Opportunities to learn more about the great game of bridge
| Opportunities to learn more about the great game of bridge |
Bridge students Becky Cook (L) and Mary Balau (R) along with their beaming bridge teacher Sue Greenberg, after having come in 1st in the Rochester April 2022 Sectional's Friday NLM pairs. It all starts with learning more about bridge! |
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The Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club has lots of opportunities for Advancing Players to learn more about this great game of bridge - and have a terrific time while doing it! Whether you'd prefer to learn in person at one of our many face-to-face bridge games (some specifically for advancing players) or check out some online lessons from the comfort of your home, we are here to help. And as always, if you've ever got any questions at all, ask a bridge player! They want you to succeed in your quest to master this game. (And if you do ever actually master this game, you may be the first one to do so. The learning experience with bridge never ends, which is one of the really great things about the journey.)
CHAT BRIDGE: Monday mornings 10am to 11:30am at St Luke's Episcopal Church
Each Monday morning at St. Luke's, we have "chat bridge," where you'll play some bridge hands at the table - just like during a duplicate bridge game. Roaming the room on Monday mornings are mentors who are available to answer any questions you have - about bidding, how to play a hand, what's the best way to defend, declarer play, really any question you can come up with! This is a really informal get together of intermediate and newcomer players who can get more comfortable with the duplicate bridge playing experience, while still enjoying the social aspect of the game with friends (old and new) around the table. You do not need a partner to play chat bridge - you just need to show up. Oh - and be ready to have a few questions. (We will be ready to have a few answers!)
PRO-AM GAMES: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 12:30pm at St Luke's Episcopal Church
The RDBC holds "Pro-Am" games twice a month (sometimes 3x a month, when there's a fifth Tuesday) for advancing players to learn more about the duplicate experience. This is an actual duplicate bridge game - with less chat during the game, but lots of chatting (learning) after the game! In these Pro-Am games, newer players (the "Am", or "amateur") arrange a partnership for the game with a Life Master (the "Pro" or "professional"). This is a 21-board game (a little shorter than normal duplicate games) so that there is 15 to 20 minutes afterwards where you can discuss questions, strategies, and more about the cards you just played with your partner. It's a great way to learn more from your mentor, and an equally great way for mentors to give back to our bridge playing community!
LIMITED MASTERPOINT GAMES: Mondays and Thursdays at 12:30pm at St Luke's Episcopal Church
When you're ready to dive into the world of duplicate bridge, you'll most likely want to learn to walk before you can run. That's why the RDBC has some limited masterpoint games, where nobody in the game has more than "X" masterpoints. This way, you can play with players of your own experience level - which can be a lot less intimidating for advancing players. It's a terrific opportunity to become more familiar with how duplicate bridge works - and of course, you're always invited to play in the regular "open" games (with the more advanced players). Many players feel a bit initimidated playing with the open masterpoint crowd, however that's where you learn the most about bridge - playing against players who are better than you. To get things started, however, the RDBC offers a 299er masterpoint game on Monday afternoons and a 499er masterpoint game on Thursday afternoons. (Dive right in - the water is fine!)
BRIDGE CLASSES OFFERED: Various times and locations
The RDBC has several players who enjoy giving back by teaching and mentoring - and you're welcome to sign up for bridge classes when offered. Most of our classes are through the Rochester Continuing Education Program - and here are the latest available for you to experience:
Thursdays, March 23 to May 18
9:00-11:00am *No class April 6 or April 13 St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Join this class taught by Sue Greenberg which reviews concepts from "the Journey Continues" and then ventures into Bergen Raises, Inverted Minors, Meckwell, and Defense Over No Trump openings (or DONT). Pre-requisite: participants should be playing in a sanctioned duplicate bridge game (Rochester Duplicate Bridge Club or other venues) on a regular basis.
Find out more on this class and for enrollment options, click here.
Tuesdays, April 11 to May 23
6:30-8:00pm Northrop Community Educ Center - Room 308
Tired of having your opponents steal the bid from you? This class is for those who have been introduced to bridge and grasp the basics of opening the bidding and responding to an opening bid. It covers additional tools available to you in a competitive auction. You will learn about preemptive bidding, overcalls, takeout doubles, and more! The course is based upon Audrey Grant's book "Bridge Basics 2: Competitive Bidding." Contact Layne Vinje at elvinje@charter.net for a low-priced copy of the book and if you'd like to sign up for this class, find out more about the class by clicking here.
Find out more about this class and enrollment options by clicking here.
Tuesdays, March 21 to May 16
10:00-11:30am *No classe on April 4 Northrop Community Educ Center - Room 308
Grab a friend and learn to play bridge - the greatest partnership game in the world. Joanne Long will teach this class, which reviews beginner basics and introduces bridge in competition using Audrey Grant’s Bridge Basics 1 - An Introduction. Books can be purchased in class.
To order a book, and for enrollment options in this class, please click here.
RDBC CLASS MATERIALS:
You can check out some learning materials from our RDBC classes by clicking here.
ONLINE TEACHING TIPS:
Our good friends from up in St. Cloud have sent us some of their online teaching tips - which work just as well here in Southern Minnesota as they do in the central part of the state! You can access these tips and tricks by clicking here.
CHAT BRIDGE TOPICS:
Arne Fockler has created all kinds of topics that have come up during our Chat Bridge sessions - and they're always worth revisiting. Click here to learn more.