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News from North Fair Oaks

Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher

649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com

It's been an amazing December at the bridge club. Just today we had 13 tables for a regular Tuesday club game, after 9 tables for the Monday game.

This is the second week of the Gold for Good event. I think several of our players scored a little gold over the week.

The unit also hosted a splendid holiday party with 13 tables of open players and five tables of newer players, many attending their first ever event like that one.

New Year's Eve Teams

This is a very different bridge club from the one last New Year's Eve, when we had eight teams compete in a Swiss Team tournament. About half of the teams were new players in their first ever team tournament. There were very few experienced players.

I've set the "Eight is enough" points to try and make sure that our newer bridge players get an opportunity to team with an experienced pair. (Unlike the "over/under" game, you can pick your own partner and play with a friendly face across the table.)

Here's how it goes. Each player is assigned a number of points based on their current masterpoint holding. Here's how the points are assigned:

  • 3 points: Players over 1,000 masterpoints
  • 2 points: Players from 200 - 1,000 masterpoints
  • 1 point: Players with fewer than 200 masterpoints

Each team of four players (two partnerships) should have fewer than eight points.

If we can't make teams from this group, we might have to bend a little here and there, but I think it will work out.

You don't have to form a team yourself, although you may. If you have a partnership that would like to play, or are a single looking for a team, Zachary and I will do our best to put together teammates. You can sign up on RSVP as a pair or even an individual looking for a team, or drop me a note and I'll add you to the list.

This will be a wine and cheese New Year's Eve party. We'll start about 12:00 Noon (actually 11:59 AM so it will be a "morning" game by the ACBL). Swiss Teams takes a bit longer to play, but it includes plenty of social time. We should be finished by 4:30 at the latest.

Kantar Declaring Classes

The last two of the Kantar classes are Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Each class stands alone, and are $25 each. We had three tables or more for each class last week, and the "aha!" moments were precious. This week:

  • Wed Dec 18: The avoidance play
  • Thu Dec 19: Ducking plays at suit contracts

Doors open at 6:30, and class starts at 7:00. If you're not on the list and planning to come, please let me know.

Coming up ...

Two great courses in January! "Play of the Deal," Audrey Grant's newest addition to the Bridge Basics series on Wednesday evenings. Thursday will be "Competitive Bidding," probably the most effective course in the catalog to improve you're score at the club games. Reserve your seat in either class.

The next Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction course will be on Thursday evenings starting April 3.

Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary