Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 in which he loved playing various card games at a young age. He discovered himself becoming very aggressive in these particular card games while playing his dad. After graduating from high school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little bit and moved away to New York City to participate in some formidable chess. While competing in chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the rear of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were tough as he would play extensive hours and lose most times. He made some additional cash by being an runner for the poker players. He theorized he could better his game by balancing his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to get more rest and concentrate even more on the game.

The definite advancement in his skills happened when he started playing at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best gamblers would regularly wager against each other. Howard was able to access a number of the foremost players in chess. With their assistance, Howard would hone his logical thinking skills. He applied these strategy ideas to the game of No-Limit hold’em.

Howard also helped his sister Annie Duke learn poker. Annie Duke was a great student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard Lederer told Annie Duke to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the greatest female players the poker world has ever seen. Howard headed to Sin City in 1993 and participated in money games for the subsequent decade. When the WPT gained popularity, he made the decision to play more tournaments.