Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five in which he enjoyed gambling on various card games when he was young. He found himself getting very aggressive in the above-mentioned card games while playing his dad. After graduating from high school, Howard made a decision to place higher education on hold for a little while and moved away to New York to compete in some big-time chess. While competing in chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s 1st two years were tough as he would play many hours and lose a majority of the time. He earned some additional cash by being an runner for the poker players. He theorized he possibly could better his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an effort to get more sleep and focus attention more on poker.
The real improvement in his skills happened when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the the most favorable gamblers would regularly challenge each other. Howard had access into a few of the greatest players in chess. With their help, he would tweak his strategic thinking skills. Howard used these strategy concepts in the game of NL holdem.
Howard Lederer also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn the game of poker. Annie Duke was a great student of the game as she constantly asked questions about how to make the proper choice. Howard Lederer told Annie Duke to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the WSOP competition. Annie Duke is one of the strongest female players the poker arena today. Howard relocated to Las Vegas in 1993 and competed in cash games for the successive decade. When the World Poker Tournament gained popularity, Howard made the decision to play more tournaments.
