Howard Lederer lived in a family of 5 where he loved gambling on various card games at a young age. He discovered himself getting really aggressive in these card games while playing his father. After finishing secondary school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a little bit and moved away to New York City to compete in some big-time chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were rough as he would play many hours and do not win a majority of the time. He earned some additional cash by becoming an runner for the poker players. He believed he possibly could better his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to get more sleep and focus more on poker.
The actual improvement in his abilities began when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best players would regularly play against one another. Howard was able to access a number of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his logical thinking techniques. He applied these strategy concepts to the game of No-Limit holdem.
Howard Lederer also helped his sibling Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie was a superb student of the game as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the correct choice. Howard Lederer told Annie Duke to head out to Sin City and play in the World Series of Poker competition. She is one of the best female players the poker world has ever seen. Howard Lederer relocated to Vegas in 1993 and competed in cash games for the next decade. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard decided to play more tournaments.