Howard Lederer was born into in a family of 5 where he loved taking part in different card games at a young age. He discovered himself getting really competitive in these particular card games as he was competing against his dad. After finishing high school, Howard decided to place higher education on hold for a little bit and moved away to New York to participate in some serious chess. While playing chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s first two years were tough as he would play countless hours and do not win a majority of the time. He earned some additional cash by becoming an runner for the poker players. He believed he could better 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 began when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best gamblers would regularly challenge each other. Howard had access into several of the foremost players in chess. With their assistance, he would hone his strategic thinking skills. He applied these strategy ideas to the game of No-Limit holdem.
Howard also assisted his sister Annie Duke learn poker. Annie Duke was an excellent student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper choice. Howard Lederer told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the WSOP competition. Annie Duke is one of the strongest women players the poker world today. Howard relocated to Vegas in 1993 and competed in money games for the following 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard made the decision to participate in more tournaments.