- News - Pasadena Bridge Club

It's STaC week
by Morris Jones 20 Mar '23

20 Mar '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> District 22-23 STaC Week "Silver" masterpoints are only won at sectional tournaments, and a couple of times a year, the districts organize a distributed "Sectional Tournament at Clubs" (STaC) allowing players to earn silver points without traveling to a weekend tournament somewhere distant. Here in the Pasadena San Gabriel Unit, there are four games nearby participating in STaC week: three at the Pasadena Bridge Club, and Sunday at the Arcadia Bridge Center. Silver points are important because becoming a Life Master requires at least 75 silver points (among other requirements!). For this tournament, I've added a game on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. We'll still have our social game on Thursday for players who aren't interested in the long formal game. (The STaC game will play 24 boards in about three hours.) To see all of the clubs participating in this week's STaC follow this link <https://web3.acbl.org/stac/participating-clubs?sanction=2303501&UNITNUM=&DI…>. There are many games at clubs in Los Angeles County. District-wide results will be published at this link. <https://tournaments.acbl.org/schedule.php?sanction=2303501> Here are the STaC games locally: Pasadena Bridge Club * *Wednesday 11:00 AM Open Pairs* * *Thursday 12:00 PM 0-750 Pairs* * *Saturday 1:00 PM 0-500 Pairs* Card fees for the STaC games (only) will be $11 to partially cover the extra ACBL sanction fee. For reservations use the form here: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/game_reservation Arcadia Bridge Center * *Sunday 12:30 PM Open Pairs* This is the twice-monthly Pasadena Unit Game, meeting this Sunday at the Bridge Center, 333 N Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia, CA. /Reservations are required/, and space is limited! For reservations, call Miriam Harrington, (626) 232-0558, or write miratpf(a)aol.com. How STaCs work This tournament includes clubs throughout Southern California, which includes District 23 (Los Angeles County) and District 22 (the rest of Southern California). In each session of the day (morning, afternoon, evening), the clubs offering games receive sets of hands from the Director in Charge. They're randomly dealt hands, but /all participating clubs play the same/ /hands/. At the end of each session, the club directors send their game results to the director in charge, who combines them with other clubs playing the same hands at the same time. With all the results sorted and ranked, players have the opportunity to win large silver point awards based on the table count of all clubs playing in a particular session! Did you know ... ... you can drop in for a single class of any course? You can enjoy two hours of learning an interesting bridge topic, with no commitment, for $25. We currently have classes in progress on Competitive Bidding, Defense, and Improving Your Judgment - Doubles. If you'd love to join a class, and would like to know this week's topic, drop me a note! See all of our great bridge courses in progress and coming up on the web site here: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Saturday afternoon 299ers and clock change
by Morris Jones 10 Mar '23

10 Mar '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Saturday afternoon 299er game Last Saturday we had a few players come out for the 1:00 p.m. game, but not enough to hold a game. Are some of you thinking of coming but I haven't heard form you? If so, please drop me a note! I know if more people see pairs signed up to play on Saturday afternoon, they'll be more interested in coming to play as well. In fact in two weeks, on March 25, the Saturday afternoon game will be a Silver Point STaC game. I know we'll have players for that game! Why not grab your favorite partner and warm up for a couple of games before then? Unit Game Sunday *Important! This is the day our clocks change!* If you've made reservations for the Unit Game with Miriam Harrington, be sure to remind your partner to set their clocks ahead on Saturday evening. If they miss the clock change, they could be an hour late for the game. Lunch (pizza from Blaze!) will be at 12:00 and game time will be 12:30. Reservations required please! Call Miriam at (626) 232-0558 to save your seat. This is the first Unit Game at the new bridge club. Let your favorite partners and opponents know! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Snow and bridge last week
by Morris Jones 06 Mar '23

06 Mar '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> I knew if we had snow on Mt. Wilson there would be an opportunity for great views from the bridge club. Last week we were all taking pictures out the window! Here's a view from my Thursday morning Bridge Basics 1 class. Snowy Mt Wilson at bridge club And by the way, I have over five tables each in /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ on Thursday mornings! Goodwill Member of 2023 That would be my face smiling from the middle of page 22 of the March ACBL /Bridge Bulletin/. Chip Dombrosky did a marvelous write up. Everything in the article sounded familiar, but it was hard to realize that it was about me! Defense course! Defense starts this Thursday evening, 7-9 PM. It will run for eight Thursday evenings. This is one of the most powerful courses in the catalog, and can seriously change how you look at a bridge hand. The classes in this course also stand alone very well. If you see a specific topic you'd like to explore, or only have availability for a few classes, you might consider dropping in for the one session at a time. Here's the lesson plan and more information: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/defense Single classes are $25, and the full set of eight is $130 which includes the text book. Thursday Noon Supervised Play Thursdays at Noon will be a supervised play session for all of my new students, and a great time for new players (who prefer not to go out in the evenings) to get together and practice. As the game grows, we'll make this into a regular novice duplicate game. Thursday Noon FTW! Tuesday evening novice pairs We have players coming out to play on Tuesday evenings! If you're not there you're missing out on the fun. I've found that a 12-board game is very popular, and finishes by 9:00 with no problem. Lots of partners available if you don't have one! Pasadena Unit Game March 12 The Pasadena San Gabriel Bridge Unit 559 has opted to hold its annual meeting, lunch, and bridge game at the Pasadena Bridge Club. Lunch (pizza from Blaze!) will be at 12:00 and game time will be 12:30. Reservations required please! STaC week coming March 20 That's a Sectional Tournament at Clubs. We'll be offering *Silver Points* at games during the week of March 20 through March 26. We'll definitely have Silver Point games on Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. (Open Pairs) and Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. (0-300). If there's a time when you'd like to see an additional game offered that week, let me know! Maybe we can add a game to the calendar. Did you know ... ... there's an *ice machine* in the break room? It's under the counter to the left of the sink. There's always plenty of ice to go with tea from the iced tea service, or a soda from the soda 'fridge. I've also just added a *Primo water dispenser*, serving fresh chilled and hot water. This will be a great replacement for the small bottles of water that were in the 'fridge. I'll be swapping out the "sweet tea" for lemonade soon. Arnold Palmers for everyone! :) Is there a soda you'd rather see in the 'fridge than what we have? I already know there are lots of Diet Coke fans out there. Let me know about others. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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This week at the bridge club
by Morris Jones 27 Feb '23

27 Feb '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Defense class! Defense is often considered the last of the "bridge basics," but players at every level will benefit from taking some time to study and refresh the logic and fundamentals of defense play. The course runs for eight Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM, starting March 9. I'll be sending more information shortly to the Classes email list. Course details are here: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/defense Improving Your Judgment - Doubles The Doubles course running for five Saturday mornings missed its starting session last Saturday after the Friday rain flood warnings! We have a fine group of students for the class, though, and we'll be starting up next Saturday, with all five scheduled sessions still on the calendar. There's still time to join the group! Pasadena Unit Game March 12 The Pasadena San Gabriel Bridge Unit 559 has opted to hold its annual meeting, lunch, and bridge game at the Pasadena Bridge Club. Lunch (pizza from Blaze!) will be at 12:00 and game time will be 12:30. Reservations required please! STaC week coming March 20 We'll be offering silver points at games during the week of March 20 through March 26. it's a Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) and clubs throughout the If there's a time when you'd like to see an additional game offered that week, let me know! Maybe we can add a game to the calendar. Date set for Robert Todd On Sunday, May 14, we're planning to have a *full-day bridge seminar* with author, teacher, and bridge professional Robert Todd. Yes, it's Mother's Day, but for us bridge players it's hard to imagine a better Mother's Day gift! I'll have fliers and a web page with topics and information soon. New calendar on the web site When you visit https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/schedule now you will find an embedded Google calendar that you can scroll around in and see the games and classes that are coming up. Meanwhile, Bridge Basics 1 and 2 each are attracting 5-6 tables of future bridge players on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. We'll be offering a Thursday afternoon novice bridge game similar to the Tuesday evening game -- perfect for players who'd rather not be out at night. Let me know if you're interested in that game. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Closed today
by Morris Jones 25 Feb '23

25 Feb '23

Please stay inside, warm and dry today! I just arrived at the bridge club, and I do NOT recommend travel in this weather. I'll head back home shortly. :) Mojo -- build message Morris "Mojo" Jones mojo(a)PasadenaBridgeClub.com https://PasadenaBridgeClub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com>

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New course starting, and new Tuesday game
by Morris Jones 19 Feb '23

19 Feb '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> All about those doubles! I have an excellent *course starting up* for five sessions this coming Saturday morning, Feb. 25, 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.: /Improving Your Judgment - Doubles/ from Audrey Grant and David Lindop. I recommend this class for intermediate players. This is where you can learn how experts will use doubles in interesting and marginal situations -- and, more importantly, when they don't. Click here for a full description and lesson plan: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/iyj_doubles If you'd like to sign up, you can just reply to this email, or use the "enroll" form on the web site here: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment Following IYJ-Doubles will be /Two Over One Game Forcing/ for six weeks. Add it to your calendar! April 1 start date. Free novice game this Tuesday evening The Monday evening novice game is now the Tuesday evening novice game. We're kicking off the festivities with a free game on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Game time is 7:00 p.m., and we're always finished by 9:30 (if not a bit sooner!). I have lots of friendly partners available. :) Last Wednesday for Pizza and Educational Foundation points This coming Wednesday, Feb. 22, will be our last (for the moment) pizza party, and last opportunity for the big points available. Our games in February help support the Educational Foundation. And the games pay 63% of a sectional rating! We look to have a good game shaping up this Wednesday already. Drop me a note to reserve your seat, or sign up on RSVPBridge <https://rsvpbridge.com>. New at the bridge club I've just added some nice face clocks to the walls, so we can always see the time of day (as well as the round timer!). There's a bookshelf on the way that will be going in the classroom. I'm going to be populating it with many shelf-feet of bridge books, new and old. I'll also have several years of /Bridge World/ magazine to peruse. If you have bridge books you'd like to add to the collection, bring 'em in! The iced tea dispenser will change when the "sweet tea" side runs out (soon). I'm going to have lemonade on one side, and unsweet iced tea on the other. Perfect for Arnold Palmers. :) I have *two great classes starting up* this week at the club: On Wednesday evenings, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ already has 5-1/2 tables. On Thursday mornings, I'm starting a new series of Bridge Basics 1, 2, and 3, from 9:00 - 11:00. Four tables are signed up, and there are likely to be a few more students. I'm planning to offer a new short novice game on Thursdays at noon. It may take a while to get a few players, but it already sounds like it will be fairly popular. The future looks bright for face-to-face bridge. It will take a while to reboot bridge, but I have time. :) Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Big announcement from the Pasadena Bridge Club
by Morris Jones 13 Feb '23

13 Feb '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Card fees for all games $10 No more $15 or $13 games. I want the Pasadena Bridge Club to exceed expectations for environment, quality, and value. I don't want anyone to think twice about coming out for a bridge game. I want to make it easy for folks to visit and play as often as they like, and I want my students to discover bridge to be a worthwhile pastime, challenging mindsport, and a great value. Special games, charity, and fund raisers might call for an extra dollar once in a while, but that will be the exception, and not yet. We still have two *Wednesday Bridge & Pizza* parties in February. We'll be playing Educational Fund games *awarding masterpoints* *at 63% sectional rating*! (The extra sanction fee is on me.) Nothing else will change. Same great hands from The Common Game, Free snacks, coffee, iced tea, and soft drinks. Come enjoy a game on me I've mailed a postcard to all ACBL members with 300 or more masterpoints in Pasadena and neighboring bridge units good for a free game on any Wednesday Open game at 11:00 a.m. (If you don't get one within a few days, drop me a note and I'll take care of it.) For the novice/intermediate players, read on for more news. (And if you'd like to play in the Open Pairs on a Wednesday, drop me a note! Your next game is on me.) All students in current classes will also receive a coupon for a free game (any game) at the bridge center. All full courses will include a textbook and a free game. Monday novice game moves to Tuesday next week Monday evening novice games had some sentimental history for me. In 2017 I first created the BridgeMojo game, renting space in a Masonic Hall in San Marino. That game later moved to the San Marino Center. But honestly, Mondays aren't always a great night! For one thing, they often land on a holiday, as will the game on February 20. And on a personal note, moving the game to Tuesdays will give me two evenings off -- time to give us a true weekend. I'm committed to offering a game on a weekday evening that will allow working bridge players to get into a real game at the bridge club, along with a true Saturday bridge afternoon for novice/intermediate players. Free novice game Feb. 21 To kick off the Tuesday evening novice game, the game on February 21 is free. Come play 14 or 15 boards at 7:00 on February 21. Please drop me a note (or use RSVP Bridge) to reserve a seat. Partners available! *The February 13 Monday evening game is on*. Come play if you can! $10 card fee. I'll send a reminder to our players on RSVPBridge shortly. Thank you all for your support, encouragement, and attention. :) Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Wednesday games are special in February
by Morris Jones 07 Feb '23

07 Feb '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Special games on Wednesdays It doesn't get any better than the Wednesday morning Open Pairs game at the Pasadena Bridge Club in February! Every Wednesday in February I'm bringing in *hot fresh pizza* from Blaze Pizza. If you didn't know, our bridge club lives just above Blaze. I can place the order, dash down the stairs and back, and it's still hot and crisp. I've been enjoying their veggie pizzas and meat pizzas, but I'm open to suggestion! To make it even better, it's *Educational Foundation month* at bridge clubs in February. I'm picking up the extra sanction fee, and all of our February Wednesday Open Games will pay *double black points* compared to a regular club game. *Game time is 11:00 a.m.* We'll take a short pizza break, play 24 boards, and you should be back on the road before the traffic peaks on I-210. Our hands are *The Common Game afternoon* boards. It's a great opportunity to compare your results with clubs all over North America. If you're planning to play, please *reply to this email* so we know you're coming. (You can also join the game from RSVPBridge.com <https://rsvpbridge.com/> if you're already enrolled there.) If you haven't noticed, the club is situated in a pretty special location. Arriving or departing, coming from the north or east, you can always get to the club without going through the 210/134 interchange. Even from Glendale or the valley, you can exit to Fair Oaks before hitting the big Pasadena merge. Thursday class and novice game I already have at least three tables of new bridge players signed up to start Bridge Basics 1 - An Introduction on Thursday morning, Feb. 23, at 9:00 a.m. Interest in the Thursday 12:00 noon novice pairs is running high as well! If you have friends who've been looking for a weekday bridge class, let them know soon! Try the first class free with no obligation. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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New courses and updates
by Morris Jones 02 Feb '23

02 Feb '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> New courses coming up The next round of great courses for advancing players will be starting later in February: *Competitive Bidding* Wed 7-9 PM starting Feb 23 (6 classes) *Doubles *Sat 9:30-1:30 AM starting Feb 25 (6 classes) *Defense *Thu 7-9 PM starting Mar 9 (8 classes) You can reserve your spot in any of these classes by replying to this email, or use the contact form here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>. Thursday class and novice game A new series of the Bridge Basics courses will be starting on Thursday mornings, Feb. 23, with a *free *session of /Bridge Basics 1 - An Introduction/. There's a lot of demand for weekday classes and games for those of us not burdened by 9-5 weekday jobs. There are already several future players signed up for the class! In conjunction with the Thursday morning classes, I'll be offering a *novice bridge gam**e* on Thursdays at Noon. We'll play 14-15 hands, and should be done by 2:30. Bridge and pizza Wednesdays I've been getting great reviews on the quality of the pizza from Blaze Pizza on Wednesdays! Made just downstairs from the club, it comes upstairs hot and crispy. Join us for an *Open Pairs* game with great competition. We'll play from 11:00 a.m. and be finished no later than 2:30 p.m. International Fund Game Feb. 4 Our upcoming *299er game on Saturday Feb. 4*, 1:00 p.m., will be a special game with significant extra masterpoint awards. I will have expert analyses of every hand played by bridge author Frank Stewart. The game raises funds to support US bridge teams competing in international competition. Your card fee will be the same $15. I'll kick in the extra sanction fee for the game. Come play and help support our US teams! Web site updates Drop by pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/> for the current schedule, and some great pictures from the building of the club last December. I've added a resources page <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/resources> with links to bridge organizations and other clubs. The staff page <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/staff> finally has a picture and bio of yours truly. Hopefully more to be added soon! (More teachers and directors wanted!) And the game results <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/game_results> page has links to both ACBL Live for Clubs and The Common Game, offering two different ways to view your game results. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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Special game Wednesday at 11:00, extra points and pizza
by Morris Jones 23 Jan '23

23 Jan '23

Pasadena Bridge Club Logo <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> News from N Fair Oaks Mojo Pasadena Bridge Club <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> BridgeMojo <https://bridgemojo.com> Courses <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses> ABTA Master Teacher 649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201 Pasadena CA 91103 (626) 247-4457 pasadenabridgeclub.com <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com> Bridge, Pizza and Extra Points The *Wednesday Open Pairs* game at 11:00 a.m. will be a Junior Fund game, awarding many extra masterpoints (it looks like it's more than double a normal club game). This game helps raise funds to support ACBL programs for players under 26 years of age. Besides the extra points, we'll have pizza from Blaze Pizza. And all for the same $15 card fee. Drop me a note if you're planning to come play! I'll add you to the RSVPBridge reservation system. New /Bridge Basics 1 - An Introduction/ series scheduled For our friends who won't be getting out in the evenings, but want to try their hand at our favorite game: We have a new Bridge Basics series starting on Thursday mornings, February 23, at 9:00 a.m. Have them come try it for free! If they want to take the full six-week series, it's only $91, including the textbook from Audrey Grant. Reservations are available now on the web site. All I need is a name and email address. https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment The introductory course will be followed by the full Bridge Basics series, 1 through 3. We'll also have a novice bridge game on Wednesdays at 12:00 noon, playing about 14 hands. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zach

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