Follow Sex And Poker on Twitter
Howard Lederer

Howard Lederer (The Poker Professor)

Howard Lederer was born on October 30, 1964 in Concord, New Hampshire. He spent most of his growing up time in the family room, playing games with his father, Richard Lederer and his sisters, Katy Lederer and Annie Duke.

After attending college, Howard moved to New York to pursue his passion for the game of chess. In the back room of his favorite chess club, he was introduced to poker and played relentless - 70-80 hours a week - for two years at the Mayfair Club, renowned as being one of the foremost clubs for backgammon, bridge, and other game players as well as poker heavy-hitters such as Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel. He often earned his nightly stake by running errands for other players until he realized that the all-night marathons were straining his mental acuity and his game.

Once he stepped back his play and got more sleep, he began to see his game improve. Determined to improve his game, Howard moved to Las Vegas in 1993 and in 1994 he and his sister Annie (who he had tutored) made history by becoming the first brother-sister duo to make it to the same final table at the World Series of Poker.

Accolades

As his game improved, Howard earned his first Hall of Fame Poker Title at the $2,500 No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw Event at the 1994 Hall of Fame Poker Classic and in 1995 he earned his second title while defending his Deuce to Seven Draw title.

By 2000, Howard won his first gold bracelet in the $5,000 Limit Omaha High-Low Event at the World Series of Poker and he took first at the World Poker Classic No Limit Hold'em Event. In 2001, he won his second Bracelet in the $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Event at the WSOP. During this time and up until 2002 when World Poker Tour tournaments became monthly events, Howard was concentrated on cash games. WPT event frequency, in part, motivated Lederer to expand his concentration to include tournaments and in November of 2002, Howard won his first WPT championship at Foxwood.

Howard continued to play the WPT events, favoring the high buy-in, No Limit Hold'em format that attracts good players and promises a challenge to Lederer. Although he appreciates good play he has little tolerance for what he considers uncivil displays, a principle that led him notably to refuse to shake hands with the notoriously big-mouthed Tony G when he was eliminated at the Grand Prix de Paris WPT event in 2003.

His actions in Paris indicated no affect on his game apparently, because he went on to win the $5,000 Limit Hold'em event on the Poker Million cruise and the first of his three Bellagio titles in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2003 Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic.

Howard Lederer's Poker Earnings

As of 2008, Lederer's total live tournament earnings exceed $4.8 million. He is a founder, co-owner and executive officer at Tiltware Inc, the creators of Full Tilt Poker. He is also a member of Team Full Tilt.

Sex And Poker posts about Howard Lederer

The Big Men Of Poker - Howard Lederer

We’ll be taking a break from the girls for a few minutes and recognizing the big players in the mens world of poker. First up is “The Poker Professor” Howard Lederer. Luke has written up a detailed bio of Howard Lederer for Sex And Poker, and we’ll be sticking a tracking device...