[News] Let's have a party!

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&int_class_id=67500&int_category_id=0&int_sub_category_id=0&int_catalog_id=0>! ** Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary