep and focus even more on the game.
The real improvement in his game began when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the best gamblers would regularly compete against one another. He was able to access a few of the foremost minds in chess. With their help, Howard would hone his logical thinking skills. He used these strategy ideas in the game of NL hold’em.
Howard also helped his sibling Annie Duke master poker. She was a great student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard told Annie Duke to move out to Sin City and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. She is one of the strongest women players the poker world today. Howard moved to Sin City in 1993 and competed in cash games for the successive 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to compete in more tournaments.