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> *How do you feel about recording the opening leads of each hand during the games?* Let me know with a one-question anonymous survey. Here is the link to send your response <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeh59LNIqgusIidW3rDnUrp1GgxghnezS2rbHV3orFGHEbZkw/viewform?usp=dialog>. *I'm doing well, thank you for asking!* This is a coasting week for me. My surgery happens next Thursday on November 20th, and we're planning for me to be away from the club for at least four weeks. It's going to be a little tight at the bridge club, and we may not have someone to run a game or workshop on some days. We'll do our best to let you know ahead of time. December won't have any classes on the calendar, though I would like to schedule two sessions on "Opening the Bidding" between Christmas and New Year's. My pulmonologist suggests that in six months I won't be able to tell I had the surgery. That works for me. The club is doing well. I think we need to expand a bit, using some of the vacant next door space. We're growing enough to make use of that. We're also planning to remodel the break room into something more like hospitality and less like a messy back-room afterthought. We can make something truly attractive and give ourselves tons more storage and useful space in the process. (It's about making an overwhelmingly good impression on new visitors.) We're geared up for all of these things, but they will happen slowly and with lots of planning and procrastinating. Join the ACBL If you've never been a member of the American Contract Bridge League, you can *join for free*. As a new guest member, you'll receive an ACBL Player Number that identifies you to the scoring system, and keeps track of your first 20 masterpoints as you start qualifying in games. You'll also receive the electronic edition of the /ACBL Bulletin/, and be ready to enter tournaments all over North America. There's really no reason to wait. The player number is yours for life. But you will want to become a full member eventually! Here's the link to get your free ACBL guest membership <http://my.acbl.org/membership/join?guest=X&club=277210&teacher=8202249>. And if you're ready for a full membership, /you should start with the guest membership anyway/! It comes with a huge discount on your first year of full membership. You can convert at any time. Thanksgiving Week At the moment we're planning to host our regular games on Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving, as well as the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The club will be closed, of course, for Thanksgiving day. Please be aware that the parking lot is likely to be very crowded on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, filled with shoppers for Vallarta. Plan to arrive a bit earlier than usual that day. Classes This Week For all of our courses, you're welcome to join a single class for $25. It's a great way to get a good bite of a subject without a six-week commitment. * Wednesday, 3:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Practice Hands" * Wednesday, 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Practice Hands" * Thursday, 7:00 PM /Intro to Defense/ "Signals against Trump Contracts" Saturday morning is our *workshop and game* for novice/intermediate players. We start with a free workshop at 9:30 featuring an entertaining hand from Eddie Kantar's "Thinking Bridge" series. You're welcome to come for the workshop even if you're not planning to play in the game. Coming up ... We're going to have an end-of-year sale on the *5-game punch cards*. From December 1st through 24th we'll sell you a five-game punch card for $55 instead of $60. Each punch is good for a regular game at the club, or use two punches and visit a single class session. You can buy as many as you like, but be careful not to lose them! We certainly don't want to benefit from unused punches. The January schedule of classes is posted! We'll be offering /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ on Wednesday afternoons, /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ on Thursday evenings. This link goes to our current course schedule and descriptions: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses The next session of /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ is scheduled for Thursday evenings starting April 2.  If you know folks looking for new player bridge classes before then, the 750 Club in Woodland Hills will be starting an Easybridge series on Saturday, January 17th at 9:30.Here's some information about their classes <https://www.bridgewebs.com/cgi-bin/bwoq/bw.cgi?club=750&pid=display_page9>. Best regards Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan