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> This week we'll have just about all of our games and casual bridge openings. Come play cards with us! New Year's Eve Wine Cheese Bridge Let's have a party! I'll open the bridge club at noon, and we'll play cards starting at 1:00. The format will be teams-of-four, in either swiss or round-robin format, depending on how many teams we get. Plan to play until about 4:00 PM. Who knows? We might play board games after that. :) The game will have lots of masterpoints, thanks to support from the Pasadena San Gabriel Unit of the ACBL, who has generously granted one of their Unit Championship sanctions for the New Year's Eve game! You can register as a single, as a partnership, or as a team. But note that teams must meet the *Eight is enough* criteria. "What is that?" you ask. Eight is Enough The idea is to pair more experienced players with less experienced players to make teams of four. For that purpose, each player is assigned one, two, or three points: * A player with 2,000+ or more masteroints is THREE * A player with 500-2000 masterpoints is TWO * A player with fewer than 500 is ONE The total of every team must not exceed eight! So by all means, put together a team if you like. If not, sign up and I'll make teams. So Much Generosity! Jane, Zachary, and I have been touched by the outpouring of generosity from our players at the end of our first year. The bridge club has received several significant gifts. We're doing pretty well! The growth of the club has been steady, and new players and curious people continue to take up the game at our club. We were never in this for income, so we've had the luxury of investing our own time and money to make it a viable long-term presence. Aside from paying staff, the club has supported itself pretty well this year. So we're putting these generous gifts into the club this way: * We have a 40"x30" lightbox sign coming for the window. It will be visible at night from the parking lot. (Not so much during the day, but that's okay!) * I'm working on adding a PA and mic to the main room, and a smaller one for the classroom. Our teacher training course this past week highlighted the positive features of having one. * I've replaced and updated most of the boards and cards I use for teaching. They were due! If you know of other projects that seem worthwhile for the club, tell me what you think of! Classes this week Individual classes are available to join for $25. No need to sign up for a full course. We only have one full class meeting this week, not wanting to start new things on the holiday break. But it's a good one to drop in! How often do you get to practice Stayman, transfer bids, strong opening hands, and slam bidding, all in one session? And don't forget what's probably the *best bargain at the club*, the Saturday "Workshop and Game" at 1:00. We'll be looking at another situation where a double might be your best call. Here are the topics this week: * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Practice hands" * Saturday, 1:00 PM, Workshop and Game "Responsive Doubles" Coming up ... /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ will be starting up on Wednesday eveings, starting January 10. The introduction class is offered through PCC Extension, whose catalog lands in mailboxes all over the region a few times a year! Here's the link to sign up: https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&a… And /Introduction to Defense/ will be starting on Saturday mornings next week! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary