BRIDGE CLASSES FOR 2010 & 2011

Prepared by Dave Glandorf

11/20/2009, Reformatted 12/10/2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC	Page
AT-A-GLANCE FOR 2010	1
Schedule	1
Key Dates	2
Standard Fees	2
AT-A-GLANCE FOR 2011	2
Schedule	2
Key Dates	2
Fees	2
DETAILED SCHEDULE FOR 2010	3
OVERVIEW OF COURSES	4
Bridge 101, 102 & 103	4
Bridge 101P, 102P & 103P	4
Bridge 104P & 105P	5
Bridge 201 & 201	5
Bridge 203	5
REGISTRATION	5
Advance Registration	5
Late Registration	6
NON-STANDARD TUITION AND OPTIONAL MATERIALS FEES	6
PUNCTUALITY	7
LOCATION	7
INSTRUCTORS	7
DUPLICATE BRIDGE VS PARTY BRIDGE	8
CLEAR LAKE AND PASADENA BRIDGE CLUBS	8
AMERICAN CONTRACT BRIDGE LEAGUE	9

Note:  If you know of other people who might be interested in these classes, please forward this information to them, or better yet, give me their contact information (phone, email address or mailing address) and I will contact them and add them to my distribution list.

A minimum of six paying students is usually required to support a course.  If fewer than six paying students register for a course, the course may be canceled at the discretion of the instructor.  In order to allow for late registrations, a course will not be canceled for lack of interest until the day before the class is to start. All courses, dates, times and fees are subject to change without notice.

AT-A-GLANCE FOR 2010

Schedule

	Mon	Mon	Wed	Thu	Fri
	2:15 – 5:00	7:00 – 9:45	2:15 – 5:00	2:15 – 5:00	2:15 – 5:00
First Trimester (Jan – Apr)	201	102 & 102P	101 & 101P	103 & 103P	104P & 105P
Second Trimester (May – Aug)	202	103 & 103P	102 & 102P	101 & 101P	104P & 105P
Third Trimester (Sep – Dec)	101 & 101P	201	103 & 103P	102 & 102P	104P & 105P

Key Dates

First Trimester Classes

Sunday, November 22 (2009) – Advance Registration opens for all first trimester classes

Saturday, December 19 (2009) – Advance Registration ends for 101, 102, 103, 104P & 201

Sunday, January 3 – Start of first trimester – 101, 102, 103, 104P & 201 begin this week

Saturday, February 20 – Advance Registration ends for 105P

Friday, March 5 – 105P begins

Saturday, March 13 – Advance Registration ends for 101P, 102P & 103P

Sunday, March 28 – 101P, 102P & 103P begin this week

Second Trimester Classes

Sunday, March 14 – Advance Registration opens for all second trimester classes

Saturday, April 10 – Advance Registration ends for 101, 102, 103, 104P & 202

Sunday, April 25 – Start of first trimester – 101, 102, 103, 104P & 202 begin this week

Saturday, June 26 – Advance Registration ends for 105P

Friday, July 9 – 105P begins

Saturday, July 17 – Advance Registration ends for 101P, 102P & 103P

Sunday, August 1 – 101P, 102P & 103P begin this week

Third Trimester Classes

Sunday, July 18 – Advance Registration opens for all third trimester classes

Saturday, August 14 – Advance Registration ends for 101, 102, 103, 104P & 201

Sunday, August 29 – Start of first trimester – 101, 102, 103, 104P & 201 begin this week

Saturday, September 18 – Advance Registration ends for 105P

Friday, October 19 – 105P begins

Saturday, October 16 – Advance Registration ends for 101P, 102P & 103P

Sunday, October 31 – 102P & 103P begin this week, 101P begins next week

Standard Fees

101, 102 & 103 - $65 tuition plus $13 student textbook for each course

101P, 102P, 103P, 104P, 105P - $25 tuition plus $5 analysis booklet for each course

201 & 202 - $90 tuition plus $13 student textbook for each course

203 - $30 tuition plus $1 for Lebensohl pamphlet

AT-A-GLANCE FOR 2011

Schedule

	Mon	Mon	Wed	Thu	Fri
	2:15 – 5:00	7:00 – 9:45	2:15 – 5:00	2:15 – 5:00	2:15 – 5:00
First Trimester (Jan – Apr)	102 & 102P	202	101 & 101P	103 & 103P	104P & 105P
Second Trimester (May – Aug)	103 & 103P	203	102 & 102P	101 & 101P	104P & 105P
Third Trimester (Sep – Dec)	203	101 & 101P	103 & 103P	102 & 102P	104P & 105P

Key Dates – To be determined

Standard Fees

Same as for 2010

DETAILED SCHEDULE FOR 2010
	Monday		Monday		Wednesday		Thursday		Friday
	2:15 - 5:00		7:00 - 9:45		2:15 - 5:00		2:15 - 5:00		2:15 - 5:00
Jan									1
	4	201	4	102	6	101	7	103	8	104P
	11	201	11	102	13	101	14	103	15	104P
	18	201	18	102	20	101	21	103	22	104P
	25	201	25	102	27	101	28	103	29	104P
Feb	1		1		3		4		5
	8	201	8	102	10	101	11	103	12
	15		15		17		18		19
	22		22		24		25		26
Mar	1	201	1	102	3	101	4	103	5	105P
	8	201	8	102	10	101	11	103	12	105P
	15	201	15	102	17	101	18	103	19	105P
	22	201	22	102	24	101	25	103	26	105P
	29	201	29	102P	31	101P	1	103P	2
Apr	5	201	5	102P	7	101P	8	103P	9
	12	201	12	102P	14	101P	15	103P	16
	19	201	19	102P	21	101P	22	103P	23
	END OF FIRST TRIMESTER
	26	202	26	103	28	102	29	101	30	104P
May	3	202	3	103	5	102	6	101	7	104P
	10	202	10	103	12	102	13	101	14	104P
	17	202	17	103	19	102	20	101	21	104P
	24	202	24	103	26	102	27	101	28
	31		31		2		3		4
Jun	7		7		9		10		11
	14		14		16		17		18
	21		21		23		24		25
	28		28		30		2		3
Jul	5	202	5	103	7	102	8	101	9	105P
	12	202	12	103	14	102	15	101	16	105P
	19	202	19	103	21	102	22	101	23	105P
	26	202	26	103	28	102	29	101	30	105P
Aug	2	202	2	103P	4	102P	5	101P	6
	9	202	9	103P	11	102P	12	101P	13
	16	202	16	103P	18	102P	19	101P	20
	23	202	23	103P	25	102P	26	101P	27
	END OF SECOND TRIMESTER
	30	101	30	201	1	103	2	102	3	104P
Sep	6		6		8	103	9	102	10	104P
	13	101	13	201	15	103	16	102	17	104P
	20	101	20	201	22	103	23	102	24	104P
	27	101	27	201	29	103	30	102	1	105P
Oct	4	101	4	201	6	103	7	102	8	105P
	11	101	11	201	13	103	14	102	15	105P
	18	101	18	201	20	103	21	102	22	105P
	25	101	25	201	27	103	28	102	29
Nov	1	101	1	201	3	103P	4	102P	5
	8	101P	8	201	10	103P	11	102P	12
	15	101P	15	201	17	103P	18	102P	19
	22	101P	22	201	24		25		26
	29	101P	29		1	103P	2	102P	4
Dec	6		6	201	8		9		10
	13		13		15		16		17
	20		20		22		23		24
	27		27		29		30		31

OVERVIEW OF COURSES

Courses are scheduled on a trimester basis with each course meeting once a week for 2 ¾ hours, with some weeks skipped because of conflicts.  Major 9-week entry level courses (Bridge 101 - Bidding, Bridge 102 – Play of the Hand and Bridge 103 - Defense) are offered on Monday evenings, Wednesday afternoons and Thursday afternoons, staggered throughout the year.  Each of these courses is followed with an associated 4-week practice play course (Bridge101P, 102P and 103P). A new bridge player should plan to spend a year learning the basics of this game.  When a new Bridge 101 course is started in a particular time slot, Bridge 102 and 103 are offered in the same time slot in the following two trimesters, respectively.  Courses for intermediate/advanced players (Bridge 201 – Conventions I, Bridge 202 – Conventions II and Bridge 203 – Conventions III) are usually offered on Monday afternoons, but starting in the fall of 2010, these courses will be offered on Monday evenings. There will be no evening offerings of 101, 102 and 103 during this period.  Special 4-week practice courses (Bridge 104P – General Practice I and Bridge 105P – General Practice II) for students who have completed Bridge 101, 102 and 103 are offered once each trimester on Friday afternoons. These two courses are also recommended for anyone with some experience who is interested in improving their game, but doesn’t know where to start.

Bridge 101, 102 and 103

These 9-week courses are designed for students who have never played or have a little experience but would like to go back to square one and get the basics.  Beginning students (those who have never played or played a little a long time ago) should take these courses in numerical sequence.  For students with some experience, these courses can be taken in any sequence, although it may be helpful to take them in sequence, since the 102 and 103 courses build somewhat on the previous course.  The class time for these courses is approximately equally divided between

1) lecture and class exercises

2) play of four deals designed to utilize the ideas presented in the lecture and exercises with a short break approximately in the middle of the session.

One of the problems with learning to play bridge is that there is quite a bit of material to learn before you can really start playing randomly dealt hands and have some confidence in knowing what you are doing.  To overcome this problem, I have developed an extensive set of practice exercises for each lesson of these courses.  These exercises provide the opportunity to gain experience in the topics covered in each lesson.  Students are strongly encouraged to take an hour or two to work through these exercises before the next class session. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THESE EXERCISES.

The material for these courses is the recently revised ACBL Bridge Series:

101 - Bidding in the 21^st Century

102 - Play of the Hand in the 21^st Century

103 - Defense in the 21^st Century

Bridge 101P, 102P and 103P

These 4-week practice sessions immediately follow the corresponding 9-week courses and provide an opportunity to gain more experience in the topics covered in the course just completed.  The format for these courses is primarily the playing of eight deals designed to utilize the concepts discussed in the corresponding 9-week course.  The bidding and play is monitored and briefly discussed. Depending on class size, each table may be on their own for these courses with breaks taken when desired, or I may keep the tables synchronized for complete class discussion.  Although scheduled for two hours and 45 minutes, some students may finish in significantly less time if the tables are left on their own.  An analysis booklet which has the hand records for the deals and brief discussions of the deals is provided for each course.

Bridge 104P and 105P

These 4-week practice sessions provide an opportunity to gain more experience in all of the ideas presented in Bridge 101, 102 and 103.  The format is the same as for Bridge 101P, 102P and 103P, and similar analysis booklets are provided.

Bridge 201 and 202

These two 13-week independent courses on modern conventions and advanced bidding are for students with at least two years of experience and can be taken in any order, although they may not be offered every year.  Because of the volume of material covered in these courses, a quad 3-week format is being used.  Two weeks will be spent on lecture and class exercises followed by one week of practice using the eight deals associated with the topics covered in the previous two weeks of lecture and class exercises.  The final week will be spent covering some of the topics in the appendices of the student textbook.  A short break will be given at approximately the midpoint of each lesson.

The material for these courses is the recently revised ACBL Bridge Series:

201 - Commonly Used Conventions in the 21^st Century

202 - More Commonly Used Conventions in the 21^st Century

Bridge 203

This is a 4-week short course on Notrump interference and countermeasures developed by the instructor.  A small pamphlet on the Lebensohl convention is also used.  The format is mostly lecture with some practice included.  A short break will be given at approximately the midpoint of each lesson.

REGISTRATION

Note: I do not deposit any checks until all classes which start within about a week of each other have begun, so you may have to wait an extra month or so (depending on when you write your check and the last class starts) for your check to clear.

Advance Registration

I have implemented a simple two-step advance registration process for ALL students for ALL courses. 

Step 1 - Notify me by postal mail (see address below), email (drglandorf@sbcglobal.net), phone (281-488-6318) or in person during the advance registration period of any course you wish to take.  See the AT-A-GLANCE FOR 2010/Key Dates section above for the dates of the advance registration periods for the various cl;asses.  Include the following information:

First and last name (As you would like it on your name tag.)

Mailing address

Email address (if you have one)

Day phone

Night phone (if different from day phone)

Cell phone (optional – I use this only for emergencies unless it is your only phone)

The numbers of the courses you wish to take (101, 102P, etc.)

If appropriate, I will reply to let you know I received the information.

Step 2 - Send or hand deliver to me a check or money order in the total amount of all of the tuition and standard materials fees for the courses you wish to take.  Make sure you mail or deliver this in a timely manner so that I receive it by the end of the advance registration period. You may skip this step if no fees are due.

Make payment payable to Dave Glandorf and mail to

Dave Glandorf

15530 St. Cloud Dr

Houston TX  77062-3523   

If appropriate, I will notify you by email or phone when I receive your payment and hold it until the start of the class or shortly thereafter.  If you wish to cancel your registration before the end of the advance registration period, notify me by phone or email and I will return your payment.  If you decide to cancel your registration after the end of the advance enrollment period but before the start of the class, I will return your payment less the cancellation fee(s) for the course(s).  (Yes, you may take more than one course at a time, especially if you are repeating a course.)  All appropriate advance registration fees will be returned to the sender if a course is canceled due to lack of interest.

Special note to new students in Bridge 101:  If you are not sure if you really want to get into this game, go ahead and register (preferably in advance) and come to the first class session.  If you then decide not to continue, I will return your full registration fees.

Late Registration

Students who do not register in advance may register at a later date, usually up until the start of the second class session.  Registration after the second class session will be considered on an individual basis.  New students in Bridge 101 will not normally be permitted to register after the first class session unless they have some previous experience.

Students who do not register in advance will be charged a late registration fee and may incur a materials surcharge (probably in the $5 - $10 range) if I do not have materials in stock.  You also may not receive all of your course materials until the second week of class or perhaps even later.  These fees may be waived for new students with whom I have not had prior contact.

The late registration/cancellation fees are:

Bridge 101, 102, 103, 201, 202 - $10

Bridge 101P, 102P, 103P, 104P, 105P, 203 - $5

NON-STANDARD TUITION AND OPTIONAL MATERIALS FEES

It had been my policy to waive tuition charges for a student who wished to take a major course (Bridge 101, 102, 103, 201, 202) a second time, and to charge only half the current full tuition rate for a student who wished to take a major course a third or greater time. I am continuing to honor that agreement for students who have already taken a course once prior to 2009 and wish to repeat it. But, for those students who take a course for the first time in 2009 or later, a half-rate will apply if they wish to repeat it. I am also willing to work out special arrangements for students who miss a significant number of sessions due to unforeseen circumstances, such as an illness, accident or hurricane Ike.

A student may also attend any of the “P” courses on a pay-as-you-come basis at a rate of $8 per session, but be sure to follow the advance registration procedure.

Contact me if you would like to audit a major course.  Perhaps you are an experienced player who would like to attend a course with a friend or spouse who is just learning the game or you are just interested in observing the presentation process.  I will consider waiving the tuition fees in these cases.

Small spiral-bound flip books summarizing course content (for Bridge 101, 102 and 103) and special decks of cards used in all courses may be purchased at a cost of $5 each, subject to availability.

PUNCTUALITY

There is a tremendous amount of material to be covered in each class session, so it is important to start each session in a timely manner.  To encourage early arrival, I will try to arrive at the site 15 minutes early to set up the facility for the lesson.  Approximately five minutes before class time, I will begin taking attendance and then start the lesson promptly at the appointed time for the class.  Please cooperate by arriving five to 10 minutes early. Please contact me ahead of time if you would like to meet with me earlier to discuss any problems you may be having with the course material.  I will also usually have a little time after classes to answer questions if you are not able to arrive extra early.

Note: If you have difficulty arriving promptly because of work or traffic, come as soon as you can. I would still enjoy having you in my class.

LOCATION

All classes will be held at the Clear Lake Bridge Club, 16614 Sea Lark in Clear Lake City (281-480-1911).

Directions going Northwest on El Camino Real from Bay Area Blvd:

Turn left at the first street (approximately across from Mr. Gatti's in the strip shopping center on the right) onto Sea Lark.  Proceed one short block and follow the forced right-hand turn - you will still be on Sea Lark.  The Bridge Club is in the third building on your left.

Directions going Southeast on El Camino Real from El Dorado Blvd:

Turn right onto Ramada at the Walgreen's Pharmacy.  Go one block and turn left onto Sea Lark.  The Bridge Club is in the third building on your right.

The building is set back some distance from the street with a parking lot for about 25 vehicles in front of the building.  There is a hairdresser business in the left side of the building; the Bridge Club is in the right side of the building.  There is a sign slightly to the right of the driveway into the parking lot advertising Detleff Hair Forum on the top and the Clear Lake Bridge Club on the bottom.

Please do not park in the spaces along the left-hand fence (as you enter the lot) of the parking lot in the morning Tuesday through Friday. These are reserved for Detleff Hair Forum patrons and staff. If the lot is full, you may park in the street or in the Cellar Bar night club lot directly across the street during the daytime, but please do not park in the spaces adjacent to the building.

INSTRUCTORS

I plan to personally teach all of the major courses and their associated practice courses, but unforeseen circumstances may require an occasional substitute.

My colleague, Joe Choate, has agreed to teach the Friday afternoon Bridge 104P and 105P general practice courses. Joe is a very experienced player and has taught these courses for me in the past.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE VS PARTY BRIDGE

I sometimes hear someone claim that I teach duplicate bridge in my courses. Well, that is not true. What I teach is contract bridge. This is the game that both duplicate and party bridge players play. In both versions of the game, you shuffle and deal the cards, conduct the bidding auction to determine a final contract and a declarer, play the cards and score the result. The main differences between the two forms of the game are the environment and the scoring method. Whichever version you would like to play, my classes will get you started on a firm foundation or improve your game.

CLEAR LAKE AND PASADENA BRIDGE CLUBS

The Clear Lake Bridge Club (CLBC) and Pasadena Bridge Club (PBC) are separate member-owned bridge clubs sanctioned by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) to hold duplicate bridge games. These clubs are open to the general public with nominal annual membership dues of $10 for the CLBC and $5 for the PBC, prorated to half the annual fee after July 1. Both clubs use the Clear Lake Bridge Club facility and provide many weekly opportunities for bridge players of all levels of experience to play in duplicate bridge games. Most of these games last about three hours or a little longer. You can find more information about these clubs at their web sites

CLBC – http://d16acbl.org/U174/clearlak/clearlake.htm

PBC - http://d16acbl.org/U174/pasadena/pasadena.htm

Schedule of Duplicate Bridge Games at the Clear Lake Bridge Club

Club	Day	Time	Club	Day	Time
CLBC	Mon	10:00	CLBC	Thu	7:00
CLBC	Tue	10:00^1	CLBC	Fri	10:00
CLBC	Tue	2:15^2	CLBC	Fri	7:00^3
CLBC	Tue	7:00	PBC	Sat	1:00
PBC	Wed	10:00	CLBC	Sun	1:00^4
CLBC	Thu	10:00^1

¹This is a beginner game (0 – 199 Masterpoints)

²This is a new beginner game (0 – 5 Masterpoints, approximately 2 hr 45 min)

³This is a beginner game (0 – 99 Masterpoints)

⁴This is a once-a-month team game. See announcements at the CLBC.

Cost is $6 per player per game, ($7 if not a Club member)

Need a Partner?

Not needed for beginner games. Otherwise call Vern Schmidt (281-678-1963) at least 24 hours before the game in which you would like to play.

Plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before game time, 20 – 30 minutes if you do not have a partner.

You are welcome/encouraged to come and observe. Tell the game director (just ask for him/her when you arrive) that you would like to kibitz. The director will find an experienced player for you to watch. You need not stay for the entire game if you are not playing. There are really only two rules for kibitzing. Look at the cards of only one player and refrain from making comments.

AMERICAN CONTRACT BRIDGE LEAGUE (ACBL)

The American Contract Bridge League is the sanctioning body for duplicate bridge in North America. If you are a member of the ACBL and play in a sanctioned game at a club or a tournament, you have an opportunity to win masterpoints.

Masterpoints are awarded to the top 40% of the participants in an event. The number of points awarded depends on the rating of the event and the number of tables in play. Tournaments have higher ratings than club games and large games award more points than small games. Masterpoints are also pigmented. Points won at club games are black. Points won at tournaments may be black, silver, red, gold or platinum, depending on the level of the tournament and the event.

By earning masterpoints you can achieve various rankings. The more points you earn the higher your ranking. In 2009 the rankings and the required masterpoints are

Ranking	Required Masterpoints	Ranking	Required Masterpoints
Rookie	<5	Bronze Life Master	500
Junior Master	5	Silver Life Master	1000
Club Master	20	Gold Life Master	2500
Sectional Master	50 (5 silver)	Diamond Life Master	5000
Regional Master	100 (15 silver, 5 red or gold)	Emerald Life Master	7500
NABC Master	200 (25 silver, 15 red or gold, 5 gold)	Platinum Life Master	10,000
Life Master	300 (50 silver, 25 red or gold, 25 gold)	Grand Life Master	10,000*

*The Grand Life Master level has some additional requirements.

For many duplicate players the “holy grail” of bridge is to become a life master (LM). Starting in 2010, the LM requirement is being increased to 500 (75 black, 75 silver, 50 red, gold or platinum, 50 gold or platinum), the Bronze Life Master level is being eliminated, and a new ranking of Advanced NABC Master with a requirement of 300 (50 black, 50 silver, 25 red, gold or platinum, 25 gold or platinum) is being added. However, if you are an ACBL member at the end of 2009 and continue your membership, you are grandfathered under the 2009 requirements. So, if you have any interest at all in pursuing an LM ranking, it would behoove you to join the ACBL in 2009. The membership fee is only $26 for first-year members and $35 thereafter.

Even if you do not think you are interested in pursuing an LM ranking, a membership in the ACBL is a bargain for the 80-page, 8 ½ x 11 glossy monthly magazine you will receive. It is full of articles to improve your bridge, letters to the editor, tournament schedules and results, obituaries, minimal advertising (all bridge related) and a few other miscellaneous articles. You will also receive a bimonthly newspaper type newsletter from District 16 which includes most of Texas and all of Mexico.

We have membership application forms at the CLBC. You can also join online. If you do join, please enter 226415 for the “Recruiting Club Number” and O200109 for the “Recruiting Player Number” on your application form.

For more information about the ACBL, visit their website – www.acbl.org. Also see www.d16acbl.org for District 16 information and www.baronbarclay.com for a great selection of bridge supplies, including ACBL products.