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>
It's looking to be a great summer at the Pasadena Bridge Club.
Partnerships and teams are starting for form up for the annual "Bridge
Week" regional in Long Beach starting on June 30.
Meanwhile we have some great games at the club, a new course starting up
on Wednesday afternoon, and the summer session of /Bridge Basics 1 -
Introduction/ is open for registration.
Introduction to Defense tomorrow!
Good defense wins games. In this course, you'll develop insights into
how suits are distributed around the four hands, and how to hold
declarer to the minimum number of tricks they're entitled to.
Review all of the "bridge maxims" for defender play and, more
importantly, learn when you must not follow them!
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00-5:00 PM, starting May 28
* $120 includes textbook by Eddie Kantar
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense>
* Click here to save your seat
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> (pay at
the club)
Enrollment open for Bridge Introduction
There seems to be a lot of interest for this summer's Bridge Basics 1
course. The next session will be starting in about five weeks, on
Wednesday evenings starting July 2.
This class is run by PCC Extension (Pasadena City College), so the
enrollment is managed by PCC.
Pass this one on to your friends! There's plenty of room, but I try to
keep the class to 28 students.
The class meets for six Wednesday evenings, starting in about five
weeks, on July 2. To register with PCC online follow this link
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>.
Gold Points this week
The ACBL is gifting the local clubs with a dusting of gold masterpoints
for the second half of this week.
Our Open Pairs games Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, will have 25% of
their masterpoint awards converted into Gold points. The amount will be
normal club game amount. (It's possible even the novice games will get a
sprinkling of gold too. We'll see!)
No extra card fee for this event!
Classes This Week
If you see a topic for a class that interests you, you can always drop
in for a single class for $25 without committing to an entire course.
This week's classes:
* Wednesday, May 28, 3:00 PM /Introduction to Defense/ "Leads against
Notrump Contracts"
* Thursday, May 29, 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/
"The Takeout Double"
Every Saturday morning at 9:30, we have a free workshop using a hand
from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. Every entertaining hand
teaches players how to think about problems in bidding, play, and defense.
Coming up ...
We don't yet have a plan for club opening during the Bridge Week
regional, but I'm hoping as many of you as possible will go play in Long
Beach. Let me know your plans!
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
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>
It's time for some new classes to start up! The next three weeks will
see the start of three great courses for your consideration.
We just completed a great session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ on
Thursday evenings. We'll follow it up with /Competitive Bidding/,
/Popular Conventions/, and /Play of the Deal/ every six weeks in succession.
Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
/Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ will be held on Thursday
evenings starting May 15.
This is the second of the Bridge Basics course series. If you're already
playing games at the club, /this is the course/ (along with Defense)
that will probably have the most impact on how well you do in the results.
If you're new to bridge, this is the course that starts to show how
fascinating the game can be, with strategy and close decisions on every
side. You'll add vocabulary to your bidding language, and tools to get
to the best score.
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00-9:00 PM, starting May 15
* $120 includes textbook
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>
* Click here to save your seat
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> (pay at
the club)
Improving your judgment - Opening the Bidding
This course title is one of the "stealth" offerings of the curriculum.
It's easy to think that there's nothing new to discuss about making the
opening bid, but there are many surprising subtleties and judgment that
experts use to modify their choices when opening the bidding.
You'll learn guidelines and recommendations in this course that you
won't hear anywhere else. And of course, being an Audrey Grant course,
it includes great declarer and defense exercises.
This course does not come with a textbook! (There was one, but it has
since gone out of print.) The value in the course is still there. I've
decided to continue offering it at a slight discount.
* Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00-9:00 PM, starting May 21
* $110 for the course
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_opening>
* Click here to save your seat
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> (pay at
the club)
Introduction to Defense
This course (along with competitive bidding) may have more beneficial
effects on your game results than any other. You will learn how to
visualize the layout of cards in a suit when you can't see your
partner's hand. Learn to work with your partner to take as many tricks
as you can on defense.
The textbook for the course is the delightful "Introduction to Defense"
by Edwin Kantar, recently revised and updated by Barbara Seagram. All of
Eddie's trademark humor and clear straightforward lessons are in full
effect.
This is the next in our Wednesday afternoon series! Perfect for bridge
students who'd rather not be out at night.
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00-5:00 PM, starting May 28
* $120 includes textbook
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense>
* Click here to save your seat
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> (pay at
the club)
Novice/intermediate program
The Pasadena Bridge Club has what I believe is the best weekly program
for new players in the country. We have informal "supervised play"
sessions, workshops for more in depth practice, and bridge games
specifically for newer players
See the full novice/intermediate weekly schedule here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/schedule#novice>.
Coming up ...
Our next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ will be on
Wednesday evenings, starting July 2.
As usual it will be followed insequence by the next few Bridge Basics
courses. Let your friends know!
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>
*If you've never been an ACBL member*, and you're playing in games at
the club, it's free and easy to become a member and get your own player
number. Much like joining the USGA as a golfer, and having them track
your handicap, the ACBL will keep track of your progress in bridge as
you climb the ranks. (They also have a great monthly magazine and lots
of activities!)
To get your free guest membership, visit our web site
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>, find the menu
and select Resources, then look for the "ACBL Guest Membership" link. Or
never mind all that, and just click on this link
<http://my.acbl.org/membership/join?guest=X&club=277210&teacher=8202249>
to get your free ACBL Guest Membership.
Of course you can just buy a full membership, but I recommend this path.
It comes with a massive discount ($29 instead of $59) on your first year
of full membership!
When you get your new player number, drop me a note so I can add it to
the database at the club!
Stardust week
This one snuck up on me and I didn't get it on the calendar! But after
asking, I learn that everyone wants gold points, no matter what.
So all open games this week (M-F 11:00, Sat 1:00) will be Stardust
games, paying regular club masterpoints, but converted to 25% gold when
the game is uploaded to ACBL.
Card fees for the Stardust games will be $13.
Thursday afternoon novice 0-100
Effective immediately the Thursday 3:00 PM Novice Pairs is open to all
players with fewer than 100 masterpoints. We'd love to have a few more
folks come to play!
The Thursday afternoon game is typically 12 hands, and should always be
complete by 5:00 PM. It's a great place to start experiencing real
duplicate bridge with other students and novice players. Come earn your
first (or twenty-first, or 99th) masterpoint!
Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
/Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ will be starting on Thursday
evenings on May 15.
This is the second of the Bridge Basics course series. If you're already
playing games at the club, /this is the course/ that will probably have
the most impact on how well you do in the results.
If you're new to bridge, this is the course that starts to show how
fascinating the game can be, with strategy and close decisions on every
side. You'll add vocabulary to your bidding language, and tools to get
to the best score.
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00-9:00 PM, starting May 15
* $120 includes textbook
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>
* Click here to save your seat
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> (pay at
the club)
Classes This Week
If you see a topic for a class that interests you, you can always drop
in for a single class for $25 without committing to an entire course.
*Mojo's pick* for this week: Wednesday evening, practice two over one
game force auctions. It's a treat to get to practice only hands
involving 2/1GF or the one notrump forcing bid!
This week's classes:
* Wednesday, May 7, 3:00 PM /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/
"Handling the Opponents"
* Wednesday, May 7, 7:00 PM /Two Over One Game Force/ "Practice Hands"
* Wednesday, May 8, 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Practice
Hands"
Every Saturday morning at 9:30, we have a free workshop using a hand
from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. Every entertaining hand
teaches players how to think about problems in bidding, play, and defense.
Coming up ...
For those of you in our eastern realms, nearer Ontario, or willing to
travel, *Tom Lill has a game on Saturday, May 10,* starting at 10:00.
He's having a full day of bridge, with two sessions! He had a
cancellation and is looking for a player to fill out the last table. If
you'd like to play, drop me a note and I'll forward it along.
Later in May we have more "Go local!" glitter points:
Monday through Wednesday, May 19-21 all regular open club games will
award 25% silver points.
Thursday through Saturday, May 29-31 all regular open club games will
award 25% gold points.
No extra charge! Just a little "glitter" from the ACBL for the local clubs.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
