Growing up in a family of five in New Hampshire, Howard Lederer spent much of his childhood engrossed in card games on the family room floor. The Lederer family played all sorts of card games together, including poker. Howard credits his father for preparing him for the competitive world of high-stakes poker.
At age 18, Howard deferred college for a year and moved to New York to pursue his passion for chess. He soon discovered a poker game in the back room of his favorite chess club and was immediately hooked.
In the mid-1980s, Howard made big strides in his game when he started to play at the Mayfair Club in New York. He became part of a circle of world-class games players who were the first to experiment with no-limit hold ‘em when it was first introduced in New York City.
A few years later, Howard started to work with his sister, Annie Duke, to help her develop her game. He encouraged Annie to come to Las Vegas and play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournaments. In 1994, Howard and Annie made poker history as the first brother and sister duo to make the same final table at the WSOP.
In order to take his game to the next level, Howard moved to Las Vegas in 1993. He concentrated on cash games until 2002, when World Poker Tour (WPT) tournaments became a monthly event. While he enjoys all forms of poker, Howard’s favorite for sheer excitement is big buy-in, no-limit hold ‘em tournaments. He looks forward to playing against the best in the world for years to come.
Life in Las Vegas has been good to Howard - the best parts being his 7-year-old son, Mattias, and his wife, Suzie. When he’s off the circuit, Howard enjoys going to movies and concerts, hitting the links, and working out at the gym.
