Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
We had a great busy day on Sunday!
For the North American Pairs District Final we had seven tables each in
Flight A and B, and five tables in Flight C. Everyone found something
good for lunch. (Sushi from Vallarta Market? Yes!)
Special thanks to Stephen Licker, Robert Jennings, Ron Lu, and Toban for
spending some time at the club and helping out with the event.
Thursday Open Game Starts
October 5, 11:00 AM, Open Pairs, 24 boards, and free pizza lunch this
Thursday! We'll take a short break at 12:00 for pizza. Drop me a note to
reserve a seat.
Bridge Scoring Notation
"What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?"
"What do you mean? African or European swallow?"
"I don't know that! Aaaauughhh!" -- the Troll from /Monty Python In
Search of the Holy Grail/.
In the US, since I started playing and recording scores with a pencil on
a traveler, we always referred to the result of a contract by either how
many tricks it made, or how many tricks it went down.
For instance: 3SN+5 (three spades by north making five).
For manually computing the score, this provides a mental shortcut. I
could compute the trick score: 5 x 30 = 150 plus the partscore bonus for
200 total.
But in Europe, and I suppose most of the rest of the world, that score
would be noted as 3SN+2. Mentally I would have a tiny extra step ((3+2)*30).
If there were no overtricks, it would be noted as 3SN=, rather than the
American form, 3SN+3.
For Bridgemates, I have an option to use "American" or "European"
scoring notation.
I've noticed that ACBL's "Live for Clubs" is currently using European
notation for results. The Common Game is doing the same thing.
Maybe this was be an outgrowth of quarantine, when we all had to play
online, and most of us played on Bridge Base Online. All of the notation
there is in European format.
In US tournaments, the Bridgemates are still set to American format,
where you'd key in "making 5" rather than "+3". As long as that's true,
I'll keep it the same in the club. It will be a slightly jarring change
if they make it.
So what do you think? Is the American scoring format to be scrapped?
It's an interesting discussion!
Classes this week
Drop in for a single class! Most of our sessions are small groups with
opportunities for lots of personal attention. It's just $25 for an
almost-private lesson.
Note Slam Bidding and Blackwood on Saturday. :)
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ "Advancing a
takeout double"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Practice Hands"
* Saturday 9:30 AM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Slam
Bidding and Blackwood"
Saturday Workshop and Game 1:00 PM /to be announced/ ($10 for workshop
and short game!)
YouTube mini-lesson this week <https://youtu.be/E82cytO4DhY>: "Entries
(2 of 2)" Learn about ducking plays.
Coming up ...
October is Club Appreciation Month. Let's have some club championships,
with lots of extra masterpoints! We'll start with the week of October 9.
Sunday October 8 we have a Pasadena Unit Game at the club. Drop me a
note for a reservation. 12:30 PM start time.
We have a very special game on Wednesday, October 25, the Instant
Matchpoint Game. More about that later.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Hi all,
Tomorrow is a big day at the club. I'm hosting the North American Pairs
district final. I'm going to be assisting the director in the community
room down the hall from the club.
If anyone were available to drop in for a while to help do errands at
the club, it would be a big help. I'll need someone to do things like
make coffee, restock food, keep the break room tidy, and run any other
errands we might need.
You might get to kibitz some really good bridge players as well. All the
best players from LA County will be here competing to go to the national
championship. :)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
build message
Morris "Mojo" Jones
mojo(a)PasadenaBridgeClub.com
https://PasadenaBridgeClub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Last week I suggested that I'd talk about scoring notation this week.
But no! I'm pushing it to next week, because ...
NAP District Final Oct. 1
We have another major event coming up at the bridge club. On Sunday,
October 1, we'll be hosting the District 23 North American Pairs Finals.
(The event belongs to the district, but it's worth writing about.)
The North American Pairs is a big deal! It's one of two "grass roots"
competitions held annually by the ACBL. (The other is the Grand National
Teams.)
The district final is really three finals: one each for qualifiers under
500 masterpoints, 2500 masterpoints, and Open. The qualifiers will be
divided into three separate two-session games.
The top four finishers in each flight (three in Open) will be invited to
represent District 23 (Los Angeles County) at the Spring NABC in
Louisville, KY. The top finishers also receive some travel reimbursement
to make the trip!
You may have qualified for the District Final by playing in a
specially-designated club game, either at our club, another club, or one
of the VACB clubs on Bridge Base Online. Those games are played in June,
July, and August.
Check the list here to see
<https://web2.acbl.org/documentLibrary/play/NAP_Qualifiers/NAP_D23.htm>,
and if you're there, pick up a partner who also qualified and make a
reservation for the district final!
All of the information about the District North American Pairs Final is
collected on the website here <https://nap.bridgemojo.com/>. If you plan
to compete, I highly recommend reading the Conditions of Contest for the
tournament.
Improving Your Judgment - Doubles
This course is guaranteed to improve the way you find and use the red X
card from the bidding box. Level-up your game with your partner!
First session Wednesday evening at 7:00, meeting for six classes total.
Not sure? Try the first one for $25, and upgrade to the full class if
you like it.
Here is the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles>, and here's where
you can sign up <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>.
Classes this week
Single classes are always available for $25. This week's offerings:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ "The Takeout
Double"
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Practice hands"
* Saturday 9:30 AM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Strong
Opening Bids"
Saturday Workshop and Game 1:00 PM "Notrump Play: Making A Plan"
Coming up ...
Next week (October 5) will be our first Thursday Open Pairs game at
11:00 AM. I'm buying pizza! Rally up your favorite partner and come play.
There are lots of great updates to RSVPBridge <https://rsvpbridge.com>
that I'll be taking advantage of, especially for managing bridge courses.
And in December, the Better Bridge Teacher Accreditation Program
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/better-bridge-tap>.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Dealing with a revoke
We've all been in the situation where someone at the table failed to
follow suit on a trick. (I've never done that! <cough> Yes I have.) This
is known as a "revoke" or "renege."
There are a few things to keep in mind when you notice a revoke:
* When attention is called to it, call "director, please!" (But not if
you're dummy!)
* If you are dummy and you notice it /you must not say anything!/ (If
I'm dummy, I adjust the card for that trick in my trick record to
the side slightly, so I can come back to it.)
* The offender can correct their revoke if it's caught before /they or
their partner/ plays to the following trick.
* Once the revoke is established, it can not be corrected!
* You /may not inspect/ any previously played cards except as required
by the director,
When I'm playing, if I notice an opponent renege on a trick, I offset
that card slightly in my trick record, so after the hand we can go back
and establish what happened, with the director present.
If you notice an opponent revoke, you don't have to say anything! Make
note of the trick, keep playing, and let the director apply the laws at
the end of the hand.
Improving Your Judgment - Doubles
The takeout double is the most powerful and useful call in bridge. No
one can dispute that! Are you not doubling enough?
Sign up for the six-week course on Wednesday evenings starting Sept. 27.
Each week we'll look at more detail of doubles and how to think about
them, both from the doubler's seat and their partner's seat.
As with all of the Audrey Grant courses, there are always great hands
with play and defense lessons to be had as well.
Here is the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles>, and here's where
you can sign up <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>.
Classes this week
Drop in for a single class! Most of our sessions are small groups with
opportunities for lots of personal attention. It's just $25 for an
almost-private lesson. (Never quite true for Bridge Basics 1. It's a big
class, but it's a great refresher.)
This is a good week to brush up on your Jacoby Transfer Bids!
* Thursday 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ "Minor Suit
Opening Bids and Responses"
* Saturday 9:30 AM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Jacoby
Transfer Bids"
Saturday Workshop and Game 1:00 PM "Notrump Play: Finesses of Many
Kinds" ($10 for workshop and short game!)
YouTube mini-lesson this week <https://youtu.be/iBiRZBf5wwU>: "Entries
(1 of 2)" (There's also a funny blast from 2021 about playing online and
what might happen after pandemic!)
Coming up ...
Today I got a preview of some features Brenda Egeland has been adding to
RSVPBridge to better support bridge courses. It'll be a great management
tool for me and the students!
Remember Thursdays? October 5 we'll have our first Thursday 11:00 AM
Open Pairs. Games are in RSVP to reserve now!
Next week I want to talk a little about bridge scoring notation.
(American or European?)
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Learn and Play Bridge!
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Great courses starting soon!
We have three great bridge courses starting in the next few weeks. Our
courses are geared toward working adults and students, and offered on
Saturday mornings plus Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
With each of our courses, you will be able to practice the hands from
class at home using just your internet browser!
Here are the courses that are starting up next:
Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions
Saturday Mornings, starting Sept. 16
This course covers the most popular and valuable bidding conventions.
You'll learn Stayman and Jacoby Transfer Bids for responding to notrump
openings. We'll also cover very strong opening hands, and slam bidding,
including the Blackwood and Gerber conventions.
* Six Saturday Mornings, 9:30 - 11:30
* $115 includes textbook
* Click here for the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/popular-conventions>
* Click here to enroll
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Improving Your Judgment - Doubles
Wednesday Evenings, starting Sept. 27
The takeout double is the most powerful and useful call in the bidding
box. Refine your understanding of takeout doubles, your role as advancer
(when your partner doubles), and rebids by the doubler. We'll study many
borderline decisions to help improve your judgment.
* Six Wednesday Evenings, 7:00 - 9:00
* $115 includes textbook
* Click here for the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles>
* Click here to enroll
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding
Thursday Evenings, starting Oct. 12
This is the followup course to /Bridge Basics 1/, but it's dynamite for
experienced club players as well.
You'll learn ways to compete in the bidding to maximize your score and
do better on more hands. We'll practice preemptive opening bids,
overcalls, the takeout double, and the negative (responder's) double.
Find out what a cue bid means!
* Six Thursday Evenings, 7:00 - 9:00
* $115 includes textbook
* Click here for the lesson plan
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding>
* Click here to enroll
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>
Our next /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ series will be offered on
Wednesday evenings starting January 10. (I always offer the Bridge
Basics series 1, 2, and 3 sequentially for a given class session.)
Best regards,
Mojo
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
It's amazing to see our little club hosting a major tournament. This is
our third hosting of an event, and by far the largest in attendance.
For the first time, we took advantage of the Community Room down the
hall from the bridge club, where we have room for 12 additional tables,
for a total of about 30 (without squeezing too much!).
We hosted four full sessions of bridge, with 96-1/2 total tables over
the weekend! Our biggest session was on Sunday afternoon with 18 tables
in the Open Pairs, and 7 tables in the 499er Pairs.
Full results from all of the Sectional games
<http://live.acbl.org/events/2309379> can be found here.
New signs!
It took us a while, but we finally have professional signs on the lobby
door and over the club main doors.
Lobby glass door sign
Main door sign
Director table set up for the Sectional. Notice the new signage!
Classes this week
Anyone is welcome to drop in for a single session of any course for $25.
Here are the topics at this week's classes:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM *Defense* "Making a plan"
* Thursday 7:00 PM *Bridge Basics 1* "Major Suit Opening Bids and
Responses"
* Saturday 9:30 AM *Popular Conventions* "Stayman"
Saturday workshop and game "Developing Tricks in Notrump."
On our *YouTube channel this week*, "Sluffing Losers
<https://youtu.be/-V-QTCeqteY?feature=shared>"
(The Defense class is a great one to drop in for. We have eight hands to
practice defending, using all the basic principles of defense.)
Teacher training coming up
Become an accredited Better Bridge teacher! We're hosting a two-day
seminar by Denise Hoffman on Thursday-Friday December 21-22.
By completing the seminar you'll be recognized as an accredited teacher
by the ACBL, and eligible to be listed in the teacher directory. It's a
great credential to present to organizations like college extension
programs.
September /Bridge News/
The monthly newsletter for District 23 is available at this link
<https://www.bridgewebs.com/acbl23/CurrentNews.pdf>, and I'll have it on
our bulletin board this week at the club.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
This past week I started a new series of Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction
on Thursday evenings. On Wednesday night I was expecting 18 students. On
Thursday night I had 24 in the class!
I even got a round of applause at the end of the lesson. That doesn't
happen often!
Robots for half table
I'm getting together the tools to use BBO Robots to fill a half table at
the club. If I have a half, one table can have a pair of iPads or Fire
tablets facing the E/W seats. The robots will play N/S.
When I did this before at the BridgeMojo club, nobody liked it much. But
most players at that time weren't really familiar with bridge online.
It's different now — most of us know how to bid and play on BBO. It'll
be an interesting experiment!
As we first start out, I'll probably score the round as "No Plays" while
we're trying it out. I'll only use it for the Open games.
Love a good mystery?
When I'm on the road, I love listening to episodes of "Sorry, Partner,"
<https://sorrypartner.com/> a bridge podcast by Catherine Harris and
Jocelyn Startz.
I enjoyed a recent episode featuring English champion Helen Erichsen,
who also happens to be an author. She just released a novel /Murder By
Natural Causes/, which revolves around bridge and a bridge club.
I haven't read it yet, but it sounds like a good time! I love the title. :)
Classes this week
Anyone is welcome to drop in for a single session of any course for $25.
Let me know you're coming! Here are the topics at this week's classes:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM *Defense* "Interfering with Declarer"
* Thursday 7:00 PM *Bridge Basics 1* "1 Notrump Opening Bids and
Responses"
The Saturday games will be closed this week for the tournament (see
below). Next week we'll resume the Workshop and Game with "Developing
Tricks in Notrump."
On our *YouTube channel this week*, "Trumping in the dummy
<https://youtu.be/iuk9irx4NJA?feature=shared>"
Glendale Sectional
*September 9-10*, with lots of seats available for the Open Pairs and
499er pairs, all four sessions!
Note that this isn't a Pasadena Bridge Club event. The Glendale Verdugo
Unit is renting the bridge club for their sectional, so writing me for a
reservation won't work. Instead, visit the information page here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/glendale-sectional> and use the
reservation link.
Teacher training coming up
Become an accredited Better Bridge teacher! We're hosting a two-day
seminar by Denise Hoffman on Thursday-Friday December 21-22.
By completing the seminar you'll be recognized as an accredited teacher
by the ACBL, and eligible to be listed in the teacher directory. It's a
great credential to present to organizations like college extension
programs.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
The Western Conference Sectional Tournament at Clubs is over. Several of
our players managed to place in the tournament overalls in their
particular game.
Here's where you can find
<https://tournaments.acbl.org/schedule.php?sanction=2308508> the overall
results for each game.
Thursday Open Game Postponed
Unfortunately we've had to postpone the start of our Thursday 11:00 Open
Pairs game.
The original start date was September 7, and the new start date will be
October 5. I know a lot of players are looking forward to the game, as
am I. We'll get it started soon!
We want to add more weekly games, of course. To do that, we need players
who are trained and *interested in becoming a director.* Is that you?
Let's talk! /There is no masterpoint requirement/ to be a club director,
but there is a test!
Last NAP Qualifier
Our Wednesday 11:00 AM Open Pairs this week will be the final qualifier
game for the North American Pairs at our club.
Find all the NAP information here: https://nap.bridgemojo.com/
Classes this week
Anyone is welcome to drop in for a single session of any course for $25.
Let me know you're coming! Here are the topics at this week's classes:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM *Defense* "Developing Defensive Tricks"
* Thursday 7:00 PM *Bridge Basics 1* "Introduction"
The Saturday *workshop and game* is back this week! I'm starting a
series on play of the hand, with "taking tricks at notrump." We'll have
a 40 minute workshop followed by a 12-board game.
On our *YouTube channel this week*, Double finesses
<https://youtu.be/IS7Q5s0pmfQ?feature=shared> and a fun question from
the visitors.
Glendale Sectional
*September 9-10*, at the Pasadena Bridge Club. This will be our first
experience with using the Community Room down the hall for ten or so
extra tables.
Space is still limited of course, and reservations are required. Here's
an information page <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/glendale-sectional>
with a flier and the link to register for one or more games. (Please
don't send reservations to me!)
Teacher training coming up
Become an accredited Better Bridge teacher! We're hosting a two-day
seminar by Denise Hoffman on Thursday-Friday December 21-22.
By completing the seminar you'll be recognized as an accredited teacher
by the ACBL, and eligible to be listed in the teacher directory. It's a
great credential to present to organizations like college extension
programs.
Possible Healthcare Benefit
If you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, your plan may have a
benefit of interest to you. The ACBL has paired with Element3 to
reimburse your annual ACBL membership dues to their customers who play
bridge regularly.
To find out if you might be eligible, here's a link:
https://element3healthgroups.com/acbl
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
For our novice and intermediate players, here is a chance to win some
silver points!
Game time is 1:00 PM, and we'll play 'til about 4:00 PM. Card fee is $11.
Drop me a note if you'd like to play. I can usually find a partner for
you if you'd like to play and don't have one!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
build message
Morris "Mojo" Jones
mojo(a)PasadenaBridgeClub.com
https://PasadenaBridgeClub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
News from
N Fair Oaks
Mojo
ABTA Master Teacher
649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>
*"All about Sectional Tournaments"* is the title of a new article on the
web site. I go into some of the interesting history around Sectionals,
and the always-present tug of war between interested parties.
Read my article here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/node/48>.
Clearly I've had lots of time on my hands to write and work on things.
Lots of love and thanks to Paula, Zachary, and Lisa who have been doing
a fantastic job running games and classes while I've been holed up.
I expect to be back in the club eager to go on Wednesday morning for the
first STaC game.
New Thursday Open Pairs
Starting *September 7* (happy birthday Jane!) we'll be holding a second
Open Pairs game at 11:00 AM.
Join us for the game on Sept. 7 or 14 and we'll have a pizza party as
well! I'll bring in pizzas from Blaze downstairs, and we'll take an
extra break at about noon.
STaC Games
Three (really four) special silver point games this week:
* Wednesday 11:00 AM Open Pairs
* Thursday 11:00 AM Open Pairs (Special Game)
* Saturday 1:00 PM 0-750 Pairs
And thanks to tropical depression (once hurricane) Hilary, there's one
more STaC game sponsored by the Unit at the Arcadia Bridge Center on
Sunday, Aug. 27, at 12:30 PM.
Reservations for any game on RSVP or here
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/game_reservation>.
Districts 21, 22, and 23 are included in this Sectional Tournament at Clubs.
Learn more about Sectional Tournaments here.
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/node/48>
Classes this week
Anyone is welcome to drop in for a single session of any course for $25.
Let me know you're coming! Here are the topics at this week's classes:
* Wednesday 7:00 PM *Defense* "Defensive Signals"
* Thursday 7:00 PM *Two Over One Game Force* "Practice Hands"
* Saturday 9:30 AM *Competitive Bidding* "Practice Hands"
The Saturday "workshop and game" will not meet this week, but I invite
everyone to play in the 0-750 STaC game and practice all the great stuff
you've been learning!
Pasadena Bridge Club on *YouTube this week*: Finesses Part 2, combining
techniques, and when to lead high cards. https://youtu.be/M67RSru5BZo
Next Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction
This is the starting point for non-bridge players to discover our
favorite game.
Six Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM, starting August 31.
Let your friends and family know! Here's the link to register with PCC
online
<https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>.
Glendale Sectional
*September 9-10*, let's put on a show!
We're hosting four sessions of bridge at the Pasadena Bridge Club, with
two pairs events at each session.
Games start at 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM each day, with an Open Pairs game
and a 0-500 game.
Binge on bridge for the weekend and collect silver points!
Space is limited and may not be available! Here's an information page
<https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/glendale-sectional> with a flier and the
link to register for one or more games.
And finally ...
I have a fast, beautiful, almost new HP LaserJet printer for sale. Black
& White only, USB or ethernet connecton. $150 takes it.
Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary
