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Howard Lederer: The Professor of Poker
Howard Lederer: The Professor of Poker
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Howard Lederer, the poker pro known as The Professor was born into a family of brainiacs. His parents met at a Mensa gathering and were married shortly afterward. His father was a pre-med student in college, and then attended Harvard Law School for a year before finally switching to the Master of Arts in Teaching Program, also at Harvard.
Lederer Sr.is the author of 30 books, wrote a syndicated column, co-hosted a weekly radio show, taught English and media at St. Paul?s School in Concord, New Hampshire for 27 years, and is credited with coining the word ?verbivore.? In 2002 he received the Golden Gavel of Toastmasters International as well as being named Punster of the Year.
Raised in a family of overachievers, Howard Lederer?s sister is the professional poker player Annie Duke, and his other sister, Katy Lederer, is a poet and author who wrote about a book about her family entitled, Poker Face: A Girlhood Among Gamblers.
As a teenager Howard Lederer attended private school and was allowed to engage in a term of independent study. At the time he was a competitive chess prodigy and decided to go for 2 months to New York City and study with a globally recognized chess master.
He hit the Big Apple with boundless enthusiasm and living and breathing chess, playing in chess tournaments at the prestigious Chess Center of New York. It was there that he played his first game of poker, a $0.25-$1 limit poker game held in the backroom of the Center.
These first few poker games didn?t hold much interest, but he enjoyed hanging out with the players, who he described as characters with great life stories.
Lederer recalled those days in an interview, explaining that even though he was accepted to Columbia University, he decided to defer his education for a year opting to continue his independent studies. His plan was to rent a hotel room, seek out temporary employment, and become a chess professional.
He then packed up and moved to New York, with a stake of $2,000. This time, he felt himself drawn more and more to poker instead of chess and he became a regular at the backroom games at the Chess Center. In two weeks, he was broke.
With no other options, he convinced the owner of the Chess center to allow him to stay there in return for keeping the place spotless. He also earned money running errands for the poker players. He watched and played obsessively in those days, sometimes playing over 80 hours a week.
But it was at the Mayfair Club in Manhattan that Lederer met poker players Erik Seidel and Dan Harrington, credited with popularizing No-Limit Hold ?em in New York City. They played daily for 10 hours, quitting a 2 a.m., then hanging out discussing hands. This is where the man who became known as ?The Professor? gained his formative education in the game of poker.
He moved to Vegas in 1993 and began his poker career, winning 2 WSOP Bracelets, 2 WPT Titles, and in 2003 was named WPT Player of the Year. In 2004, he won $9.3 million from businessman Andy Beal.
