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649 N Fair Oaks Ave
#201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com
This past Saturday was our busiest Saturday
ever for normal club games at the Pasadena
Bridge Club. Our novice/intermediate "workshop
and game" at 9:30 had nine full tables, and our
afternoon Open Pairs had nine full as well, for
an 18-table day. So far in 2026 we're in the top
50 in f2f bridge clubs in North America.
We have a special guest visiting on
Monday. Brenda Egeland, the creator of
RSVPBridge, is visiting the club and playing in
the game. Drop in and say "hi," or better, join
us in the game.
The ACBL you may not know ...
The American Contract Bridge League has a
physical headquarters just south of Memphis, TN.
But the bulk of the ACBL is found in their
districts and units. North America is divided
into 25 districts, and each district is divided
into a number of units, sometimes containing a
single sanctioned club.
Our unit (559) is the Pasadena San Gabriel
Unit. We're bounded by the Glendale Verdugo,
Pomona Covina, Downey-Whittier, and Santa
Clarita Antelope Valley units. There are nine
units in District 23.
District 23 is Los Angeles County, and we're
surrounded by District 22, which is everything
else in Southern California (including, for
instance, Ventura and San Diego).
While the ACBL has a professional
administrative staff (including CEO Bronia
Jenkins), and a field operation that includes
tournament directors, everything else ACBL
is managed by volunteers!
From the national board of directors to the
smallest unit board, everyone is a
volunteer. Sectional and regional
tournaments are all managed by volunteers. There
are volunteer "boards of directors" at every
level.
This structure has its tradeoffs, but it speak
volumes about how bridge players are dedicated
to the growth and preservation of our game.
The Pasadena San Gabriel Unit will be having
its annual membership meeting and board election
at the unit game on March 1.
Our bridge club is within unit 559, but the
club does not have a formal business
relationship with the unit. Most clubs, like
ours, are independent businesses. To hold unit
games and sectional tournaments, the unit rents
space and hires directors.
Not an ACBL member yet? Join
for free here!
Opening lead recording off for now
A lot of players enjoyed being able to see the
opening leads in the club game results, About an
equal number thought it was a hassle, and
another equal number (can you say "thirds?")
didn't mind either way.
At this point I think we had fun with it. We
may do it again for a limited time, or for
individual games (maybe the Saturday morning
game?).
It's a good way to discover the effect of
opening lead on results, and was worth doing.
I'm expecting an equal number of cheers and
"awws."
Classes This Week
Our classes are at their best in the context of
a full course, but they also stand alone very
nicely. If you can't take a full course, you can
always drop in for a single class on any topic
for $25.
Here are this week's individual classes:
- Wednesday 3:00 PM Bridge Basics 2 -
Competitive Bidding "The Competitive
Auction"
- Wednesday 7:00 PM Bridge Basics 4 - Play
of the Deal "Handling the opponents"
- Thursday 7:00 PM Improving Your Judgment
- Doubles "Balancing and other doubles"
Mojo's pick for this week: Wednesday
afternoon, "The Competitive Auction." We add a
few tools, like Negative Doubles (a.k.a.
Responder's Double), and look at the competitive
auction as a whole.
Every Saturday morning at 9:30 we feature a
short free workshop from Eddie Kantar's Thinking
Bridge series. The workshop is free, and
you're welcome to join even if you're not
planning to play in the game that follows.
Coming up ...
The next session of Bridge Basics 1 -
Introduction is scheduled for Thursday
evenings starting April 2. Here
is the link to register for the course
through PCC Extension.
Sunday, March 15, a full day bridge seminar
with Robert Todd. We'll start taking signups for
that in a week or two.
Best regards
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan
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