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Howard Lederer - Poker Legend
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Howard Lederer, nicknamed "The Professor" as much for his measured, calm attitude at the poker table as for his highly analytical style of play, is one of the most popular and recognizable players on the Poker Tour today. Lederer in many respects portrays the polar opposite table presence to someone like Phil Hellmuth, yet both personalities are ultimately intimidating, or at least that is the intention. Lederer will outhink the vast majority of opponents, and his ability to calculate probabilities at an advanced "game-theory" level make him incredibly dangerous. Yet, he is unflappable, serious, and always courteous - both at the table and away from it. His obvious poker intellect is every bit as powerful as Hellmuth's bravado, and both are able to dominate tables simply with their presence.
Lederer dropped out of college to pursue his first passion, namely chess, but found out that there was more money to be made at poker. It is interesting to note that it took him a long time and a lot of persistence before he mastered the game and started to earn a decent living from poker. There is a tendency to imagine that all top professionals sprung onto the poker scene fully-formed and dazzling, but this is often not the case at all. Lederer is well known for teaching his little sister, Annie, to play poker, and today Annie Duke (who plays under her married name) is probably the most well known female poker player in the world, and one of the best overall players in her own right.
Howard Lederer won two WPT events in 2003, at Foxwoods and then later in the season at the Party Poker Million. He has also won WSOP titles, but so far the big one at the World Series has eluded his steely grasp. Perhaps 2005 will be his year? It is interesting to note that from what we have seen Lederer's placid manner is not indicative of the way he plays his cards. He is fairly aggressive and ruthless when the situation presents itself. He is closer to Chris Ferguson in this regard than say "Action" Dan Harrington, whose calm attitude is reflected in a calm, conservative style of play. Lederer is not a conservative player but he is a very thoughtful one - but then again, that last trait is shared by all the living legends of poker. Some choose to conceal that thoughtfulness (Hansen, Negreanu) while others like Lederer thrive on the transparency of their pure focus.
Lederer endorses the relatively new online poker room Full Tilt Poker, and one of the novel features of this room is that Lederer has his own table there. Online players who want to learn something about the game, and also try to hunt down the biggest game, can challenge Lederer online, presumably when he isn't carving up less gifted opposition in the world's biggest poker tournaments.
Related Poker Articles And News Items:
> Doyle Brunson - Poker Legend
> Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson - Poker Legend
> Johnny Chan - Poker Legend
> Daniel Negreanu - Poker Legend
> Phil Hellmuth - Poker Legend
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