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>
June kicks off the club-level qualifying for the annual North American
Pairs tournament.
This is one of two "grass roots" tournaments held each year that
culminate in champions in each of four different experience flights.
(The other is the Grand National Teams.)
The first round of the tournament begins at clubs. Clubs can designate
games during June July and August to be NAP Qualifier games. The
masterpoint awards for these games are really big, and are 50% black /
50% red masterpoints.
Players who finish in the top 50% of their strat will be "qualified" to
advance to the district final. (The district final date has not yet been
announced.) The top players in each flight of the district final will be
invited to represent District 23 at the Spring NABC in Dallas, and
receive some reimbursement for travel expenses!
At the Pasadena Bridge Club, we'll be holding three week-long
opportunities to qualify for the District Final — one week each in June,
July, and August.
Our first opportunity is this coming week. All Open Pairs games the week
of June 15-20 will be NAP Qualifier games. The strats for each game will
be Open/3000/750 based on the highest masterpoint holder of the pair.
Card fees for these games will be $13 (or a punch plus $1).
If you're interested in competing in the North American Pairs, it's
worth reading the "Conditions of Contest" at this link
<https://web2.acbl.org/documentlibrary/play/NAP/CoC.pdf>. Sarah
Deschenes and I represented District 23 in Flight A of the event earlier
this year in St. Louis. It was a great time!
Classes This Week
Our classes are best in the context of a full course, but they also
stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can always
drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 3:00 PM /Introduction to Defense /"Signals against notrump"
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Two Over One Game Force /"The choice between game
and slam"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding /"The
competitive auction"
The Saturday morning 9:30 workshop is on as usual, with another great
hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. (Attend the workshop
for free, even if you don't play in that morning's game!)
Coming up ...
Registration is now open for the next /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/
session. It will meet on Wednesday evenings starting July 15. Click here
to register for the session
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
with PCC Extension.
*Next week at the bridge club* all Open Pairs games will be Club
Championships. Lots of points, no extra charge!
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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>
At the Pasadena Bridge Club our course catalog has seven courses, from
/Bridge Basics 1/ to /Two Over One Game Force/.
We have three sessions at the club that are dedicated to class work:
Wednesday afternoon at 3:00, Wednesday evening at 7:00, and Thursday
evening at 7:00.
In each of those three sessions, we usually cycle through the seven
courses in order, so there's usually something for every level of
player, and every course should come up three or four times a year.
The courses make up a sequence of learning, and always work best having
had the experience of playing games of bridge at the club. Once you have
some playing experience, you can really take any course in any order you
like.
Revisiting any of our courses is an amazing experience. There's so much
detail in all of our topics, seeing the material a second time is like
peeling away another layer of the onion.
Here are the three courses that are starting up the coming week:
Introduction to Defense
This is the fifth course in the catalog, following Bridge Basics 4 -
Play of the Deal. In this course you will learn how to work with your
partner to take as many tricks as possible on defense. It's a great
class for helping to visualize where the missing high cards are when you
can't see them!
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00-5:00 PM, starting May 27
* Course fee $120 includes textbook by Eddie Kantar
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Two Over One Game Force
This course introduces probably the most successful bidding system in
the world for club and tournament play. By making a small tweak to
Standard American bidding, it often simplifies finding the right game
contract or explore for slam. In this course you'll learn some of the
patterns and idioms that come with 2/1GF, and be ready to play. This
course includes some of the best play-of-the-hand lessons in the catalog
as well!
Your instructor for 2/1GF will be our own wizard Zachary Vedro.
* Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting May 27
* $130 includes textbook by Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/two_over_one_game_force>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
This may be the second course in the catalog, but it's also a course
that's effective for players with quite a bit of game experience. Here
is where you will learn to think like a bridge player, and see what
kinds of decisions will affect your score on every hand. /This is a
great course to revisit!/
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting May 28
* $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
More tidbits ...
/Our next session of /*Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction*/will be held on
Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM starting July 15./
You can always drop in for a single session of any course for $25
The novice/intermediate program at the Pasadena Bridge Club is going strong!
The reason we're learning this game is so we can enjoy playing it! If
you're new to games at the bridge center, your *best first game *is held
on Thursday afternoons at 3:00 PM. We play about 12 hands for about two
hours, hosted by Susan Kane.
We have a great Tuesday evening game hosted by Lisa Walker, starting at
7:00 and finishing by 9:15.
Our Saturday morning novice/intermediate game is a special event
including a free 20-minute workshop at 9:30 followed by a game that
finishes by 12:15, hosted by Mojo.
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>
As of this writing our club sits at #30 in North America among
face-to-face bridge clubs. I couldn't be more proud!
Our novice/intermediate games continue to grow. Seven-table games are
pretty common on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. The Thursday
afternoon game is frequently drawing 5-6 tables.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Pasadena Unit Game this past Sunday was dedicated to the memory of
Rosario "Charo" Holdo, who passed away last week. Charo was a beloved
presence at the club, and I miss her tremendously.
Special Classes: Opening the bidding
We have a course in the catalog that we haven't taught for a while,
/Improving Your Judgement: Opening the Bidding/. I'm extracting the
first two classes from this course for a special two-night event.
For experienced players, opening the bidding is not as simple as
counting to 13 points. The best opening strategy changes with your
seating position relative to the dealer. There are times when you should
open with fewer, and times when you shouldn't open with 13!
On two Thursday evenings, May 14 and 21, we'll get into the details with
some guidelines that adds important nuance to opening the bidding.
We'll focus on the one-level opening bids. The first night will cover
opening in first and second seat, and the second we'll examine opening
in third and fourth seat.
If you're playing in duplicate games at the club, I highly recommend
this course! There are no other prerequisites. It will change your
opening bid decisions for the better.
* Thursdays, May 14-21, 7:00 PM
* Attend both classes for $40, or $25 individually
* Register here!
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Upcoming Course Schedule Set
Here are the upcoming courses starting the week of Memorial Day.
* Wednesday afternoons: /Introduction to Defense/, May 27
* Wednesday evenings: /Two Over One Game Force/, May 27
* Thursday evenings: /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ May 28
I'll have a new class email later this week with more details for the
"class" email list as well.
Here's where you can find out
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> about all of our courses.
Classes This Week
Our classes are best in the context of a full course, but they also
stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can always
drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
This week's classes are particularly perfect for drop-ins. Each of the
topics is having a "Practice Hands" session. If you've been through the
course, it's a great opportunity for some focused practice on the course
topic!
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 3:00 PM /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ "Practice Hands'
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Improving Your Judgement - Doubles /"Practice Hands"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction /"Practice Hands"
The Saturday morning 9:30 workshop is on as usual, with another great
hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. (Attend the workshop
for free, even if you don't play in that morning's game!)
Coming up ...
We've set dates for the next /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ session.
It'll be on Wednesday evenings starting July 15.
/Also/ our friend of the club and up-and-coming bridge player Tyler
Slamkowski (best bridge name ever) teaches music at Saugus High School
in Santa Clarita. His three guitar orchestras (around 50 students each!)
will be performing on Monday and Tuesday, May 18 and 19, featuring many
interesting music genres. Drop Tyler (tyler.slamkowski(a)tutamail.com) or
myself a note and we'll set you up.
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>
This past Thursday evening we started a new session of /Bridge Basics 1
- Introduction/, our six-week course for non-players to learn bridge.
The course is offered by PCC Extension (Pasadena City College) and
appears in their catalog.
When we opened the club, I negotiated an agreement with PCC to hold
Bridge Basics 1 at the Pasadena Bridge Club, where their students would
be well served by our comfortable environment. (Previously the classes
were held in a history teacher's room at Arcadia High School. It was a
spooky place in the dark after hours!)
I set a limit of 28 students for the course. When this session was
filled a couple of days before the first class, I offered to clear the
waiting list, and added five students for a total of 33. One dropped out
shortly after, leaving 32.
Imagine my surprise when all 32 enrolled students appeared before class
time, in their seats, ready to learn at 7:00 PM! I'm looking forward to
our second meeting this week on Thursday evening!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This past month our great friend of the club and Grand Life Master Becky
Clough lost her long time life and bridge partner Roger. They are
holding a Celebration of Life on Sunday, April 26.
When you visit the bridge club, you'll find a poster on the bulletin
board with more details. If you plan to attend, please honor the request
on the poster to RSVP.
Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal
We have new courses under way for this session of classes. /Improving
Your Judgment - Doubles/ has met for one session on Wednesday evenings,
and /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is underway on Thursday evenings.
Our third course this session is /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/,
starting this Wednesday (tomorrow) April 8 at 3:00 PM.
Here's the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/play-of-the-deal>, and if you'd
like to join in, reply to this email and let me know.
Next Course Schedule Set
We've set dates for our next session of courses, with three favorites
starting the week following Memorial Day.
* Wednesday afternoons: /Introduction to Defense/, May 27
* Wednesday evenings: /Two Over One Game Force/, May 27
* Thursday evenings: /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ May 28
I also have a two-week opportunity on May 14 and 21, Thursday evenings,
for a two-session course on Opening the Bidding. These two sessions will
add some guidelines and subtlety to your decision to open the bidding
that you won't hear anywhere else. I'll have more information as the
dates approach.
Here's where you can find out
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> about all of our courses.
Classes This Week
Our classes are best in the context of a full course, but they also
stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can always
drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 3:00 PM /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ "Play of the
Deal at Notrump"
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Improving Your Judgement - Doubles /"Responding
(Advancing) Takeout Doubles"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction /"One Notrump
Openings and Responses"
The Saturday morning 9:30 workshop is on as usual, with another great
hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. (Attend the workshop
for free, even if you don't play in that morning's game!)
Coming up ...
*Let's have some Club Championship games! *April 20-25 all Open Pairs
games will be Club Championships, paying lots of extra black
masterpoints and featuring "overall" scoring. Best of all — no extra charge!
I'm planning to keep the new Bridgemate III scoring terminals. The
players have been giving positive feedback. For me the deciding factor
is that they appear to cut down on the number of scoring errors that
need to be corrected.
We've set dates for the next /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ session.
It'll be on Wednesday evenings starting July 15.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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>
We're turning over the bridge courses for all three of our dedicated
class periods in a week or two. Here's what's on tap.
It's always a treat to be starting a new session of /Bridge Basics 1 -
Introduction/, this time on Thursday evenings. As of this writing, the
course is nearly full with 20 students enrolled. While we certainly have
room, I set a maximum of 28 for this course.
Two other great courses are starting soon too, read on!
Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction
This course is designed to introduce non-players to the "king of the
card games" in a way that's amazingly fun and still gives a peek into
the depth and fascination of the game that seems endless.
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting April 2
* $85 paid to Pasadena City College Extension
* $15 "materials fee" for the award winning textbook
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/bridge-basics-introduction>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
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 textbook won /Book of the Year/ in 2025 from the American Bridge
Teachers Association.
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting April 8
* $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.
IYJ Doubles will be taught this session by our resident wizard Zachary
Vedro on Wednesday evenings.
* Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting April 1
* $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>
Coming up soon ...
We'll have a brief gap between class sessions in late May. On *Thursday
evenings, May 14 and 21*, I'll be offering a special two-session course
on *Opening Judgment*.
You might feel like you know all you need to know about opening the
bidding, but you can improve your judgement and your results by taking
into account your seating position in the auction. Your decision changes
when you're in 1st or 2nd seat, vs. being in 3rd or 4th seat. You might
be bidding when you should pass, and vice versa!
I'll have details in the next class newsletter.
We've also set our dates for the next Bridge Basics 1 session this
summer. It will be on Wednesday evenings this time, starting July 15.
Check out our full schedule of events for novice and intermediate bridge
players: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/schedule#novice
By the way, I just put some effort into reconciling our RSVPBridge
player list with the newsletter subscription list. If you hadn't
intended to receive the newsletter, please drop me a note or use your
mail client tools to unsubscribe, and please pardon the inconvenience.
Thank you!
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>
Jane and Mojo in St LouisI had a great week in St. Louis. Sarah and I
played for six days. It was a mix of pair and team events, 298 bridge
hands total for the week! We came home with 25 gold points and some
great new and renewed friendships.
*Do you have a guest room* that might be available? I'd love to find
someone interested in hosting Robert Todd for one night on Saturday
evening. I'll buy us dinner. 🙂
Silver point week
One of the requirements for the rank of Life Master is to earn at least
75 "silver" masterpoints. Silver points can only be won at sectional
tournaments which are usually hosted by ACBL bridge units. This week you
can win silver at our club games!
All of our Open Pairs games, Monday through Friday at 11:00, plus
Saturday at 1:00, will be pooled with other clubs in Los Angeles County
for a Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC).
It takes about a day for all of the overall awards to be compiled. I'll
have a link on the web site for the overall results when they become
available.
Card fees for the STaC games will be $13. Stratification for the overall
awards will be Open/2500/750.
Robert Todd
/Robert Todd as one of the celebrity speakers in the Novice /
Intermediate program at the 2026 Spring NABC in St. Louis./
Robert Todd Seminar
We have a great turnout for Robert Todd's seminar on Sunday, March 15,
but there's still room for a few more!
it's worthwhile to spend a full day with Robert's insightful way to
think about bridge hands. I had the pleasure of seeing him as one of the
celebrity speakers at the St. Louis NABC last week.
The session will begin at 9:00 AM, and we'll be done at about 3:30 PM.
The full day is $90.
* Morning: Responder's Rebids
* Afternoon: Doubles of Many Kinds
Grab a copy of the flier here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/sites/default/files/fliers/RobertTodd2026-PB…>.
To reserve a seat, drop me a note
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/contact_the_bridge_club>!
Classes This Week
Our classes are best in the context of a full course, but they also
stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can always
drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 3:00 PM Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions "Strong
opening bids"
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Introduction to Defense /"Signaling against notrump"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Two Over One Game Force/ "The choice between game
and slam"
The Saturday morning workshop is on as usual, with another great hand
from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series.
Coming up ...
The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for
Thursday evenings starting April 2. Here is the link to register
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
for the course through PCC Extension.
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>
Early Tuesday morning Jane and I will be flying to St. Louis for the
spring North American Bridge Championships.
On Wednesday (and maybe Thursday!), Sarah Deschenes and I will play in
the North American Pairs Flight A tournament representing District 23.
We're definitely underdogs in the event. Neither of us has much
experience at playing in tournaments at this level. It isn't a national
championship, since the event is capped at 6,000 masterpoints.
As Woody Allen famously said, "90% of life is showing up." We're showing
up for this one, and open to all possibilities.
After the NAP event, we'll pick up teammates and play in more events for
a few days of intense bridge.
I'll be back a week from Tuesday, and Zachary and Susan Kane will be
filling in for me at the bridge club.
Robert Todd seminar
On *Sunday March 15* we're proud to host Robert Todd for his third year
in Pasadena. Robert is one of my mentors as a teacher. His background as
a former math professor seems to enables him to explain bridge concepts
in a way that makes complex things easier to understand. He truly
improves your ability to think about bridge, rather than memorizing rules.
Mojo, Robert, Jane
These seminars are "multi-level." His talks are accessible to newer
players, and valuable to experienced players as well. They're also fun
and entertaining!
The morning session topic is *Responder's Rebids*. As he says,
"Responder's Rebid is where things often start to fall apart."
The afternoon session is on *Doubles of Many Kinds*. "We'll discuss
several different types of doubles and see when and how they are used."
Attend the full day for $90, starting at 9:00 AM, and finishing up by
3:30, with a 90-minute lunch break.
Grab a copy of the seminar flier at this link
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/sites/default/files/fliers/RobertTodd2026-PB…>.
Drop me a note to reserve your seat as soon as you can!
Club championship week
Let's play some club championships! All Open Pairs games this week,
Monday through Friday at 11:00, Saturday at 1:00 PM, will be club
championships.
That means beaucoup extra masterpoints, and "overall" awards as well as
N/S and E/W awards. Still $12 card fee!
STaC week coming in March
In the second week of March, let's compete against the other clubs in
District 23 (LA County) for silver points. This is our first "Sectional
Tournament at Clubs" for 2026.
All masterpoint awards at the club will be the coveted silver
masterpoints, required for the Life Master rank. In addition, the
various club results will be combined for overall results that could be
huge.
More details in the next newsletter. Plan to play in an Open Pairs game
March 9 through 14.
Classes This Week
Our classes are best in the context of a full course, but they also
stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can always
drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
The Wednesday afternoon class "Popular Conventions" will be dark this
week and resume next week when I return from St. Louis.
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Introduction to Defense /"Opening leads against
trump contracts"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Two Over One Game Force/ "The 1NT Forcing Response"
The Saturday morning workshop is on as usual, with another great hand
from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series.
Coming up ...
The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for
Thursday evenings starting April 2. Here is the link to register
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
for the course through PCC Extension.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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>
The Pasadena Bridge Club is growing!
Among face-to-face bridge clubs (the best kind!) in North America, we
currently rank #30 out of about 1,500 clubs that have held games so far
in 2026.
Our southern half of California is covered by two ACBL districts: 22,
and 23 (LA County). In the combined districts, the #1 club is the Duncan
Bridge Center in Palm Desert. Our club is #7 out of 67 or so clubs in
our two districts.
In Los Angeles County, the biggest club is Long Beach with 540 tables
through Feb 11. We've moved into #2 with 436 tables.
Those "table counts" are only for ACBL-sanctioned games paying
masterpoints. If they were able to count our classes, workshops, and
casual bridge sessions, the number would be quite a bit higher, and I'm
almost certain that our intermediate/novice program is rare among bridge
clubs!
That said, let's keep it going! We have three new courses starting next
week, in our three class sessions.
Here is the lineup of courses starting next week. Check out *Two Over
One Game Force* on Thursdays!
Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions
There are really only a handful of conventions that most players need to
be competitive in a bridge tournament. You learned about "takeout
doubles" in Bridge Basics 2. In this class we'll add the Stayman
Convention, Jacoby Transfer Bids, strong hand bidding, and slam bidding.
* Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting Feb. 18
* $120 includes text by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/popular-conventions>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Introduction to Defense
Working from a delightful and readable book by Eddie Kantar and Barbara
Seagram, join us to study the fundamentals of bridge defense. Learn how
to visualize a complete deal, and communicate with your partner to take
as many tricks as possible.
Defense this period is taught by Zachary Vedro, a true wizard!
* Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Feb. 18
* $120 includes textbook by Eddie Kantar
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Two Over One Game Force
Take you bidding to the next level with this basic system that is by far
the most popular system played in tournaments and clubs. By making a
small tweak to Standard American, 2/1GF makes it easier to find the
right game contracts, and gives you more bidding room to find good slam
contracts (and stay out of bad ones!).
* Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Feb. 19
* $130 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
* Full lesson plan here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/two_over_one_game_force>
* Register for the course here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Robert Todd Seminar
Mojo, Robert, Jane
The 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!
We're currently taking reservations for the full day seminar. The cost
is $90 for the full day.
Specific topics will be announced soon. The morning session is usually a
bidding topic, and the afternoon is a play or defense topic.
Drop me a note and I'll save you a seat!
Looking for /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/?
Our next session of Bridge Basics 1 will start on Thursday evenings,
April 2, at 7:00 PM. The course is now open for registration at PCC
Extension (Pasadena City College). The class does meet at the bridge club.
Here's the link to register
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
with PCC for the course.
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>
This past Saturday was our busiest Saturday ever for normal club games
at the Pasadena Bridge Club. Our novice/intermediate "workshop and game"
at 9:30 had nine full tables, and our afternoon Open Pairs had nine full
as well, for an 18-table day. So far in 2026 we're in the top 50 in f2f
bridge clubs in North America.
We have a *special guest visiting* on Monday. Brenda Egeland, the
creator of RSVPBridge, is visiting the club and playing in the game.
Drop in and say "hi," or better, join us in the game.
The ACBL you may not know ...
The American Contract Bridge League has a physical headquarters just
south of Memphis, TN.
But the bulk of the ACBL is found in their districts and units. North
America is divided into 25 districts, and each district is divided into
a number of units, sometimes containing a single sanctioned club.
Our unit (559) is the Pasadena San Gabriel Unit. We're bounded by the
Glendale Verdugo, Pomona Covina, Downey-Whittier, and Santa Clarita
Antelope Valley units. There are nine units in District 23.
District 23 is Los Angeles County, and we're surrounded by District 22,
which is everything else in Southern California (including, for
instance, Ventura and San Diego).
While the ACBL has a professional administrative staff (including CEO
Bronia Jenkins), and a field operation that includes tournament
directors, /everything else ACBL is managed by volunteers!/
From the national board of directors to the smallest unit board,
*everyone is a volunteer.* Sectional and regional tournaments are all
managed by volunteers. There are volunteer "boards of directors" at
every level.
This structure has its tradeoffs, but it speak volumes about how bridge
players are dedicated to the growth and preservation of our game.
The Pasadena San Gabriel Unit will be having its annual membership
meeting and board election at the unit game on March 1.
Our bridge club is within unit 559, but the club does not have a formal
business relationship with the unit. Most clubs, like ours, are
independent businesses. To hold unit games and sectional tournaments,
the unit rents space and hires directors.
Not an ACBL member yet? Join for free here
<https://my.acbl.org/membership/join?guest=X&club=277210&teacher=8202249>!
Opening lead recording off for now
A lot of players enjoyed being able to see the opening leads in the club
game results, About an equal number thought it was a hassle, and another
equal number (can you say "thirds?") didn't mind either way.
At this point I think we had fun with it. We may do it again for a
limited time, or for individual games (maybe the Saturday morning game?).
It's a good way to discover the effect of opening lead on results, and
was worth doing. I'm expecting an equal number of cheers and "awws."
Classes This Week
Our classes are at their best in the context of a full course, but they
also stand alone very nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can
always drop in for a single class on any topic for $25.
Here are this week's individual classes:
* Wednesday 3:00 PM /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "The
Competitive Auction"
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal /"Handling the
opponents"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ "Balancing and
other doubles"
*Mojo's pick for this week*: Wednesday afternoon, "The Competitive
Auction." We add a few tools, like Negative Doubles (a.k.a. Responder's
Double), and look at the competitive auction as a whole.
Every Saturday morning at 9:30 we feature a short free workshop from
Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. The workshop is free, and
you're welcome to join even if you're not planning to play in the game
that follows.
Coming up ...
The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for
Thursday evenings starting April 2. Here is the link to register
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>
for the course through PCC Extension.
Sunday, March 15, a full day bridge seminar with Robert Todd. We'll
start taking signups for that in a week or two.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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
