[News] Changes for August

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> We had a strange thing happen before this week's Saturday game. Someone who needed a computer mouse, I suppose, decided to take the one from our director's desk. Of course they needed the USB dongle that goes with it, so they took that too. Luckily when Zach let me know what happened, I was able to rush over from home with a spare mouse and keyboard, and everything went fine. We'll have spares on hand from now on. Changes to card fees starting August 1 One of the goals in building the Pasadena Bridge Club is to make it a viable endeavour for the long run. In order to do that, it has to be financially successful for future owners and employees. I expect that at some point the business will be transferred to a non-profit, but even then it will have to be able to attract and pay directors and teachers. I'll also never compromise on the quality of the playing and learning experience. I built the club to be as close as I could come to a "bridge palace," comfortable and attractive to non-players who would see the place and think "I'd like to spend time here and learn to play this game." We're also charging less than every other major bridge club in LA county or nearby. Starting August 1st, all regular duplicate games will have a card fee of $12. Special games such as STaCs, NAP Qualifiers, most charity games, will be $13 to cover extra sanction fees. To help ease the transition, we will be selling five-game punch cards for $50 each. We'll have them on sale through August 15, and you'll be able to buy as many as four of them (20 games). (We don't have the cards yet, but should by the end of the Regional around July 7.) August changes for the Saturday 299ers If you've played on a Saturday afternoon the past few weeks, you know it's been a very complex pair of games to set up and complete. The popularity of both games means we could potentially reach the capacity of the club very quickly. We've also been unable to have the popular pre-game bridge workshop before the 299er game. Starting with the August 3 game, the 299er game will begin at 10:00 AM, with a pre-game 20-minute bridge workshop at 9:30. We'll be able to use the main room for our workshop and game, and not have to use the small classroom (unless the game gets huge!). These workshops will not be what you're used to — no teacher standing at a white board talking bidding conventions! Instead, I have a collection of 300 interesting bridge hands with bidding, play, and defense problems from Eddie Kantar. We'll play the hand, then talk about what could have happened. It should be great fun! Next classes *Introduction to Defense* will help you work with your partner to take as many tricks as possible on defense. * Wednesday evenings, starting July 31, 7:00 - 9:00 PM * Six sessions, $120, includes textbook * Full course description here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense> * Enroll here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> *Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction* is the starting point for non-players. Learn the mechanics and basics of the game and start to enjoy playing bridge. * Thursday evenings, starting Aug 1, 7:00 - 9:00 PM * Six sessions, $100 with textbook * Full course description here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/bridge-basics-introduction> * Enroll here <https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=67198&int_category_id=0&int_sub_category_id=0&int_catalog_id=0> through Pasadena City College Extension Coming up ... Jane and I will be traveling to Toronto on July 13. I'll be presiding over the American Bridge Teachers Association convention, and hopefully getting in a couple of games at the Toronto NABC. We'll be flying home on July 22. Paula Olivares will be helping out for the Wednesday game, and Zachary will be busy working the other weekday and Saturday games. Hopefully we can settle into some time of healthy players, great classes, and fun bridge games for the rest of the year! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary