[News] Turning around the bridge club

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 was a great time Wednesday evening! We had seven tables of curious folks wanting to learn how to play bridge! It's always only some small percentage who seriously take up the game as a hobby, but this is how it starts. Having the PA system made the class go more smoothly than I expected. It's much easier to get the attention of the room and move things along. If you're interested in auditing or assisting, I'm accepting three volunteers for each class. You'll be there to fill a seat at a table and participate as a student. We may not have a seat for all three volunteers, but it's important to have you! Turning around the bridge club Which way is north? Geographical north is toward the antennas and observatories on Mt. Wilson. Bridge north is arbitrary, and traditionally the "head of the room." At tournaments you'll find N/S oriented in the direction aligned with a long row of tables. Generally if you're standing at table 1 North, you're facing table 2, and 3 is the next distant, and so on. When I first opened the club, I thought north would be in the direction of the director's desk and the entry way. Then we hosted a North American Pairs final, and ACBL tournament director Lynn Yokel walked into the room to lay out the tables and instinctively laid out the room with north toward the bulletin board and timing clock. It made sense to me, and I kept it that way ever since -- over the objections of geographical purists who feel that bridge club north should at least approximate geographical north (especially when it's so obvious out the window!). We heard enough to decide that we would turn bridge north toward the entry way and director's desk. I've tried it for a few games, and it's /fine/, except ... I underestimated how many little habits have to change with changing north in a bridge club! The Bridgemates go to the other side of the table. The Kleenex boxes move to the other corner. My class boards switch sides. Players accustomed to walking in and sitting south have to switch their familiar seat. Table 1 moves to the opposite side of the room. Turning a bridge club north to a different direction becomes a little like steering a giant cruise ship. We'll get there, but it will take a while to change all our habits! Next courses The web site has been updated for the next round of courses. Here are the next ones on the calendar: * *Two Over One Game Force*, Saturday mornings, Feb. 17 * *Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding*, Wednesday evenings, Feb. 21 * *Improving Your Judgment - Opening the Bidding*, Thursday evenings, Feb. 22 Our next /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ will start on Saturday, April 6, for six Saturday mornings. (Bridge Basics 1 is always followed by BB2, BB3, in succession.) Classes this week Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for a full course. My next several Saturday afternoon workshops will focus on opening leads, starting with basic card combinations. It should be a great series! Here are the topics this week: * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "1NT Openings and Responses" * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Introduction to Declarer Play/ "Winning tricks with spot cards, and finesses" * Saturday, 9:30 AM, /Introduction to Defense/, "Third hand play" * Saturday, 1:00 PM, /Workshop and game/, "Opening lead basics: card combinations" *New on the YouTube channel*: Bridge Mini Lesson 18, leading from a sequence against notrump: https://youtu.be/WD0e9wI8kB4 Coming up ... Our club has many players who enjoy celebrating Chinese New Year, and they're putting together a celebration for the Wednesday game on February 7. We'll make it a Club Championship so it will be worth extra masterpoints as well! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary