Howard Lederer lived in a family of five where he loved taking part in numerous card games at a young age. He discovered himself becoming very competitive in these card games as he was playing his father. After graduating from high school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little while and moved to New York City to play some formidable chess. While playing chess, he was brought in to a poker game going on in the rear of the room. Howard’s first 2 years were difficult as he would play many hours and lost a majority of the time. He made some additional money by becoming an assistant for the poker players. He judged he might better his game by adjusting his life away from poker. He made an effort to acquire more sleep and focus attention more on the game.

The actual advancement in his skills began when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best gamblers would frequently challenge each other. Howard was able to access a number of the greatest players in chess. With their assistance, Howard Lederer would tweak his logical thinking techniques. Howard applied these strategy ideas to the game of NL Texas Holdem.

He also helped his sibling Annie Duke master poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of the game as she constantly asked questions about the right way to make the proper choice. He told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and compete in the WSOP tournaments. Annie Duke is one of the greatest women players the poker arena ever. Howard relocated to Vegas in 1993 and played money games for the following decade. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, he made the decision to compete in more tournaments.