Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Learn and play bridge!
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
One of the things that makes the Pasadena Bridge Club special is our
teaching schedule and course catalog.
We reserve three dedicated periods each week for formal bridge classes:
Wednesday afternoons, and Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Within those
three periods, the goal is to cycle through our available 6-week courses
on a staggered schedule. Every course should come around about three
times each year.
Every course benefits from being taken a second time! Bridge learning
never ends — it's one of the things that make this game so compelling!
Here is the lineup of courses starting next week:
Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
In this course we start thinking like a bridge player — considering when
our best result may be to go down in a contract for a small negative
score rather than let the opponents make a contract for a /large/
negative score. You'll discover the /Law of Total Tricks/ that can help
you decide "to bid or not to bid."
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting Jan. 7
* $120 includes text by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal
Improve your ability to win all the tricks you can as the declarer in a
contract. It's all about planning! Learn to identify many of the
patterns that enable developing extra winners or eliminating losers.
The course this period is taught by Zachary Vedro, one of the very best
not only at playing the deal, but at presenting the concepts involved.
The textbook won /Book of the Year/ in 2025 from the American Bridge
Teachers Association.
* Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Jan. 7
* $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/play-of-the-deal>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Improving Your Judgment - Doubles
Most newer bridge players overlook opportunities to use the /double/
call to compete in the auction. This course will improve your ability to
recognize opportunities for a takeout double, and provide some structure
to the bidding and decisions that come after.
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Jan. 8
* $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Looking for an introduction course?
We just completed a Bridge Introduction course in November, and our next
one is scheduled for Thursday evenings starting April 2.
Can't wait to get started? There's a course using the highly acclaimed
/Easybridge/ curriculum in Woodland Hills on Saturday mornings, starting
January 17. Here's more information on their course
<https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=750&pid=display_page9>.
No matter where or how you learn to play bridge, check out our full
schedule of events for novice and intermediate bridge players:
https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/schedule#novice
Save the date ...
Mojo, Robert, JaneThe bridge club will be hosting Robert Todd for a full
day bridge seminar on Sunday, March 15. This is our third year to host
Robert, and it's always an eye-opening and entertaining day!
Watch for details in a future newsletter!
Hope to see you soon at the bridge club!
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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>
Feeling better every day!
I really enjoyed conducting the Saturday morning workshop and the
following game. Seven full tables!
After the game, Lisa and I did a minor reorganization and cleanup of the
kitchen.
We moved the dealing workstation toward the back of the room, and left
more table space for snacks near the front. I need to replace a couple
of worn out tables, and I'm still hoping to do a full remodel when we
have the chance. Baby steps!
Baron Barclay finally took delivery of new ACBL all-plastic playing
cards, so we're having fun replacing nearly all of our decks. (Have you
noticed the ink flaking off of the old cards? They've started looking
like a little snow storm on the back!)
I have a big box of used card decks available! Ask for some at the club.
RSVP Group changes
When we first started setting up the club in RSVP Bridge, the model that
seemed to make sense was to have each weekly game belong to a "group" in
RSVP. Players would be added to groups as they played in a game, or
could add themselves to groups in their RSVP profile.
As we've gained experience with organizing the club model, we realized
that these restrictive groups were making things more difficult than
necessary for the club and our players.
Instead of one group per weekly game, we now have two main game groups:
"Open Games" and "Intermediate/Novice Events." Once you play in any
game, you'll be added to the corresponding group.
A big advantage is that all games in your group /will now appear on your
RSVP calendar/. No more "I can't see the Friday game."
Courses will always be in their own groups. They'll appear on your
calendar when you join the course.
It's been a great privilege to work with Brenda Egeland, the architect
and owner of RSVP Bridge, making the product better for us and the many
other clubs using the service.
New Year's Eve teams
Another change made in RSVP Bridge is that the New Year's Eve game was
given its own "group," and (nearly) all existing club players were added
to the group.
You can now see the teams that have formed, and partnerships that are
available to team with!
We'll be serving party trays of Mexican food from Vallarta. We'll also
be serving our regular beverages and have red and white wine on hand.
If you're compelled to bring something, desserts and sweets would be the
way to go. Anything left behind at the club (food or non-food items)
*will be discarded at the end of the event*! Be prepared to take home
your leftovers!
Remember, teams are intended to be a mix of experienced players with
inexperienced players. No team can exceed a total of 8 "points" as follows:
* Players with 0-200 masterpoints: 1 point
* Players with 200-1000 masterpoints: 2 points
* Players over 1000 masterpoints: 3 points
There are currently 11 teams signed up, with a limit of 16. We have four
"two point" partnerships looking for teammates. *Take a look and draft
one of these pairs for your team!* Do it soon!
We'll start the game at 11:00 and be done by 4:00 PM, taking a leisurely
party pace.
ACBL membership dues increase
On January 1 the ACBL's annual membership rates are going up.
If you have a free "guest membership" now would be a great time to take
advantage of your discount on the first year of full membership, before
the increase.
If you're not currently a member, start by getting yourself a free guest
membership and player number. Use this link for your guest membership
<http://my.acbl.org/membership/join?guest=X&club=277210&teacher=8202249>.
Once you have that in place, you can convert to full membership before
Jan. 1 and take advantage of the big discount.
Coming up ...
*5-game punch cards* will continue on sale for $55 through December 31.
The January schedule of classes is posted! We'll be offering /Bridge
Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ on Wednesday afternoons, /Bridge Basics
4 - Play of the Deal/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Improving Your
Judgment - Doubles/ on Thursday evenings. This link goes to our current
course schedule and descriptions:
https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses
The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for
Thursday evenings starting April 2. If you know folks looking for new
player bridge classes before then, the 750 Club in Woodland Hills will
be starting an Easybridge series on Saturday, January 17th at
9:30.Here's some information about their classes
<https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=750&pid=display_page9>.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
Just a brief reminder that the bridge club will be closed tomorrow
(Saturday) while I'm still at home recovering.
We fully expect to be back at our regular schedule for games and social
bridge next week. We have three new courses starting up in January.
Monday is our open pairs at 11:00, and the Workshop with Zachary at 3:00.
I'm doing well, but still exhausted pretty quickly! Also, there's no
more treatment in my future, just a CT scan every few months to be sure
it stays that way. :)
Mojo
--
build message
Morris "Mojo" Jones
mojo(a)PasadenaBridgeClub.com
https://PasadenaBridgeClub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
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>
I'm doing well, thank you! This week I got a really good pathology
report, and that may be the end of this ordeal. We'll see what the
future holds when I meet with my oncologist next week.
Meanwhile Jane has been taking great care of me, and I'm feeling better
every day. We've been doing puzzles and watching classic movies.
Club closed Thursday-Saturday this week
Zachary is taking care of family this week and playing in Palm Springs,
Lisa is playing in Palm Springs, and Susan is traveling on vacation. I'm
still recovering from my surgery.
Paula Olivares is generously covering the bridge games on Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday.
We won't have games on *Thursday, Friday, or Saturday of this week,*
that's December 11, 12, and 13. The Tuesday evening game on Dec. 9 will
not meet, and the 3:00 PM workshops are cancelled for Monday and Tuesday.
On either Thursday or Friday, the property management company will be
replacing our lobby door that's been broken for a few weeks. They need
to block the door for a full day, so this is a lucky closure date for them.
Practice Class Hands
Jane Winer wants to claim the empty space on Monday through Wednesday
3:00-5:00 next week if there is interest, specifically to practice hands
from the various courses we offer.
She's definitely going to make hands from the 2/1GF class on one of
those days, but also has hands available from the first four Bridge
Basics and Defense classes.
She has three days, and several classes to choose from, so what she'd
really like to know is what day you would like to attend and which class
you want to practice the most.
Please drop Jane a note at jane.b.winer(a)gmail.com with "I'd like to come
on [Mon Tue Wed] and would really love to practice {Defense, BB2, 2/1,
etc.]"
Club Championships next week
Let's play Club Championship games during the week of Dec. 15-20. No
extra charge, lots of extra masterpoints with overall awards for each game.
Teams for New Year's Eve
We have a bit of a tradition to hold a special team game on New Year's
Eve during the day. Let's do it again this year to wind up our third
year of operation.
The format will be teams of four, in a swiss team format, with a limit
of 16 teams. Each team is constrained in its membership to the "Eight is
Enough" format, in which the total for the team members must not exceed
eight points, as follows:
* Players with 0-200 masterpoints: 1 point
* Players with 200-1000 masterpoints: 2 points
* Players over 1000 masterpoints: 3 points
(Of course any team is welcome to have fewer "points!")
The objective is to attempt to level the playing field so all teams have
a good chance of winning some matches during the event.
We'll start the game at 11:00 AM, include plenty of party fare, food and
drink, and finish probably around 3:00 or 3:30 PM -- in plenty of time
to have your own real New Year's Eve dinner out or entertainment event.
Coming up ...
*5-game punch cards* will continue on sale for $55 through December 31,
and you can purchase as many as you wish. You can buy as many as you
like, but be careful not to lose them! We certainly don't want to
benefit from unused punches.
The January schedule of classes is posted! We'll be offering /Bridge
Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ on Wednesday afternoons, /Bridge Basics
4 - Play of the Deal/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Improving Your
Judgment - Doubles/ on Thursday evenings. This link goes to our current
course schedule and descriptions:
https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses
The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for
Thursday evenings starting April 2. If you know folks looking for new
player bridge classes before then, the 750 Club in Woodland Hills will
be starting an Easybridge series on Saturday, January 17th at
9:30.Here's some information about their classes
<https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=750&pid=display_page9>.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
