Howard Lederer lived in a family of five where he liked betting on numerous card games when he was young. He found himself getting very competitive in the above-mentioned card games as he was playing his father. After graduating from high school, Howard decided to put college on hold for a bit and relocated to New York City to compete in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he would play many hours and fail to win a majority of the time. He earned some additional money by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He theorized he possibly could boost his game by adjusting his life outside of poker. He made an attempt to get more rest and focus even more on poker.

The actual improvement in his skills began when he started playing at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the greatest gamblers would often challenge one another. He was able to access a number of the foremost players in chess. With their help, Howard would tweak his strategic thinking skills. He applied these strategic concepts to the game of No-Limit hold’em.

Howard also assisted his sibling Annie Duke learn poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of poker as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the correct choice. He 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 Sin City in 1993 and participated in cash games for the successive 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, he decided to participate in more tournaments.