Hey newcomers ... greetings from 7th Ave. & 56th St. in
Manhattan. (The Tesla has 3,700 more miles since June 5!)
I know you've all been getting the organizing emails for lots of
bridge games from Paula Olivares. None of them are like the newcomer
games that I was offering on Wednesday evening and Saturday
afternoon. I'm sure many of you may have been playing in the All
Western 99er Nite Club games. Those should seem very familiar.
Paula is no longer sending those invitations to the newcomer list.
That doesn't mean you're not invited!
If you are interested let me explain what's different:
Unit 556+ is running two types of games: Open and Limited.
- Open games invite all bridge players to come play, including
all of the best players available. They're a great way to see
some really good bridge, and discover that even great players
make big mistakes.
- The limited games exclude players above a certain masterpoint
holding, 600 points in this case. The most experienced players
(like me, for instance) are barred from playing in these games.
For both of these games, there are other differences:
- Games are 18-21 hands (rather than 12).
- Less time is allowed to finish a round, usually 6-7 minutes
per hand rather than 8
- Players need to expect and be able to answer questions from
the opponents about their bidding system and carding agreements
(usually the right answer is just "standard")
- You'll often come across opponents who are not playing
Standard American, and may have different defensive carding
agreements
- Online convention cards, which disclose those agreements, are
required (that's easy to provide if you're playing standard).
Now if you find that intriguing, and want to take the next step
to playing (what some might call) real bridge, let me know
and I'll add you to the main virtual bridge club mailing list.
Best regards,
Mojo