I was advised by Carolyn Cohen at the beginning of today's game that her
long time friend and partner Tim Lolli had passed away. I always enjoyed
playing against Tim and Carolyn, and my sincere condolences to his
friends and family.
(Also apologies for a typo during today's game, Tim, not Tom.)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
*Monday, January 18*, is the start of a new Silver Linings week for all
virtual clubs in ACBL land. Sunday, Jan. 24, is the last day.
All ACBL Virtual Club games will pay at the 200% standard 2019 club
rating. (Currently virtual club games are at 150% club rating.) All
points awarded this week are Silver points. Card fees at PPDVBC will be
$6 to cover extra ACBL sanction fees.
Why is this a big deal? The rank of *Life Master* in the ACBL requires
at least 75 Silver points. Before COVID (B.C.) Silver points could only
be earned at Sectional Tournaments run by units of the ACBL, and
occasional Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) events.
To help you out, next week we're *adding two 0-500 games* to our
schedule for the week:
* Tuesday evening, 7:15 p.m. directed by Tom Lill (LillOleTom), 0-500
Pairs
* Thursday evening, 7:15 p.m. directed by Mojo, 0-500 Pairs
Here are my tips to help you get the most Silver this week:
*1. Play lots of games*
This should be obvious! The more you play, the more opportunities
you have to "scratch" and pick up a little silver.
*2. Play in more Open games!*
First of all, Open games pay more points than limited games.
Second, all games are stratified. I just looked through the results
of our last several open pairs games, and the C strat cutoff for
every game was somewhere around 250 masterpoints.
Third, when you play in an open game, even as a C strat player, you
have an opportunity to place in the A or B strats and pick up the
extra points from winning at that level.
*3. Look for other virtual club games where you might be eligible.*
When you log in to BBO, click Competitive, and ACBL Virtual Clubs,
the games listed are ones where you are eligible to buy an entry and
play.
If you were a bridge club junkie in 2019 (like I was) you may find
that you have games available from several other online clubs.
*4. Offer to play as a substitute*
Whenever I have a new game starting, I usually get offers from two
or three players who would like to play to help fill a half table.
Here's how to find the games where you might do that:
* From the Home page, click Competitive
* Click All tournaments
* In the search box, type VACB
You'll see games that are starting within the next two hours, and
each game will have the manager's "vacb" account in a box at the
left. Drop them a note and say "I'm available to play if you have a
half-table. I have xxx masterpoints." You might get into a game, and
a free one at that.
If you do that, remember to always be gracious and supportive of
whoever might be your partner. I've had some wonderful games doing
that. Be ready to play for the full game..
(As a director, I'd always much rather have someone willing to play
with a pick-up partner than someone random from the substitute list.)
So think of Saturday and Sunday as "tune up" days for Silver Linings
week. Grab your favorite partner and come play. Saturday schedule:
* 10:00 a.m. 0-500 Pairs
* 12:30 p.m. Open Pairs
As always, drop me a note if you're looking for a partner, or have a
friend from out of town who'd like to play.
9:30 Saturday mini-lesson:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83912578991?pwd=Y1R2UnJ1TFM2dVZzYmsyTDdzeFcydz09
Meeting ID: 839 1257 8991
Passcode: 7ntxx
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
It's Wednesday, January 13. We have some bridge for you today!
* 10:45 0-500 Pairs
* 7:30 Open Pairs
I'm also planning to play in a *casual game today at 3:00 on
RealBridge*. This game is hosted by myself and Ho Ming Yim. We'll
probably play an IMP Pairs game, but if we had one more team of players,
we could play a *three round round-robin team game*.
If you have a team and would like to join us, drop me a note. If there
are two pairs who'd like to join, Ho Ming will mix and match for teammates.
This is just for fun: no director, no masterpoints. But RealBridge is a
great experience, and about as close to in-person bridge as you'll see
for a while.
We also have our Newcomer pairs at 7:15, with Zoom meeting after. I'll
send that invitation to the Newcomers list.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
Tuesday morning we'll meet for a 0-500 game. Game time 10:45
Drop me a note if you need a partner, or have a friend from out of town
who'd like to play!
Next Monday (one week from tonight) starts a new Silver Linings week.
All VACB games will award about a third more points than usual, all
silver points. Card fees will be $6 to cover the extra ACBL table fee.
I'm inclined to add a game or two for 0-500 players. Feedback welcome!
Day game? Evening?
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
Hi all! Tonight is our popular Monday night 999er game at 7:15.
I have at least one player looking for a partner. Who else might be out
there?
Drop me a note!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
We have our Open Pairs game in about an hour and a half. Come play if
you can!
There might still be time to find a partner, else it's good to drop in
to the Partnership Desk. Need help finding it? I can help with that.
BTW, yesterday I published a video on YouTube that's directed at other
teachers. It shows how I prepare classes for use with Shark Bridge, the
teaching platform that most of us use these days. If you're curious, you
might enjoy seeing "behind the curtain" a little.
https://youtu.be/q56qIjc-BfY
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
This month's edition of the District 23 newsletter is out. Click here to
see the Southern California Bridge News
<https://www.bridgewebs.com/acbl23/CurrentNews.pdf>. (PDF)
We have Saturday games! If you need a partner, or want to play with a
friend or family member from outside our local club, drop me an email.
* 9:30 a.m. mini-lesson
* 10:00 a.m. 0-500 Pairs
* 12:20 p.m. Newcomer games (12 boards 90 minutes, reservations only)
* 12:30 p.m. Open Pairs
Join us for the free 9:30 Saturday mini-lesson. I'll present on a
declarer play topic for about 15 minutes:
Topic: Bridge mini lesson
Time: Jan 9, 2021 09:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83912578991?pwd=Y1R2UnJ1TFM2dVZzYmsyTDdzeFcydz09
Meeting ID: 839 1257 8991
Passcode: 7ntxx
In about 10 days we'll have another Silver Linings Week. I've had a few
people ask if I would be adding any games for that week. I imagine I
probably will. Silver points are precious and hard to come by this year.
Since Silver Points are really only significant for players who haven't
scored their Life Master pin yet, I'm inclined to add a couple of 0-500
games. Drop me a note if you have any suggestions of when I should hold
games! If I can't fit a game into my teaching schedule, I might be able
to get a sub director.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
We have two great games tomorrow:
* 10:45 0-500 Pairs
* 7:30 Open Pairs
For the 7:30 game we'll play 6 minutes per board, so it will finish a
little quicker.
The Wednesday evening game gets credit for the tables in the Newcomer
game "next door" for higher masterpoint awards. It makes a pretty big
difference!
As always, let me know if you need a partner, or if you have a friend or
family member from out of the area who would like to play.
Tonight was class 1 of a new beginning bridge class with 12 students.
We're doing our best to make new bridge players!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
Who's in for this morning's 499er game? We're playing at 10:45.
I do have a partner available if you need one!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones, Monrovia, CA
BridgeMojo <http://bridgemojo.com>
Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers <http://otastro.org>
Mojo's Blog <http://mojo.whiteoaks.com>
