Howard Lederer lived in a family of five where he liked gambling on various card games when he was young. He found himself getting really competitive in these particular card games while playing his dad. After graduating from secondary school, Howard decided to put higher education on hold for a little bit and moved away to New York to participate in some serious chess. While participating in chess, he was brought in to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were rough as he would play extensive hours and do not win most times. He earned some additional money by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He theorized he could better his game by balancing his life away from poker. He made an effort to acquire more rest and concentrate even more on the game.
The actual advancement in his game happened when he started wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the greatest players would regularly challenge one another. Howard was able to access several of the foremost minds in chess. With their help, he would hone his logical thinking techniques. He applied these strategic ideas to the game of NL texas hold’em.
Howard Lederer also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn poker. She was a great student of the game as she would always be asking questions about how to make the proper choice. Howard Lederer told Annie to move out to Vegas and compete in the WSOP tournaments. Annie is one of the best female players the poker world ever. Howard headed to Sin City in 1993 and played money games for the subsequent 10 years. When the WPT grew in popularity, he decided to participate in more tournaments.