Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five in which he loved participating in different card games when he was young. He found himself becoming really aggressive in these particular card games as he was competing against his dad. After finishing Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little bit and headed 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 rear of the room. Howard’s first two years were tough as he played many hours and fail to win most times. He made some extra cash by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He believed he could better his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to acquire more sleep and focus attention more on poker.
The real improvement in his game began when he began playing at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the the most favorable players would regularly challenge each other. Howard had access into a few of the best players in chess. With their help, Howard would hone his strategic thinking abilities. He used these strategy concepts in the game of NL Texas Holdem.
He also assisted his sister Annie Duke learn the game of poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of the game as she constantly asked questions about how to make the correct decision. He told Annie to move out to Sin City and play in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the greatest female players the poker world ever. Howard Lederer moved to Sin City in 1993 and competed in cash games for the subsequent decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard decided to play more tournaments.