Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from North Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
When I first started attending tournaments, I was always fascinated by
the planning and organization of the games, despite never really knowing
who would show up to play. Would it be not enough, or would it be too many?
I share this "director's dilemma" with Brenda Egeland from D.C. Like me,
she was also fascinated by directing and organizing bridge games as a
very new player. She told me she earned her club director certification
when she had about 50 masterpoints.
Brenda is also a talented software engineer. She addressed that
perpetual anxiety by building RSVPBridge. I saw its value as a planning
tool early on, and many other major clubs (Honors Bridge in Manhattan
among others) have adopted it as well.
The real value in having reservations for a game is that /I know you are
coming/. If you're a couple of minutes late, I can still establish a
movement and start the game, while keeping your seat available.
If someone has an unintentional or forgotten reservation, it's not
really a disaster. We might end up with a half table that wasn't
expected, but that's not so bad.
Sadly, last week I had a pair arrive about five minutes late who was not
in the reservation list. With everyone present, the game had started
right at 11:00, and the players were well into their first boards. The
new pair thought they had a reservation, but for some unknown reason it
didn't make it into RSVPBridge for the game.
A more experienced director might have found a way to add a table to the
movement, but it wasn't something that was part of my repertoire.
Because of the reservation system, I haven't had to deal with that
situation! (Studying up for next time!)
The reservation system relies on email to remind players that they are
(or are not) on the list for a game. The reminders are not sent
automatically; I try to remember to send one the night before or at
least several hours before a game.
Email is notoriously unreliable. Often such generated emails are routed
to junk or spam folders instead of the inbox, and many people just don't
use email (I completely understand!).
So I ask a couple of things: Watch out for those emails if you can. When
the reminder email for each game arrives from RSVPBridge, look for "You
are (or are not) signed up to play" in the email. If it's wrong, let me
know!
Secondly, if you're making a last minute reservation, or want to play on
the spur of the moment, please try to make it to the bridge club at
least 10 minutes before game time, or call (626) 247-4457 and leave a
message. We can get you into the game and change the movement if we know
you're coming!
Club championships all week
Each quarter the ACBL invites clubs to hold "Club Championships" for
each of the club's weekly games. There's no extra sanction fee and no
extra card fee.
The point awards are significant! In addition, each game will have
"overall" winners -- not just N/S and E/W winners.
(This might be the week when you choose to play E/W instead of N/S if
you can! If you're wondering why, ask me sometime.)
Classes this coming week
Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for
a full course!
*Mojo's pick*: /Improving Your Judgement - Doubles/ on Wednesday
evening. Add some precision to your bids after partner doubles.
* Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/, "Doubler's
rebid and the subsequent auction"
* Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "The
takeout double"
In December, I'm going to hold four individual classes from the Eddie
Kantar lesson series. I've picked four excellent topics on declarer
play. More about that in a couple weeks.
Coming up ...
I was mistaken when I listed October 7-12 as a STaC silver point week,
but we will get to have two weeks of double point games during October
-- the Jane Johnson Club Appreciation games. I'll add them to the
schedule soon.
*Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction* will begin again on Wednesday evenings
starting October 23. Enrollment is open now at PCC Extension
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>!
**
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from North Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Zachary has been wanting to try something for weeks now -- have a short
team match at "Office Hours." He reports team match last week, and may
try it again! We have plans to offer a regular team game at the club,
but limited bandwidth just now.
I have two weeks of awkward course scheduling during the second two
weeks of December. I'm in possession of some dynamite standalone lessons
from Eddie Kantar on every bridge subject you can think of. I'm
considering holding single-session classes that anyone can drop in for.
Then we'll start up courses again in January. Let me know what you think!
Saturdays full of bridge
Zachary had a splendid idea for the 299ers who can't get enough bridge ...
If you come to play in the Saturday morning workshop-and-game, grab some
lunch then play in the 1:00 game for half price! It will be a great way
to spend a cloudy chilly Saturday this fall and winter. :)
Tuesday evening novice pairs
Tuesday evening is our time for new players to come play in a real
bridge game with other novice bridge players. Lisa Walker is your host
for 14-or-so bridge hands every Tuesday evening at 7:00. The game is
always over by 9:15, and it's a very friendly bunch.
Lots of new players are winning their first masterpoints in the Tuesday
evening game!
Classes this coming week
Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for
a full course!
*Mojo's pick*: /Improving Your Judgement - Doubles/ on Wednesday
evening. Add some precision to your bids after partner doubles.
* Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/, "Advancing
(responding to) partner's double"
* Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "Simple
overcalls and advances"
Coming up ...
We'll have a week of Club Championship games next week, culminating with
the special Over/Under game on September 29. These are games that pay
bunches of extra masterpoints with no extra sanction fee. (We get to do
that a few times a year!)
The next silver point week will be October 7-12, and October is Club
Appreciation Month with lots of nifty events.
*Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction* will begin again on Wednesday evenings
starting October 23. Enrollment is open now at PCC Extension
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>!
**
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from North Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
The final day of August was a wonderful day at the bridge club. In the
morning we had a 5-table 299er game, preceded by an interesting workshop
hand from Eddie Kantar's "Thinking Bridge" series.
In the afternoon we held our final NAP Qualifier game with nine tables.
Zachary and I got to play to fill the last table, which is always a
treat for me. In the ACBL records, we had a 14-table day.
Besides all that, we had a group of students from Bridge Basics 1
practice hands from the fifth session of the class. Michael Blottin and
Jane Winer have been hosting student groups on the weekends to practice
hands and go over material from the various lessons.
Early on, Michael and Jane recognized that sometimes the best way to
learn this game is to /teach it to someone else/. That's a valuable
lesson in itself! They've been inviting players from the classes to join
them on Saturday and Sunday mornings for practice.
Wednesday afternoon bridge party!
Following through with that thought — Jane and Michael have been with us
at the bridge club for one year. They wanted to celebrate, and that's as
good an excuse as any!
During the *Wednesday 3:00-5:00 PM "Office Hours"* they're inviting us
all to join them for wine and cheese at the bridge club. Sherna Foucher
joined the group at about the same time, and together they're all
pitching in to make it a fun party.
Whether you're a rookie just discovering the game, or an old-timer who's
been enjoying it for decades, this is a great opportunity meet and greet
the new folks (or other new folks).
Maybe instead of just playing bridge we'll break out some of the board
games from the classroom!
Over/Under game Sept. 29
At the club there is a sign-up sheet for newer players to join the
Over/Under game on September 29. Players who are non-Life Masters under
500 masterpoints are invited to sign up.
On the Sunday of the event (Sept. 29), we'll assign partnerships with an
experienced player for a bridge game.
For many new players this is a great opportunity to experience
tournament duplicate bridge with a friendly experienced partner. You
might even find yourself discovering a new partnership, and lose any
fear of playing in the big open duplicate games.
/There is no lower limit/ to the experience of the new players invited!
Anyone who can bid and play a bridge hand is invited to join in.
Classes this coming week
Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for
a full course!
The defense course is especially good for drop-ins! Send me a note and
let me know you're coming.
* Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Introduction to Defense/, "Second hand play"
* Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Practice hands"
Upcoming courses
Our bridge curriculum features eight different courses for players of
all levels! We currently offer courses on Wednesday and Thursday
evenings, from 7:00-9:00 PM, rotating through the catalog of courses as
best possible.
The next courses will be:
* /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles>/, starting Sept. 11
* /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>/,
starting Sept. 12
Each course runs for six meetings. The $120 course fee includes an
excellent textbook. You can save your seat in either course at this
link: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment
Coming up ...
The next Pasadena Unit Game will be held on Sept. 15, and continuing on
the first and third Sundays through this year.
We'll have a week of Club Championship games on the third week of
September. These are games that pay bunches of extra masterpoints with
no extra sanction fee. (We get to do that a few times a year!)
The next silver point week will be October 7-12, and October is Club
Appreciation Month with lots of nifty events.
*Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction* will begin again on Wednesday evenings
starting October 23. Enrollment is open now at PCC Extension
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>!
**
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
