Howard Lederer

Howard Henry Lederer (born October 30, 1964) is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and holds two World Poker Tour titles. Lederer has also contributed to several books on poker strategy and has provided commentary for poker programming. He is known by poker fans and players as "The Professor" and is the older brother of professional poker player Annie Duke.

Lederer is a founder and board member of Tiltware, the company that launched Full Tilt Poker in 2004. In 2011, the Full Tilt Poker website was shut down by the United States Department of Justice on charges of bank fraud and illegal gambling. In December 2012, Lederer settled a civil lawsuit with the Department of Justice relating to Full Tilt Poker.

Early life and family

Lederer was born in 1964 in Concord, New Hampshire<ref name="PokerNewsbio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was introduced to card games at a young age by his family. As a child, Lederer's father also taught him to play chess. As a teenager, Lederer developed an interest in playing the game competitively.<ref name="Bluff06">Template:Cite news</ref> Lederer's sister, Annie Duke, is also a professional poker player. His father, Richard Lederer, is an author, linguist and a former educator at St. Paul's School. His other sister, Katy Lederer, is also an author.<ref name="Cheney">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Moe">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="PokerListingsHoward">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His father is Jewish,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="JewishJournal">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while his mother was a gentile.<ref name="JewishJournal" /> He was not raised Jewish.<ref name="JewishJournal" />

Professional poker career

Early career

After graduating from high school, Lederer began playing chess in New York City before discovering and developing an interest in live poker games and becoming a member of the Mayfair Club.<ref name="Bluff06" /><ref name="DelMar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Holden">Template:Cite book</ref> Though he briefly attended Columbia University, Lederer ultimately decided to pursue a career in poker.<ref name="Bluff06" /><ref name="Moe" /> It was during his time in New York City that Lederer began to mentor his sister, Annie Duke, who was playing poker in Billings, Montana at the time.<ref name="Bluff06" /><ref name="Moe" />

Lederer attempted to qualify for a World Series of Poker (WSOP) event in 1986, but was unsuccessful. The next year, he made the final table and finished fifth in the $10,000 no limit Hold 'em Main Event.<ref name="Caldwell" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1993, Lederer moved to Las Vegas to focus on his poker career.<ref name="PokerListingsHoward" /><ref name="Holden" />

Live poker

Between 1993 and 1999, Lederer made eight final tables at WSOP events,<ref name="Moe" /> before winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2000, in a $5,000 limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament.<ref name="THM00">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lederer won his second WSOP bracelet in 2001 in a $5,000 no limit Deuce to Seven tournament.<ref name="THM01">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some of Lederer's other notable live poker wins in the early 2000s include World Poker Tour (WPT) titles in 2002 and 2003,<ref name="WPTLederer">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="THM02">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="THM03">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in addition to two first-place finishes at WPT events in 2004.<ref name="Moe" /><ref name="HendonMob">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2008, Lederer won more than $1 million Australian dollars at the Aussie Millions High-Roller event.<ref name="Cypra">Template:Cite news</ref> Two years later, he won $250,000 and placed second in the WSOP's Tournament of Champions.<ref name="Schult">Template:Cite news</ref>

As of 2022, Lederer's total live tournament winnings exceeded $6,500,000, with his last cash being in January 2011.<ref name="PokerNewsbio" /> His 44 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,587,702 of those winnings.<ref name=WSOPLederer>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lederer is also known as "The Professor", a nickname given to him by poker player and commentator Jesse May. According to Lederer, the nickname came "out of nowhere".<ref name="Bluff06" /> More recently, this nickname has been attributed to Lederer's strategic approach to poker as well as his instructional style.<ref name="PokerListingsHoward" />

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize (US$)
2000	$5,000 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo	$198,000
2001	$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw	$165,870

Other poker activities

In addition to live poker tournaments, Lederer has been involved in a number of other poker related activities. As of 2011, Lederer had appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark, a late-night poker program, fourteen times.<ref name="Jones">Template:Cite news</ref> He provided commentary for poker programming, including the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, Learn from the Pros, as well as other Fox Sports Network poker programs.<ref name="DelMar" /><ref name="Caldwell" /> He has also released instructional videos on poker, contributed to several books on poker strategy, including The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide,<ref name="PokerListingsHoward" /><ref name="DelMar" /><ref name="PokerNewsBooks">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and hosted several poker fantasy camps in the mid-2000s.<ref name="Holden" /><ref name="Ordine">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Feldman">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="James">Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, from June 2006 to May 2011, Lederer was a member of the Poker Players Alliance's board of directors.<ref name="Burton">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=AnteUp>Template:Cite news</ref>

Tiltware LLC and Full Tilt Poker

Lederer was a founding member and onetime president of Tiltware LLC, the company that handled marketing and software development for Full Tilt Poker.<ref name="Moe" /><ref name="Caldwell">Template:Cite news</ref> Tiltware LLC launched Full Tilt Poker in 2004. Lederer served on the company's board of directors along with co-founders Rafe Furst, Chris Ferguson, and Ray Bitar.<ref name="Berzon" /><ref name="Feldman11" /> Full Tilt Poker hosted online poker games and was a former sponsor of poker programming on ESPN<ref name="Feldman11" /> and Poker After Dark, both in the United States and abroad.<ref name="LaClair">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Holloway">Template:Cite news</ref>

Following a United States Department of Justice-led investigation, based on suspicion of money laundering and gambling violations, Full Tilt Poker's website was closed to players in the United States on April 15, 2011.<ref name="Mathers">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Morrissey">Template:Cite news</ref> The company's license was suspended on June 30, 2011, and Full Tilt Poker stopped accepting international play.<ref name="Berzon" /><ref name="Feldman11" />

In September 2011, Lederer was named, along with two other members of the Full Tilt Poker board of directors, in an amended civil complaint filed by the Department of Justice, in which Full Tilt Poker was accused of defrauding poker players.<ref name="Berzon">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Feldman11">Template:Cite news</ref> Ultimately, the company's owners were accused of receiving around $443 million in player funds between 2007 and 2011.<ref name="Feldman11" /><ref name="BerzonSept22" /> According to the Department of Justice, Lederer received about $42 million in payments from Full Tilt Poker during that time period.<ref name="Feldman11" /><ref name="Rodriguez" /> In a statement issued by the Department of Justice, Full Tilt Poker was referred to as a Ponzi scheme for paying out funds to Full Tilt Poker owners despite having insufficient funds to cover money owed to players.<ref name="Berzon" /> Full Tilt Poker denied the allegation that they operated a Ponzi scheme.<ref name="Berzon" /><ref name="BerzonSept22">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2012, a three-way settlement was reached between Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and the Department of Justice. Full Tilt Poker agreed to forfeit their assets to the Department of Justice and on the same day, PokerStars agreed to acquire those assets from the Department of Justice.<ref name=PokerNews12>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Berzon12">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=DOJ12>Template:Cite press release</ref> As part of the agreement, PokerStars paid $547 million to the Department of Justice in addition to $184 million to poker players outside the United States who were owed money by Full Tilt Poker.<ref name="Berzon12" /> Additionally, $150 million from the settlement money was intended to be used to refund U.S.-based customers.<ref name="Stutz" />

Lederer personally settled with the Department of Justice in December 2012. He admitted no wrongdoing and agreed to forfeit assets totaling more than $2.5 million.<ref name="Rodriguez">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Stutz">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Pempus">Template:Cite news</ref>

Charitable activities

Lederer and his wife Suzie have previously hosted charity poker events including their April Fools fundraiser in 2009 to support the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.<ref name="Murphy">Template:Cite news</ref> The Lederers have also hosted the Suzie and Howard Lederer Celebrity Charity Tourney, in 2009 and 2010, as part of their annual World Series of Barbecue event in Las Vegas. The charity poker event was a benefit for the Boys and Girls Club of Las Vegas.<ref name="Hintze">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Thorburn">Template:Cite news</ref> Lederer has also participated in other charity poker events including Put a Bad Beat on Cancer in 2009.<ref name="Michalski">Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

Though previously overweight, Lederer was able to lose weight as a result of gastric bypass surgery. In an interview in 2006, Lederer stated that he is a vegetarian.<ref name="Bluff06" /><ref name=Pilcher>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Lederer moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1993, where he lives with his wife, Suzie, and his son, Mattias.<ref name="Moe" /><ref name="DelMar" />

External links

• Card Player profile
• Global Poker Index
• Hendon Mob profile
• PokerListings profile
• WPT profile
• WSOP profile