I just sent notes to everyone who has seats reserved in one of my three
summer bridge classes. The first one is next Thursday evening, June 8,
and should be a fun one-night class on how to play team matches at
bridge. (And just in time for the sectional in Pasadena the following
weekend!)
I have a great turnout for all of the classes, and there are only a few
seats available in each. So if you or a friend want to join in, I highly
recommend dropping me an email and asking to reserve a seat for you.
All of the information about the classes is available on BridgeMojo
http://bridgemojo.com
Teams, one night, June 8, $15
Two Over One Game Force, four nights, June 15 - July 6, $80
Improving Your Judgement -- Doubles, four nights, starts July 13, $75
The next time you hear from me (outside of specific class information)
should be for the fall 2017 schedule with PCC Extension. I'll have dates
for the Audrey Grant Bridge Basics 1 and 2 classes. In late July I'll be
attending the Summer North American Bridge Championships in Toronto, and
I'll get to share a word or two with Audrey at her teacher conference. :)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Thank you all for your great feedback! I'm ready to announce an
interesting schedule of summer bridge classes.
tl;dr: All the details are here: http://bridgemojo.com
This summer I'm offering two 4-session classes, and one single night
class. All sessions will be on Thursday evenings, in South Pasadena at
the beautiful Oneonta Congregational Church.
--
For one night, on June 8:
How and Why to Play Teams
http://bridgemojo.com/teams-2017
Nearly all club bridge games are pair games, using matchpoint scoring.
Real bridge fanatics love to play team games at the tournaments! Get an
introduction to playing team bridge here.
$15 for the single session
--
Four nights, starting June 15:
Two Over One Game Force
http://bridgemojo.com/two-over-one-2017
Here's a chance to learn the bidding system favored by experienced
bridge players (including me!). One of the surprising things is how
close it is to the Standard American bidding you already know and love.
$80, including the acclaimed book by Audrey Grant and Eric Rodwell
--
Four nights, starting July 13 (skipping July 27):
Improving Your Judgement -- Doubles
http://bridgemojo.com/doubles-2017
This is four nights all about the takeout double, with a few penalty
doubles thrown in! We'll see doubles from the perspective of the doubler
and the advancer, and learn how to adjust the requirements for specific
situations.
$75, including the book by Audrey Grant
--
All of the classes are open to bridge players of any level. The
multi-level design of the Better Bridge classes means experienced and
newer players will all find value in the lessons.
Space in each of the classes is very limited. I'm taking reservations by
email now. There's no need to pay in advance (unless you want to).
As a special to my email list, you can sign up for all three classes for
$160. :)
See you this summer!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Hi bridge people! Turnout has been great for the Better Bridge classes
this year.
I have a tradition of offering more advanced classes over the summer. I
took off last summer to spend some time studying with Audrey Grant to
teach these courses, and prepare to play in the North American Bridge
Championships last November.
(I had a great tournament. My partner was a player who finished in the
top 500 players in the U.S. for 2016, and I won my first "platinum
points" playing at the national level.)
I've reserved nine Thursday evenings at the beautiful Oneonta
Congregational Church in South Pasadena for this summer. My plan is to
offer a few short courses: two four-week classes, and one single-session
class.
I have a selection of different 4-week classes to offer, and
single-evening classes. Before I post a final schedule, I'd like to hear
from you about what interests you most.
The various classes are listed here on BridgeMojo:
http://bridgemojo.com/summer-feedback
You can send feedback either by email, or you can take my short survey
with my Google form.
To take my survey, click here: https://goo.gl/9Wmu2E
If you have friends and partners who might be interested, by all means
pass this note along.
I'll send one more note in another couple of weeks to announce the final
schedule and signup details.
See you at a bridge table!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Hey all -- here's a lot of good bridge news from Mojo.
The Better Bridge curriculum from Audrey Grant appears to be a big hit.
For the winter/spring class season I'll be doing all three of her Bridge
Basics series.
The thing I notice most about these classes is that they come much
closer to the way bridge is actually played today by club and tournament
players at all levels. The "Introduction" series is easier to follow and
understand for brand new bridge students, while still having plenty of
meat for folks who are already playing.
The three classes will all run sequentially, on Wednesday evenings, held
at Arcadia High School through PCC Extension. They cost $65 each plus
$10 for each of the new workbooks from Better Bridge.
My web site BridgeMojo has full descriptions of each of the three
courses and links to register online with PCC Extension.
http://bridgemojo.com
---
Meanwhile, next week I'm off to the North American Bridge Championships
in Orlando. The NABC is held three times a year, and wanders around the
country. This fall the event is at Walt Disney World, at the Swan and
Dolphin hotel.
Along with playing, I'm going to be attending seminars on teaching and
directing.
If you want to follow along with my adventures, I plan to post regular
updates on my Facebook page http://facebook.com/BridgeMojo and on the
@BridgeMojo Twitter account.
I'm not quite sure yet what events I'll be entering, or who I'll be
playing with -- so it could be quite an adventure!
---
Finally, I have a crop of new players from this past class session who
might be looking for social games outside of the bridge clubs.
I have a somewhat inactive email mailing list ("listserv") called
"social(a)bridgemojo.com" where members (all past students) can offer to
host a game and put together social bridge opportunities. The list has
been very quiet for the past year or so, but it's about time to get it
going again.
If this sounds like it's right up your alley, you can join the list
either by dropping me a note, or follow this link and sign yourself up
for the list: http://mail.bridgemojo.com/mailman/listinfo/social
---
So with that I'll be quiet for a while. I hope you have a great holiday
season with family and friends, and get to play some bridge!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Hey everyone! I hope you've been having a great summer.
I've been spending my summer doing some astrophotography (see my fun
picture of M11 the Wild Duck Cluster here
http://whiteoaks.com/astrophotos/2016-08-06/m11_1x1_600s_m5C_001%20Color.jpg
) and playing in sectional bridge tournaments (four first place and two
ranked finishes in the San Gabriel Sectional).
I've also been doing teacher training with Audrey Grant in Las Vegas,
learning to teach the Better Bridge http://betterbridge.com/ program and
curriculum. I really love the materials, the lesson flow, and the
multi-level aspect of every lesson. The classes and lessons are geared
to fully engage players of every level, beginners to experienced players.
I'm revamping the bridge class schedule offered through PCC Extension to
use Better Bridge.
This fall's class, labeled as "Bridge I" through PCC, will actually be a
combination of "Bridge Basics I, An Introduction" plus "Bridge Basics
II, Competitive Bidding."
This is a thorough reset for my classes, with new books and a new lesson
flow.
Now is the time to get your friends and family into our favorite game.
Registration is open for Bridge I at PCC Extension.
Here is the link to register online:
https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…
Or go to PCC Extension here: http://pcclearn.org and search for "Bridge"
in the search box.
You can also register by calling PCC Extension at (626) 585-7608.
Class will be offered on eight Wednesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.,
starting September 21. We will meet at Arcadia High School in room H108.
(This is a new room for us, and much closer to parking.)
The eight-week course is $95, plus a one-time special offer of the TWO
Audrey Grant Bridge Basics books for $15, normally priced at $12 each.
I hope you can join us or send your friends and partners. I have more
information about the weekly lesson plan on my web site
http://bridgemojo.com
Keep in touch!
Best regards,
Mojo
P.S., If you've moved away from the area, or are no longer interested in
bridge class, please drop me a note, or unsubscribe from the list at
this link: http://mail.bridgemojo.com/mailman/listinfo/bridgemojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Here's a little reminder: Bridge II from PCC focuses on the play of the
hand, but we also review and add some new bidding tools, and begin to
introduce defender play. It's the second course in the ACBL Bridge
curriculum. I only offer this course once a year, each spring!
I'll be teaching the course on Wednesday evenings, starting March 9, at
Arcadia High School. The course runs for eight Wednesdays, skipping
April 6, with the last session on May 4.
You can register online at PCC Extension. Here's a link to the course
information:
https://pasadena.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&i…
You can also enroll by calling PCC Extension at (626) 585-7608.
The cost is $95 plus $15 for the workbook.
The class already has enough students enrolled to be assured that it
will be held, and there is only room for ten more. So if you were
thinking about taking the class, you might want to consider enrolling soon!
In a final bit of news, this will be my last course offering until this
fall. I'm taking the summer off this year to focus on my own play of the
hand skills and bridge in general. This March I will have made "Silver
Life Master" in the ACBL, and I'm planning to visit the North American
Bridge Championships in November in Florida.
But not to worry, I'll start over again this fall with Bridge I!
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Welcome to the new year! I had a great holiday break, and even played
some bridge. I hope you did too!
Most of you have already taken my first class, "Bidding in the 21st
Century," but you might have friends (or partners!) who've been wanting
to join in.
This is the entry-level class for new players, but it's a fantastic
review of Standard American 5-Card Major bidding for those of us who
already play.
In the first class, we introduce new players to the mechanics of bridge,
and start learning to think like a bridge player. (We even discuss
opening leads in the first class!)
In the following classes, we walk through each of the bids made by
opener and responder, and later, ways to compete in the auction when the
opponents have already started bidding.
Bridge II "Play of the Hand" will follow immediately on the heels of
Bridge I.
I have an information page set up on my web site, with links to PCC
Extension where you can register for these classes online. Visit here
and follow those links: http://bridgemojo.com/content/learn-play-bridge-2016
You may also call PCC directly to register at (626) 585-7608.
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://whiteoaks.com
Hi! I hope you've been able to play some bridge recently. I'm about to
wrap another session of Bridge I (bidding) with PCC, and shortly after
the new year starts I'll be repeating Bridge I for winter, followed
immediately by Bridge II (Play of the Hand) in the spring.
That leaves several weeks in early December that I like to offer a great
pair of single-topic classes. I've booked two Thursdays at Oneonta
Congregational Church in South Pasadena, for Thursday evenings, Dec. 3
and 17, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
December 3: "The Stayman Convention" or, how to find the 4-4 major suit
fit when partner opens one notrump. We introduce the Stayman convention
in Bridge II, but this class goes into it in depth. The best part is
that the class is short on lecture, heavy on hands to play! The class
includes eight interesting hands that all use the Stayman convention for
practice. (Do you know how to bid Stayman when the opponents overcall?)
December 17: "Jacoby Transfer Bids" or perhaps, how to make your partner
play the hand. :) Jacoby Transfer Bids are used after a one notrump
opening bid, and it goes hand-in-hand with the Stayman convention. The
convention is ubiquitous in club and tournament play for one very good
reason: If you use Jacoby Transfer Bids, you will frequently win one
more trick during the play of the hand than partnerships who don't!
I'm only taking reservations for 24 students in each class. To reserve a
seat, drop me an email (or just reply to this one) and tell me which
class you want. Each class costs $15, and you can pay me at class time
or PayPal ahead if you prefer.
I know it gets busy around the holiday season, so here's a chance to get
out and tune-up your bridge game a little. :)
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://mojo.whiteoaks.com
Hi! I promised you news of upcoming classes. I hope this is a good time
for you. :)
This fall begins my fifth season with PCC Extension, and this is when I
reset my cycle of classes for each year. On my web site
http://bridgemojo.com I've posted my expected schedule of classes for
the upcoming year.
First up is Bridge I, offered again on Wednesday evenings, at Arcadia
High School, starting September 23.
Bridge I is the first class from the ACBL "Bridge in the 21st Century"
curriculum. It's the starting point for new players, but it's also a
great class for players who want to review the fundamentals of Standard
American bidding.
Here's a link to register online through the PCC Extension web site:
http://goo.gl/4lCZ4s Pass it on to your friends and family. :)
In December, I will try to hold a couple of single-topic classes on
Stayman and Jacoby Transfer Bids. I haven't set dates for those yet.
Next winter and spring will repeat Bridge I, and follow with Bridge II
"Play of the Hand."
Over the summer I had the privilege of giving a talk for 299ers at the
Los Angeles Regional tournament in Pasadena. I recorded the talk, and
it's available on my web site as well. :) http://bridgemojo.com
Are any of you interested in teaching bridge? I've had interest from a
senior community in Pasadena. Drop me a note if you might be! Teaching
bridge is a great way to improve your own game.
Hope to see you all this year in class, at the club, or at a social
game. Join the social bridge email list!
http://mail.bridgemojo.com/mailman/listinfo/social
Best regards,
Mojo
--
Morris Jones
Monrovia, CA
http://bridgemojo.comhttp://whiteoaks.com
