Howard Lederer grew up in a family of five in which he loved betting on different card games when he was young. He found himself getting really competitive in the above-mentioned card games as he was competing against his dad. After graduating from high school, Howard decided to place college on hold for a bit and moved to New York to compete in some big-time 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 rough as he played countless hours and lost a majority of the time. He earned some additional cash by being an runner for the poker players. He theorized he could improve his game by balancing his life outside of poker. He made an effort to acquire more sleep and concentrate even more on the game.
The actual improvement in his abilities began when he began wagering at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon club where the the most favorable gamblers would regularly play against one another. He had access into a few of the greatest minds in chess. With their assistance, Howard Lederer would tweak his strategic thinking techniques. Howard applied these strategic concepts to the game of No-Limit Texas Holdem.
He also helped his sibling Annie Duke master the game of poker. Annie was a great student of poker as she would consistently be asking questions about how to make the correct decision. He told Annie Duke to head out to Las Vegas and compete in the WSOP competition. Annie is one of the greatest women players the poker world has ever seen. He relocated to Vegas in Nineteen Ninety Three and played cash games for the next decade. When the WPT grew in popularity, he decided to compete in more tournaments.
