Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five where he loved betting on numerous card games when he was young. He found himself becoming really competitive in these particular card games as he was playing his dad. After finishing high school, Howard decided to place college on hold for a little while and relocated to New York to play some formidable chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he played many hours and lost most times. He made some extra money by being an assistant for the poker players. He judged he could improve his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to acquire more rest and concentrate more on the game.
The actual improvement in his skills happened when he began wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the greatest gamblers would often challenge each other. He was able to access some of the best players in chess. With their assistance, he would tweak his cunning thinking techniques. Howard applied these strategy ideas to the game of No-Limit Texas Holdem.
Howard Lederer also helped his sister Annie Duke master poker. She was an excellent student of the game as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard told Annie to move out to Sin City and play in the WSOP tournaments. Annie is one of the best women players the poker arena has ever seen. Howard Lederer relocated to Las Vegas in 1993 and played cash games for the next decade. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, he decided to participate in more tournaments.