Howard Lederer lived in a family of five in which he enjoyed gambling on different card games at a young age. He found himself becoming really competitive in the above-mentioned card games while playing his dad. After graduating from high school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little while and relocated to New York to play some formidable chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game taking place in the back of the room. Howard’s initial 2 years were rough as he played countless hours and do not win a majority of the time. He made some additional money by becoming an assistant for the poker enthusiasts. He theorized he could better his game by balancing his life outside of poker. He brought about an effort to acquire more sleep and focus more on poker.
The actual improvement in his game happened when he began gambling at the Mayfair Club in New York. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the best players would often challenge each other. He was able to access some of the best players in chess. With their help, Howard Lederer would tweak his strategic thinking abilities. Howard applied these strategy concepts to the game of NL holdem.
Howard also helped his sister Annie Duke master the game of poker. She was a great student of poker as she constantly asked questions about how to make the proper decision. Howard Lederer told Annie to move out to Las Vegas and play in the WSOP tournaments. She is one of the greatest female players the poker world ever. Howard relocated to Sin City in 1993 and participated in money games for the subsequent 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, Howard decided to play more tournaments.