Poker Player - Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer, sometimes known on the professional poker circuit, as "The Professor" is famous for his calming presence, exquisite manners and steady analytical play. Coming from a New Hampshire family that loved card games, his poker skills were honed early, as were those of his sisters. Katy Lederer even wrote a book about her family, entitled "Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers". Most famously, another sister, Annie Duke, made Poker history by winning more money in the World Series of Poker than any other woman player. And the Lederer family made history again when Annie and Howard became the first brother and sister to make it to the final table at the 1994 World Series of Poker.
The calm and strategic playing style of Howard Lederer may well be rooted in his other twin philosophies of Zen and Chess. Chess was in fact Howard's first passion, and at the age of 18, he defied convention but deferring college and going to New York to pursue his Chess interests. It was here that in the dark and smoky back room of his favourite chess club that he came across all night poker games. It didn't take long before he was completely absorbed by Poker and famously began playing 70 to 80 hours a week, for nearly 2 years, running errands for other players in order to raise the money for his stake.
His real step into the professional world however was when he began to play at New York's Mayfair Club, which was then famous for being the home of the most illustrious bridge and backgammon players in the world. Howard was therefore in key company when No Limit Texas Hold'em poker was first being floated in the 1980's, and it was he and other players like Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel who began to experiment with and develop the game.
In 1993, Howard Lederer moved to the home of the greatest Poker Tournaments in the world, Las Vegas. From his roots in cash games, to the heights of World Poker Tournaments, Howard has developed his skills and his reputation. He has a scholarly calm at the table, hence his nickname of "The Professor", and enhances this with his leanings on Zen Philosophy to improve his game. Openly admitting that although big money games have an amazing thrill, he also confesses that "like many exciting things in life, it can also be terrifying". His study of Zen Buddhism and it's relation to the arts of archery and swordsmanship have helped him to understand better the process involved with mastering an art form.
For an art form and a sport is the exact way that Howard views Poker. He has been practising a form of poker meditation at the tables, with a belief in a concept that he learned in "Zen in the Art of Archery". He realised that the more he tried to focus, the more he would not succeed, and that the focus could only be found from within, when sitting at the poker table, with the pressure rising all around: "Instead of trying hard to focus, I allow it to happen through relaxation".
In addition to the calm focus of his Zen beliefs however, Howard also believes that one of the keys to Poker, or indeed any art, is to have a consuming passion for it. As a novice, he found that although he played with little success, he found poker fun and liberating, and this passion for the game allowed him to persevere, and learn skills from others without even realising.
So now with a style that combines joy and passion as well as structure, Howard Lederer is one of the most well known players on the circuit. He has a high profile, with his own website, instructional videos and a television poker host for Fox. He has also won World Series of Poker bracelets, two World Poker Tour titles, most recently in 2004, and came first in the 2003 Party Poker Million Limit Hold'em Game.
Howard still lives in Las Vegas, with his wife Suzie and his son Matthias.
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