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