Howard left college to become a chess player, but ended up finding his way to the poker tables. He worked by day and played by night. After many losses, he found a way to make a living at the poker table and become the player he is today. He taught his sister, Annie Duke, to play as well, and she is now one of the best known female poker players in the industry and extremely successful herself.

One of the things that most people find interesting about Howard Lederer is his demeanor on and off the poker table. It is rare to find a man with such an even temper in this competitive game. Too often the men whine about how an opponent plays a hand, or how a person "sucked out" on the river, but I have never seen Howard display these traits. Seeing his posts on the RGP newsgroup where he answers people's questions and offers them small insights into some of the reasoning behind some of the plays he made in the past. This is also something, not characteristic of a person in the poker world, that I admire.

A person would most likely find Howard Lederer in high limit cash games, but he can also be found at major tournaments with larger buy-ins. During the 2003 World Series of Poker, he kept a diary-style report that can be found on the Gutshot Poker site. It was a very interesting read. The fact that a person with his skill also becomes nervous before some of these events is comforting to non pros. He wrote, "I have started to focus solely on how I am playing, what my chip position is, and who at my table can be outplayed. Worrying about how other players at other tables are doing is counter productive and I have basically eliminated it from my game." These types of small insights are the product of many years of play, and many tournament players can benefit from reading them.

Some of Howard's poker titles include, first in the 2003 Party Poker Million Limit Hold'em, first at the Bellagio's World Poker Classic No Limit Holdem and third at the Bellagio for Omaha HiLo. Some of his previous wins include World Series titles in $5000 Omaha 8 HiLo in 2000 and $5000 deuce to seven draw in 2001. You can play with Howard at his own table at online card room Full Tilt Poker.