Howard Lederer lived in a family of 5 where he liked taking part in numerous card games when he was young. He discovered himself getting very aggressive in these card games while competing against his father. After finishing Sr. High school, Howard decided to put college on hold for a little while and headed to New York City to compete in some big-time chess. While competing in chess, he was brought in to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s first two years were tough as he played extensive hours and do not win most times. He earned some extra money by becoming an runner for the poker enthusiasts. He theorized he might improve his game by analyzing his life away from poker. He brought about an attempt to acquire more sleep and focus even more on poker.

The definite advancement in his skills began when he started gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable players would often wager against one another. He was able to access some of the best players in chess. With their help, he would sharpen his strategic thinking techniques. Howard applied these strategy concepts to the game of NL hold’em.

Howard also helped his sibling Annie Duke learn poker. Annie was a great student of poker as she would always be asking questions about how to make the correct decision. Howard told Annie to head out to Sin City and compete in the WSOP tournaments. Annie is one of the greatest female players the poker world today. Howard headed to Sin City in 1993 and played money games for the following decade. When the World Poker Tournament gained popularity, Howard made the decision to compete in more tournaments.