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Classes: July 8, 2026 Bridge Courses for July / August

mojo — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 20:37:03 +0000

Classes: July 8, 2026 Bridge Courses for July / August mojo Wed, 07/08/2026 - 13:37

Bridge courses for all levels starting in a week!

Learn and play bridge!

649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com

Greetings all from the American Bridge Teachers Association annual convention in Minneapolis this year. I'm here with 50 bridge teachers from all over North America (and even Portugal). We're hearing talks from notable bridge pros on materials and techniques for teaching bridge.

The ABTA also gives out annual awards for "Bridge Book of the Year" in different categories, and certifies Master Teachers. (You can see my own badge right there under my picture!)

ABTA also designates a Teacher of the Year. The winner this year was Lorraine Eaglesham from Ontario, and the runner-up was Jan Weber from Vero Beach, Fl. I felt like I had a strong application, but I'm really delighted that we have great bridge teachers like Lorraine and Jan in their parts of the world.

Here are the three courses that are starting up the coming week:

Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction

Here we go on a new adventure! This is the course for non-bridge players to learn the basics of the game. By the end of the first class, the mechanics of bridge and much of the vocabulary. During the six sessions, we'll practice analyzing bridge hands, finding extra tricks, and introduce the the language of Standard American bidding.

Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00-9:00 PM, starting July 15
Enroll for $85 to PCC Extension, plus $15 materials fee for book
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Improving Your Judgment - Doubles

In Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding, we introduce the concept of the takeout double. Most newer players miss opportunities to use the double call to their benefit, and this class gives you lots of practice in doubling in different contexts. We also learn guidelines for advancing partner's double, and potential rebids by doubler. As always there are great "play of the deal" puzzles and defense tips as well!

Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting July 15
$120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Bridge Basics 3 - Popular Conventions

There are a handful of bidding conventions that are the most useful and ubiquitous for helping partnerships discover HOW HIGH and WHERE. We'll study Stayman, Jacoby Transfer Bids, strong hand openings, and slam bidding.

Pasadena Bridge Club's resident wizard Zachary Vedro is instructor for this course.

Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting July 16
$120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

More tidbits ...

If you're waiting for a daylight (or semi-daylight) session of Bridge Basics 1, we have one in the fall catalog for PCC Extension. It'll be on Wednesday afternoons starting October 28.

Don't forget you can always drop in for a single session of any course for $25. Each class usually stands along fairly well, and I try to keep the topics visible on the front of the web site.

For the full novice/intermediate program at the club, including workshops, games, and casual bridge, see the schedule here!

Hope to see you soon at the bridge club!

Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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Classes: May 20, 2026 Bridge Courses for starting your summer

mojo — Thu, 21 May 2026 01:00:45 +0000

Classes: May 20, 2026 Bridge Courses for starting your summer mojo Wed, 05/20/2026 - 18:00

New courses starting May 27 and 28.

Learn and play bridge!

649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com

At the Pasadena Bridge Club our course catalog has seven courses, from Bridge Basics 1 to Two Over One Game Force.

We have three sessions at the club that are dedicated to class work: Wednesday afternoon at 3:00, Wednesday evening at 7:00, and Thursday evening at 7:00.

In each of those three sessions, we usually cycle through the seven courses in order, so there's usually something for every level of player, and every course should come up three or four times a year.

The courses make up a sequence of learning, and always work best having had the experience of playing games of bridge at the club. Once you have some playing experience, you can really take any course in any order you like.

Revisiting any of our courses is an amazing experience. There's so much detail in all of our topics, seeing the material a second time is like peeling away another layer of the onion.

Here are the three courses that are starting up the coming week:

Introduction to Defense

This is the fifth course in the catalog, following Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal. In this course you will learn how to work with your partner to take as many tricks as possible on defense. It's a great class for helping to visualize where the missing high cards are when you can't see them!

Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00-5:00 PM, starting May 27
Course fee $120 includes textbook by Eddie Kantar
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Two Over One Game Force

This course introduces probably the most successful bidding system in the world for club and tournament play. By making a small tweak to Standard American bidding, it often simplifies finding the right game contract or explore for slam. In this course you'll learn some of the patterns and idioms that come with 2/1GF, and be ready to play. This course includes some of the best play-of-the-hand lessons in the catalog as well!

Your instructor for 2/1GF will be our own wizard Zachary Vedro.

Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting May 27
$130 includes textbook by Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding

This may be the second course in the catalog, but it's also a course that's effective for players with quite a bit of game experience. Here is where you will learn to think like a bridge player, and see what kinds of decisions will affect your score on every hand. This is a great course to revisit!

Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting May 28
$120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

More tidbits ...

Our next session of Bridge Basics 1 - Introduction will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM starting July 15.

You can always drop in for a single session of any course for $25

The novice/intermediate program at the Pasadena Bridge Club is going strong!

The reason we're learning this game is so we can enjoy playing it! If you're new to games at the bridge center, your best first game is held on Thursday afternoons at 3:00 PM. We play about 12 hands for about two hours, hosted by Susan Kane.

We have a great Tuesday evening game hosted by Lisa Walker, starting at 7:00 and finishing by 9:15.

Our Saturday morning novice/intermediate game is a special event including a free 20-minute workshop at 9:30 followed by a game that finishes by 12:15, hosted by Mojo.

Hope to see you soon at the bridge club!

Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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Classes Dec 28 2025 Bridge courses for the new year

mojo — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 00:38:59 +0000

Classes Dec 28 2025 Bridge courses for the new year mojo Sun, 12/28/2025 - 16:38

All about the new courses starting in January!

Learn and play bridge!

649 N Fair Oaks Ave #201
Pasadena CA 91103
(626) 247-4457
pasadenabridgeclub.com

One of the things that makes the Pasadena Bridge Club special is our teaching schedule and course catalog.

We reserve three dedicated periods each week for formal bridge classes: Wednesday afternoons, and Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Within those three periods, the goal is to cycle through our available 6-week courses on a staggered schedule. Every course should come around about three times each year.

Every course benefits from being taken a second time! Bridge learning never ends — it's one of the things that make this game so compelling!

Here is the lineup of courses starting next week:

Bridge Basics 2 - Competitive Bidding

In this course we start thinking like a bridge player — considering when our best result may be to go down in a contract for a small negative score rather than let the opponents make a contract for a large negative score. You'll discover the Law of Total Tricks that can help you decide "to bid or not to bid."

Six Wednesday afternoons, 3:00 - 5:00 PM, starting Jan. 7
$120 includes text by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Bridge Basics 4 - Play of the Deal

Improve your ability to win all the tricks you can as the declarer in a contract. It's all about planning! Learn to identify many of the patterns that enable developing extra winners or eliminating losers.

The course this period is taught by Zachary Vedro, one of the very best not only at playing the deal, but at presenting the concepts involved.

The textbook won Book of the Year in 2025 from the American Bridge Teachers Association.

Six Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Jan. 7
$120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Improving Your Judgment - Doubles

Most newer bridge players overlook opportunities to use the double call to compete in the auction. This course will improve your ability to recognize opportunities for a takeout double, and provide some structure to the bidding and decisions that come after.

Six Thursday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 PM, starting Jan. 8
$120 includes textbook by Audrey Grant
Full lesson plan here
Register for the course here

Looking for an introduction course?

We just completed a Bridge Introduction course in November, and our next one is scheduled for Thursday evenings starting April 2.

Can't wait to get started? There's a course using the highly acclaimed Easybridge curriculum in Woodland Hills on Saturday mornings, starting January 17. Here's more information on their course.

No matter where or how you learn to play bridge, check out our full schedule of events for novice and intermediate bridge players: https://pasadenabridgeclub.com/schedule#novice

Save the date ...

The bridge club will be hosting Robert Todd for a full day bridge seminar on Sunday, March 15. This is our third year to host Robert, and it's always an eye-opening and entertaining day!

Watch for details in a future newsletter!

Hope to see you soon at the bridge club!

Best regards,
Mojo, Jane, Zachary, Lisa, Susan

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