Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 where he enjoyed participating in various card games when he was young. He discovered himself becoming very competitive in the above-mentioned card games while competing against his father. After graduating from Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to place college on hold for a bit and moved away to New York City to compete in some serious chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were tough as he would play many hours and do not win most times. He made some extra money by becoming an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He judged he could better his game by analyzing his life outside of poker. He brought about an attempt to get more rest and focus attention more on the game.
The real advancement in his abilities happened when he started playing at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the greatest gamblers would frequently challenge one another. Howard was able to access several of the best minds in chess. With their help, he would sharpen his strategic thinking skills. He applied these strategic ideas to the game of NL holdem.
Howard also helped his sister Annie Duke master poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of poker as she constantly asked questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard Lederer told Annie Duke to head out to Sin City and compete in the World Series of Poker tournaments. She is one of the strongest women players the poker world has ever seen. Howard moved to Sin City in 1993 and participated in money games for the subsequent 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, Howard decided to compete in more tournaments.