- News - Pasadena Bridge Club

Closures this week
by Morris Jones 06 Dec '25

06 Dec '25

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> I'm doing well, thank you! This week I got a really good pathology report, and that may be the end of this ordeal. We'll see what the future holds when I meet with my oncologist next week. Meanwhile Jane has been taking great care of me, and I'm feeling better every day. We've been doing puzzles and watching classic movies. Club closed Thursday-Saturday this week Zachary is taking care of family this week and playing in Palm Springs, Lisa is playing in Palm Springs, and Susan is traveling on vacation. I'm still recovering from my surgery. Paula Olivares is generously covering the bridge games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We won't have games on *Thursday, Friday, or Saturday of this week,* that's December 11, 12, and 13. The Tuesday evening game on Dec. 9 will not meet, and the 3:00 PM workshops are cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. On either Thursday or Friday, the property management company will be replacing our lobby door that's been broken for a few weeks. They need to block the door for a full day, so this is a lucky closure date for them. Practice Class Hands Jane Winer wants to claim the empty space on Monday through Wednesday 3:00-5:00 next week if there is interest, specifically to practice hands from the various courses we offer. She's definitely going to make hands from the 2/1GF class on one of those days, but also has hands available from the first four Bridge Basics and Defense classes. She has three days, and several classes to choose from, so what she'd really like to know is what day you would like to attend and which class you want to practice the most. Please drop Jane a note at jane.b.winer(a)gmail.com with "I'd like to come on [Mon Tue Wed] and would really love to practice {Defense, BB2, 2/1, etc.]" Club Championships next week Let's play Club Championship games during the week of Dec. 15-20. No extra charge, lots of extra masterpoints with overall awards for each game. Teams for New Year's Eve We have a bit of a tradition to hold a special team game on New Year's Eve during the day. Let's do it again this year to wind up our third year of operation. The format will be teams of four, in a swiss team format, with a limit of 16 teams. Each team is constrained in its membership to the "Eight is Enough" format, in which the total for the team members must not exceed eight points, as follows: * Players with 0-200 masterpoints: 1 point * Players with 200-1000 masterpoints: 2 points * Players over 1000 masterpoints: 3 points (Of course any team is welcome to have fewer "points!") The objective is to attempt to level the playing field so all teams have a good chance of winning some matches during the event. We'll start the game at 11:00 AM, include plenty of party fare, food and drink, and finish probably around 3:00 or 3:30 PM -- in plenty of time to have your own real New Year's Eve dinner out or entertainment event. Coming up ... *5-game punch cards* will continue on sale for $55 through December 31, and you can purchase as many as you wish. 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

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This week at the bridge club
by Morris Jones 10 Nov '25

10 Nov '25

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/1FAIpQLSeh59LNIqgusIidW3rDnUrp1GgxghnezS2…>. *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

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Great IMG results
by Morris Jones 03 Nov '25

03 Nov '25

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> Our club was one of 117 in North America participating in last week's ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game on Wednesday. Most notably, we were the only club in District 23 (Los Angeles County) offering a game! As a result, the top five finishers at our club were also the top five in District 23. That means our folks had their masterpoint awards increased by quite a lot. The full list of winners in North America are listed at this link <https://club-results.s3.amazonaws.com/production/SpecialGameResults/AIM/202…>. Here's a screen shot of the winners from the district (all from our game!): Big congratulations! And remember what (Woody Allen and) I said last week, 80% of life is showing up! The other D23 clubs missed out on this one. As a bonus, the social/supervised group on Friday was able to enjoy playing the same hands, consulting the booklet, and seeing the table results from the special travelers. Thank you all for playing! Let's do it again next year. 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/ "Slam Bidding" * Thursday, 7:00 PM /Intro to Defense/ "Signals against Notrump 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. There are no regular courses scheduled for December; we'll resume the rotation during the first week of January. You can see the next scheduled courses on the web site here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/available_courses>. That said, I'm looking for an opportunity to do a shorty course of two meetings on "Opening the Bidding." We'll talk about how your seating position changes your considerations for making an opening bid. I'll pick two dates for the mini-class when I see how my surgery recovery is progressing. Coming up ... Do you love the five-game punch cards? We're going to have an end-of-year sale on them. From December 1st through 24th we'll sell you a five-game punch card for $55 instead of $60. I mention it now so you don't buy too many before they go on sale. Each punch is good for a regular $12 game. 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. Lisa Walker is traveling in Egypt for a couple of weeks. Zachary, Susan, Liza and I will be doing our best to cover all the games for a couple of weeks. I'm really grateful to have all the help while I deal with pre-surgery appointments. The big day for me is November 20. Everything is going well so far. Best regards Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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Instant Matchpoint Game
by Morris Jones 27 Oct '25

27 Oct '25

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 past Sunday the club hosted the North American Pairs District Final. This game determines who will be invited to the Spring NABC in St. Louis to represent District 23 (Los Angeles County). In Flight C, two of our regular club partnerships placed in the overalls and will get their invitation: *Peter Kavounas* with *Richard Parker *from Upland and Claremont won the event, and *Hsing (Cindy) Fang* and *Chris Sun* from San Gabriel and Pasadena took third. *Peter Jager* and *Kim Ebner* placed fifth and become "first alternate" to make the trip to St. Louis in Flight B. Flight A was a special case, with only two pairs entered. Both pairs will have a chance to play in St. Louis. *Gary Moore* and *Thompson Jin* , along with *Sarah Deschenes* and *myself*. It just confirms what Woody Allen said that "80% of life is just showing up." :) Instant Matchpoint Game Wednesday Wednesday October 29 our Open Pairs game will be the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Game. This is our third year to host this special game (and it's good to have the practice!). The game is played like any of our other Open Pairs games, but instead of waiting to get your matchpoint score at the end of the game, you will find your score on a traveling score slip immediately after playing it. (The scores have already been determined, and I don't know how they do that! Probably best that I don't!) More special features: 1st place in each direction earns *one full gold masterpoint*. The remaining awards will be a "royal" scattering of black, red, silver, and gold. The top five pairs in each district will be awarded additional points (first place gets 10.0 masterpoints!). At the end of the game, everyone receives a printed booklet with expert analysis of all 36 hands available for play. (We'll only play 24 of them.) The game takes a little extra time, so plan to be finished closer to 2:30. We do have to clean and set up the room for the Bridge Basics 1 class that starts at 3:00! Card fees are $14 for this game. 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/ "Minor Suit Openings and Responses" * Wednesday, 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "Strong Opening Hands" * Thursday, 7:00 PM /Intro to Defense/ "Third Hand Play" 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 ... Our great friend of the club Jane Winer has been doing so much to help students, new and continuing, to get opportunities to practice between classes. She has been opening the bridge club on Sunday mornings at 10:00 or so and inviting folks to come practice hands from that week's classes. Jane is also taking on a great organizational duty by helping to arrange for "seat filling" teaching assistants for each class. These are past students from classes who volunteer to fill a three-player table to make a fourth. They come attend a class with the possibility of not being needed! It's a great luxury for the students (and the teacher!) for the quality of the presentation — to have the maximum involvement in each of the classes, with rarely a need for "5-player" tables. If you are a current student or potential TA volunteer who would like to join in, drop me a note (reply to this message) and I'll put you in touch with Jane. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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Club Appreciation Month
by Morris Jones 13 Oct '25

13 Oct '25

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> October is Club Appreciation Month. The ACBL expresses its appreciation by awarding what are essentially "club championship" masterpoint levels for two weeks with no extra charge. This week and next all of our Open Pairs games will be Club Appreciation games. Come play and rack up points! We also have two dynamite courses starting up this week. On Wednesday evening, Popular Conventions (Bridge Basics 3), and on Thursday evenings Intro to Defense. The Bridge Basics 1 course on Wednesday afternoon had 22 new students. Our next Bridge Basics 1 will start in April on Thursday evenings. We had a lot of big winners during the STaC week! You can see the district-wide overall results for each session <https://tournaments.acbl.org/schedule.php?sanction=2510502#schedule> at this link. NAP District Final The Pasadena Bridge Club is hosting the North American Pairs District Final on Sunday, October 26. You might recall that we held qualifier games for this event during June, July, and August. Did you qualify? <https://web2.acbl.org/documentLibrary/play/NAP_Qualifiers/NAP_D23.htm> With the new A flight capped at 6,000 masterpoints, there are more opportunities to qualify to a national game. Since I'm no longer NAP coordinator, I'm looking forward to getting to play in the event. Maybe I'll get to represent District 23 in St. Louis in March. All of the NAP information is available here: https://nap.bridgemojo.com/ The October 26 event is a two-session matchpoint pairs game, with the two sessions starting at 10:00 and 3:00. Be sure to get your reservation in as soon as you can! Here's the reservation link <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/reservation_for_nap_final>. Start a bridge course! Register at this link <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> to join either Popular Conventions <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/popular-conventions> on Wednesday evenings or Intro to Defense <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense> on Thursday evenings. (Click the links for full course descriptions.) If you're not sure you want to take the full course, try the first session for $25. If you decide to enroll, get credit for the single session. 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/ "One notrump openings and responses" * Wednesday, 7:00 PM /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ "The Stayman Convention" * Thursday, 7:00 PM /Intro to Defense/ "Opening leads against notrump" Don't forget the Saturday morning *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 ... On Wednesday, October 29, we'll host a game in the *ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Pairs*, a very special annual event! For every hand and result, you get your matchpoint percentage immediately after playing the hand. At the end of the session, there's a special booklet with analysis from a guest expert on every board. It's a unique way to play a club game, and our results will be compared with other clubs in the district and the ACBL. Big games have the potential for a big district or national point award! Card fees for the Instant Matchpoint Game will be $14. I do have a little update on my health situation, and it's all good news. I have a surgery date of November 20. The lung mass has retreated noticeably, and we're going to skip the third chemo. I have plenty of time to recover from the side effects that sidelined me for a while, and get to enjoy spending some time with you all at the bridge club for the next month. I'm still not 100%, but getting closer! Thanks so much for all the good wishes and support! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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STaC week, Lulu Minter
by Morris Jones 05 Oct '25

05 Oct '25

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> Silver point week! Lulu Minter! New courses! But first ... I just finished the new novel /A Reluctant Spy/ by good friend of the club Roselyn Teukolsky. (She and Saul won the Pasadena Unit Game today.) It's a great adventure of a read. I loved getting to see Ithaca and Cornell academia through the eyes of Roselyn and her characters. I cringed through her heroine's many fumbles and missteps, and enjoyed the twists and turns along the way to a crescendo of a climax. Well worth a read! Meanwhile we have new bridge courses starting up next week. I'm going to follow up this newsletter with one to our "classes" email list with details. You might get two emails from me today. Silver Point Week All Open Pairs games this week will pay silver points. Our games will be combined with other clubs in LA County for potentially large payouts for overall winners! It's a Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). Card fees for the open games will be $13 to cover the addtional sanction fees. Stratification for all open STaC games will be Open/2500/750, based on the average point holding of each pair. Free Lulu Minter Seminars Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings Lulu Minter will be offering free pre-game talks at 10:00 before the 11:00 Open Pairs games. His topic for all three sessions will be "Bridge Problems, Thinking Outside the Box" No reservations required, doors will open at 9:45 on all three days. Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction Oct 8 Our first weekday offering of Bridge Basics 1 has 19 students enrolled as of this moment. We limit the course to 28, so it's a good time to have your friends reserve their seats as soon as they can! Here's the registration link at PCC Extension <https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>. Popular Conventions Oct 15 Here's a six-week course to learn and practice the most useful bidding conventions in bridge: Stayman, Jacoby Transfer Bids, strong Hand openings, and slam bidding. This is Bridge Basics 3. * Wednesday evenings, 7-9 PM * Six sessions starting October 15 * $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant * Click here for the full description <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/popular-conventions> * Click here to reserve your seat <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> Intro to Defense Oct 16 This course may well have more positive impact on your game than any other we offer. Come learn how to work with your partner to take as many tricks as possible on defense. Learn to visualize the placement of key cards and communicate with partner when you can't see each other's cards. * Thursday evenings, 7-9 PM * Six sessions starting October 16 * $120 includes textbook by Eddie Kantar * Click here for the full description <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/intro-to-defense> * Click here to reserve your seat <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> 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. This week we really only have one session, but it's very worthy of a drop-in! This is a makeup session for Bridge Basics 2, and it's a great opportunity to learn and practice competitive bidding skills. * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "Practice Hands" I am also planning a makeup session on Friday at 3:00 PM for practice hands for Two Over One Game Force. If you'd like to drop in for that session, drop me a note. Coming up ... Our next two weeks of games following the STaC will be Club Appreciation games, with lots of extra masterpoints and overall awards for every open game. On Sunday October 26, the club will be hosting the North American Pairs District Final. It's a full-day two-session event. If you qualified at a club game, make your reservation to play and get information here: https://nap.bridgemojo.com/ On Wednesday, October 29, we'll host a game in the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Pairs, a very special annual event! More about that in a future newsletter. Personal health wise, I'm in a little bit of a holding pattern for the next two or three weeks, and expecting to use this time to be active at the club teaching classes and directing. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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October bridge! Games and classes
by Morris Jones 29 Sep '25

29 Sep '25

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> I think it's high time I wrote a newsletter. October is a great month for bridge games and classes. More about my status down below. As of the end of September, in checking our table count among face-to-face clubs in North America, the Pasadena Bridge Club is ranked number 51, with 2,242 tables. That count only includes tables in sanctioned masterpoint games, so if you were to add our classes and casual bridge sessions it would be quite a bit more. I think we'll break into the top 50 by the end of the year! We have a great location, a great staff, and a great program for bridge! This week features our regular club games and schedule, but let's take a look at what's coming up the rest of the month: Sectional Tournament at Clubs Oct 6-11 All Open Pairs games next coming week, October 6-11 will be silver point games. Our club will be pooling with the other Los Angeles County bridge clubs for a Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC). Stratification for all open STaC games will be Open/2500/750, based on the average point holding of each pair. With many clubs playing sessions, there potential is there for big silver point awards! Card fees for the STaC games will be $13. Lulu Minter Seminars Oct 6, 8, 9 Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings next week, October 6, 8, and 9, Lulu Minter will be offering free pre-game talks at 10:00 before the 11:00 Open Pairs games. His topic for all three sessions will be "Bridge Problems, Thinking Outside the Box" The games those days will all be silver point STaC games, so these talks should be a great way to get into focus for the 11:00 Open Pairs! No reservations required, doors will open at 9:45 on all three days. Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction Oct 8 This fall marks our first "daylight" offering of Bridge Basics 1 in quite a while. This is the starting point for those who don't play bridge, and a great way to get familiar with the mechanics and strategy of the game. This is our only course that's offered through Pasadena City College's Extension program. You'll see it listed in every issue of the PCC Extension catalog that lands in mailboxes three or four times a year. There are already 15 students enrolled! Registration should be made through PCC Extension, and best done online at this link <https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…>. The course is limited to 28 students. Classes This Week This week we'll be meeting our fifth session of Two Over One Game Force and Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding. Those two classes are running a week behind because of having to cancel last week's classes. Make-up sessions will be held the following 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. All three classes are great practice hand sessions, making them dynamite for single-session drop-in practice! * Wednesday, 3:00 PM, /Two Over One Game Force/ "Practice Hands" * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "Practice Hands" * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ "Practice Hands" Our next courses will be: * Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions, Wed. Oct 15 7:00 PM * Introduction to Defense, Thu. Oct. 16 7:00 PM You can enroll for those at this link <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment>. Coming up ... October is Club Appreciation Month at the ACBL, and all of our games during October 13-25 will be Club Appreciation games. These pay extra masterpoints with overalls, similar to Club Championship games, and come with no extra card fee! On Sunday October 26, the club will be hosting the North American Pairs District Final. It's a full-day two-session event. If you qualified at a club game, make your reservation to play and get information here: https://nap.bridgemojo.com/ On Wednesday, October 29, we'll host a game in the ACBL-wide Instant Matchpoint Pairs, a very special annual event! More about that in a future newsletter. Mojo update Most of you know I had to spend six nights at Kaiser's LA Medical Center last week, admitted and discharged on Wednesdays. The problem was a rare side-effect of the immunotherapy treatment I've been receiving for my lung cancer. The good news is that we appear to have gotten it under control without any other undue risks, but my poor oncologist is going to have to make a revised plan for the cancer treatment. That's still pending. I'm gradually making my way back to more time at the bridge club, knowing I'll have other interruptions coming up with chemo and surgery. We'll just have to take those as they come. Meanwhile, I think you'll agree that the club has been in excellent hands with everyone pitching in to keep the games and classes running smoothly. My gratitude to Zachary, Lisa, Susan Kane, Milo Sketeris, and everyone who has helped sharpen pencils, push in chairs, and pick up trash around the club. Thank you! But special thanks to my beloved wife Jane who has had to do all of the chores at home (literally the "heavy lifting"), bring me some non-hospital treats every day, and has been driving me to and from the bridge club and doctor visits! Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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Special free seminars this week
by Morris Jones 21 Aug '25

21 Aug '25

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> So much going on this week! Three new bridge courses starting, NAP Qualifier games, and a new seminar series from Lulu Minter. Let's get right to it! Three great free seminars Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings this week, Lulu Minter will be offering free pre-game talks at 10:00 before the 11:00 Open Pairs games. These were a big hit last year! Here are the topics: * Monday, Aug. 25: "NT opening and beyond" * Wednesday, Aug. 27: "Do's and Don't's" * Thursday, Aug. 28: "More Do's and Don't's" No reservations required! Just come and join the group in the classroom at 10:00 AM. NAP Qualifier week This is the last week to qualify for this year's North American Pairs district final game. The district final will be on Sunday October 26. To play in the final, you need to qualify in an NAP Qualifier club game. These games pay large masterpoint awards, 50% red masterpoints. The extra $1 card fee goes to help support sending our District 23 finalists to the national North American Pairs championships at the spring NABC in St. Louis. Classes Next 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. All three courses are having their first session this week. * Wednesday, 3:00 PM, /Two Over One Game Force/ "Introduction" * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding/ "Preemptive Opening Bids" * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal/ "Play of the Deal at Notrump" Club Schedule for Sectional There will be no regular club or unit games on Saturday or Sunday, August 23-24. Instead, the club will be hosting the Pasadena Sectional Tournament. They're holding two Pairs games on Saturday, and a full-day Team swiss game on Sunday. *In addition, so we can set up the club and the Community Room, Friday afternoon social/supervised play is cancelled!* Coming up ... PCC Extension has published their fall catalog, including "Bridge Introduction" on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM starting October 8. This is our first time to offer Bridge Introduction during daylight hours! Get out the word for a big turnout. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa

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Bridge courses coming up!
by Morris Jones 11 Aug '25

11 Aug '25

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> We have three new courses starting up at the end of August, providing some great opportunities to level-up your bridge game. This newsletter goes to both our News and Classes lists. If you're only on the classes list, but would like to get the weekly newsletter, drop me a note! Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding Yes, this is the follow-up to Bridge Basics 1, but it's arguably the most powerful course in the curriculum for anyone playing in tournament or club games. Learn how to use the scoring table to your advantage and get your best results, taking advantage of new bidding language available when both sides are in the auction. * Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Aug 27 * $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant * Full lesson plan here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/competitive-bidding> * Register for the course here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal While the language of bidding changes quickly over time, the skills involved in playing the deal are unchanged. The new textbook by Audrey Grant won "Beginner Book of the Year" awarded by the American Bridge Teachers Association this year! * Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Aug 28 * $120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant * Full lesson plan here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/play-of-the-deal> * Register for the course here <https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…> Two Over One Game Force Learn the patterns and idioms of the bidding system that's currently the most popular and successful among tournament and club players at all levels. With one tweak to Standard American bidding, you'll find yourself better able to find the right game and better slam contracts. /Take advantage of our daylight Wednesday class schedule!/ * Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting Aug 27 * $130 includes textbook by Grant and Rodwell * Full lesson plan here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/course/two_over_one_game_force> * Register for the course here <https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/contact/course_enrollment> Classes This Week This week we have great opportunities to practice play at two levels. Both sessions are practice hands for their topics! These are delightful single-session opportunities. * Wednesday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ * Thursday, 7:00 PM, /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ 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. Join us *every Saturday morning* for a free workshop at 9:30, whether you stay for the game or not! We'll study a hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. Each hand has interesting bidding, play, and defense to learn from. Coming up ... The *Pasadena Sectional tournament* will take over the bridge club on the weekend of August 23-24. That will affect the club's schedule in two ways: * Saturday games on the 23rd will be canceled * Friday afternoon's social/supervised session will be canceled to set up the tournament. This month includes your last chance to qualify for this year's North American Pairs District Final at the club level. All of our Open Pairs games August 25-31 will be NAP Qualifier games. Students are /already enrolling/ for the *next Bridge Basics 1 course*, starting October 8, on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM. This is our first time to offer the course on a daylight schedule! Click here to register <https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…> for the course with PCC Extension. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa

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Just Mojo news this week ...
by Morris Jones 01 Aug '25

01 Aug '25

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> Jane and I had a wonderful trip to Philadelphia. The ABTA convention went well, and it's always fun to play in the Summer NABC. The second week of the Summer nationals includes the Youth NABC, and many of the junior players come early to spend the week playing in the open games. Unfortunately I had to return Tuesday evening to spend my Wednesday at Kaiser getting my first treatment for lung cancer. I'll never know what caused it, and I was never a smoker. Since my pneumonia last year, we've been watching for it to clear up and it never did. A biopsy confirmed it, and we started on a plan. It's a non-small cell adenocarcinoma, and they got all the genetic markers they could for tailoring the chemo and immunotherapy. It's a common variety, and the PET scan gave no signs that it's spread to any lymph nodes so far. I have three days of combined chemo/immuno therapy, each separated by three weeks of down time. The only side effect I've experienced so far is a bit of fatigue, and all the literature encourages me to get exercise and stay active during this period. (There is the fact that my white cell and platelets counts will be depressed during this period. I'd very much like to urge you to stay home from the bridge club if you are not feeling well! I will be wearing a mask when I'm working, and I appreciate your understanding!) After that, I get a lobotomy! By that I mean they'll take out the lowest lobe of my right lung. ? That will require a few weeks of recovery. It's going to be an interesting adventure. The tech they have now is amazing. The expectation is that the treatment and surgery will be "curative." In the meantime, I'm very lucky to have Zachary, Lisa, and Susan to help cover games and classes. Lisa and I will be covering for Zachary over the next couple of weeks while he visits his dad who's going through something very similar. Classes Next 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. We have two courses in progress: /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ on Wednesday evenings, and /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ on Thursday evening. Here are the sessions for next week, August 6-7: This week's classes: * Wedesday 7:00 PM, "Practice Hands" /Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction/ * Thursday 7:00 PM, "Slam Bidding and Blackwood" /Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions/ Join us *every Saturday morning* for a free workshop at 9:30, whether you stay for the game or not! We'll study a hand from Eddie Kantar's /Thinking Bridge/ series. Each hand has interesting bidding, play, and defense to learn from. Coming up ... Last chance to qualify for the North American Pairs District Final will be all of our Open Pairs games Monday-Saturday, August 25-30. PCC Extension has published their fall catalog, including "Bridge Introduction" on Wednesday afternoons at 3:00 PM starting October 8. This is our first time to offer Bridge Introduction during daylight hours! Get out the word for a big turnout. Best regards, Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa

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