North Penn Bridge News

Greetings to the

North Penn Bridge Community!

Week of 12/26/2022

From the Club President

Pat Andrews

Happy New Year to all. 2023 is sure to be a great year at North Penn Duplicate Bridge Club as we mark 50 years of operation! This is a milestone that few bridge clubs achieve, so get ready to celebrate!

As a firm believer in term limits 😊, I am stepping down as the Club’s president at the end of 2022. However, as a major fan of this wonderful bridge club, I will continue to volunteer and play every time I have an opportunity. Please know that I am very grateful for your support, both of the Club and for me personally, over the past two years of my Presidency. Thanks to all of you, our Club is recovering from the shutdowns forced by Covid and we can be optimistic that our future looks secure.

I am proud of everything North Penn’s Board of Governors and members have accomplished during these two years, but especially the growth in teaching & mentoring programs under the leadership of Deb Crisfield, our Education Chair. My goal in 2023 is to actively work with Deb and others to keep these programs strong. I hope you will join me by supporting our Shuffle and Deal sessions, signing up for our regular Pro-Am games and most importantly, creating a welcoming atmosphere at our games for all players.

May you and your families enjoy great blessings in the New Year...see you at the tables!!

From the Club Manager

Dave Dodgson

January Schedule. January is Junior Fund month, highlighted by the ACBL-wide Junior Fund game on January 27. The first week of the month will be Club Championships. The Pro/Am game is January 12. Be sure to sign up in the book at the club. The Robot Individual is January 14.

January 6-8 - Unit 141 Sectional at Bala Golf Club. Voting for Unit Officers will take place at this time. This is an important election and an opportunity to select candidates who will run the Unit professionally and who are known to be supportive of local face-to-face clubs. Click this link for the slate and election details. Click this link for the Sectional Flyer.

January 21 Special Event. Game Day at North Penn Bridge Club from 1-4 p.m. featuring Euro style board games such as Settlers of Catan, Alhambra and Railroad Games. These games emphasize strategy, downplay luck and conflict. They tend towards economic rather than military themes. Please contact Beth Milton at [email protected] with questions or suggestions. Learn something new and bring a friend!

Looking Ahead:

February is Education Fund month; there will also be a STaC week;
March features the NABC in New Orleans and a week of Super Club Championships;
April is Charity Fund month;
May is Grassroots Fund month; there will also be a STaC week. Rehoboth will host a regional this month;
June features the Longest Day event, the Regional in King of Prussia and two weeks of NAP qualifying;
Look for one week of Club Championships every month.

It Pays to be a Member. Starting in January, it will cost an extra $3 to play if you are not a member. Join now and avoid the extra charges.

Education

Joann Glasson’s Bridge Lessons. Resuming on Monday January 16. Click on this link for the details.

Advanced Beginner Lessons start January 17th. This class will run for five consecutive Tuesday nights from 7-9 p.m. The lessons are geared toward the students who took the beginner class in the fall. We will cover Stayman, transfers, and the takeout double. The cost for the five classes is $100 per person. Shuffle and Deal will continue on Tuesdays leading up to the class.

Click this link for the flyer.

You need not have taken the Fall class to attend. ALL ARE WELCOME!!

Shuffle & Deal continues Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings.

Partnership

To add your name to the player list or to request a partner for a game, please send an email to [email protected].

Calendar

Click here to see a file you can enlarge.

We update our Facebook page regularly so be sure to check it out. It’s a great way to stay in touch with all the happenings at North Penn.

Tidbits

“When partner leads an obvious singleton in a suit in which you have two winners it may be right to give partner a ruff BEFORE cashing the second winner (if cashing the second winner will set up later discards for declarer.)”

From Defensive Tips

by Edwin B. Kantar

Deal of the Week

by John Dickenson

Successful Slam Bidding

As a bridge teacher, I get a lot of questions along the lines of “How can we be better slam bidders?” Many times I tell students they would be better served learning to bid high percentage games or working on their defense, stuff they can use on perhaps 65% of the hands they play versus slam bidding that might come up on average once a session.

Some tips I do share on slam bidding go like this:

1) first, make sure your side can take 12 tricks

2) then, make sure the defense can’t take two tricks on the go

3) don’t use Blackwood with a void

4) don’t use Blackwood with 2 or more quick losers in a suit unbid by your side

5) learn ALL the tools for successful slam bidding, such as Jacoby 2NT, splinter raises, control bidding, Serious 3NT

I find that many students go right to step 2 above, as if holding all 4 aces and the trump king guarantees our side has 12 tricks. Au contraire!

The hand below illustrates the use of the splinter raise to reach an ice cold 26 point slam. The robot opened 1H and I bid 4D, showing a game force, 4+ trumps, and a singleton or void in diamonds. After LHO doubled for a diamond lead, my robot partner used Roman Keycard Blackwood and I answered 2 without. Note that opener has a solid trump suit, second round control of spades, and a source of tricks in clubs, and most importantly, no wasted secondary honors in diamonds. We are playing with the proverbial “30 point deck”.

I would always splinter with this hand, not bid Jacoby 2NT which I use with more balanced hands when I want to hear about potential shortness in opener’s hand. I also have a source of tricks in the spade suit. Remember rule #1 – first determine if your side can develop 12 tricks. Then make sure the opponents can’t take 2 on the go.

Finally I will throw in some lagniappe. Did you know lagniappe is the most mispronounced word in the English language? Here is an error I see all the time – partner opens 1NT and responder holds a good 16 balanced. Responder bids Gerber and finds their side holds all 4 aces. But do they have 12 tricks? Most of the time responder should make a quantitative raise to 4NT, asking opener to bid slam if at the top of her range. See rules 1 and 2 above!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

In a novice game declarer calls director over to the table and tells him he is playing a slam contract and he has won the opening lead and played the ace and ruffed a diamond, ruffed a heart, and ruffed a diamond. The director, impressed, asks him why he has been called over. The declarer tells him that the contract is 6NT.

Bridge humor from

Eddie Kantar