Howard Lederer was born into in a family of five where he loved betting on different card games at a young age. He found himself getting really competitive in these card games while competing against his father. After graduating from secondary school, Howard made a decision to place college on hold for a little bit and headed to New York City to participate 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 first two years were difficult as he played many hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some additional money by becoming an runner for the poker enthusiasts. He theorized he possibly could boost his game by adjusting his life away from poker. He made an attempt to acquire more sleep and concentrate even more on poker.

The real advancement in his game happened when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the best players would often challenge one another. Howard was able to access some of the best players in chess. With their help, Howard Lederer would tweak his logical thinking techniques. Howard used these strategy concepts in the game of NL texas hold’em.

Howard Lederer also helped his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper decision. He told Annie to move out to Vegas and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the strongest women players the poker world today. Howard Lederer headed to Vegas in Nineteen Ninety Three and played cash games for the next 10 years. When the WPT gained popularity, Howard decided to compete in more tournaments.