Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five in which he enjoyed playing different card games when he was young. He found himself becoming very aggressive in these particular card games while playing his father. After graduating from high school, Howard decided to place higher education on hold for a little bit and moved to New York to play some formidable chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s 1st two years were tough as he would play extensive hours and lost most times. He made some extra money by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He believed he could improve his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to acquire more rest and focus attention more on poker.

The actual improvement in his abilities 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 frequently challenge one another. Howard was able to access a few of the greatest players in chess. With their help, he would sharpen his strategic thinking abilities. He used these strategy concepts in the game of No-Limit hold’em.

Howard Lederer also assisted his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. She was a great student of the game as she constantly asked questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard told Annie to head out to Las Vegas and compete in the WSOP tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the strongest female players the poker world ever. Howard Lederer headed to Las Vegas in 1993 and played cash games for the subsequent 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, he made the decision to participate in more tournaments.