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Howard Lederer lived in a family of five where he liked taking part in different card games when he was young. He found himself becoming very aggressive in the above-mentioned card games while competing against his father. After finishing Sr. High school, Howard made a decision to put college on hold for a little bit and moved to New York to play some big-time chess. While participating in chess, he was introduced to a poker game going on in the back of the room. Howard’s initial two years were tough as he played extensive hours and lost a majority of the time. He made some extra cash by becoming an runner for the poker players. He theorized he could boost his game by balancing his life away from poker. He made an effort to acquire more sleep and focus more on poker.

The real improvement in his skills happened when he began betting at the Mayfair Club in New York City. The Mayfair was a bridge and backgammon association where the greatest gamblers would regularly play against each other. He had access into several of the foremost players in chess. With their help, Howard would tweak his strategic thinking skills. Howard applied these strategy concepts to the game of No-Limit hold’em.

He also helped his sister Annie Duke learn poker. Annie Duke was a superb student of the game as she would consistently be asking questions about the right way to make the correct decision. Howard told Annie to move out to Sin City and compete in the World Series of Poker competition. Annie is one of the greatest female players the poker world has ever seen. Howard Lederer headed to Vegas in 1993 and participated in cash games for the next 10 years. When the World Poker Tournament grew in popularity, he made the decision to participate in more tournaments.