Palo Alto Bridge

Declare and Defend
2025-04-17 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Frank Smoot
(408) 306-3901‬
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Learn to devise a good plan as the declarer (four sessions) and become a formidable defender (two sessions). You will handle various card combinations properly and select the best plan from the possible alternatives. Playing notrump usually involves a race to build tricks. As the declarer, ward off danger as you execute your plan. Playing in a suit adds the possibility of trumping in dummy or in your hand. Master the best trumping techniques. As a defender, get off to a good start by making an effective opening lead. How does suit defense differ from notrump defense?
This play-intensive course is for players who have a minimum of two years experience playing duplicate bridge. The emphasis is on powerful and practical bidding, play (who has what) and defense concepts. We do exercises in class (homework outside of class) and finish the evening by playing deals related to the topic. Snacks are provided.
You will be amazed at what you will learn, even if you’ve played for years and years! The in-class deals are available in downloadable format, so you can play the hands at home and receive commentary on the bidding and play (requires Bridge Baron Software).

Our course lecturer is the very popular Frank Smoot who has taught bridge to players of all levels in Palo Alto for 30+ years. Frank and our wonderful volunteers give students individual attention which helps our students learn in a fun environment.
For more information contact Frank Smoot (408) 306-3901 email.

The 6-Week Course Covers
Bridge Baron Downloads

Declarer Play

Card Combinations
Play the Odds
Play at Notrump
Play at Suits

Card Combinations
Play the Odds
Play at Notrump
Play at Suits (new on 4/1/25)

Defense

Defense at Notrumps
Defense at Suits

Defense at Notrump
Defense at Suits

Bridge Baron Support
Purchase Bridge Baron (not Bridge Baron Gold): BaronBarclay
Instructions for downloading and playing files with Bridge Baron
Students: Contact Alan Templeton or Frank Smoot for additional support.

Payment
After registering, below, you may pay by Zelle or check to hold your spot:
Zelle: Transfer $200 to either franklinsalias-bridge@yahoo.com or (408) 306-3901.
Check: Mail a check made out to Frank Smoot in the amount of $200:

Frank Smoot
15 Tagus Ct.
Portola Valley, CA 94028

Supervised Play Monday Evenings
2025-04-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-19 18:45 - 20:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Kathy Harper
(650) 207-1816
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Playing for Keeps
2025-04-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-05 19:00 - 20:30, 2025-05-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Kathy Harper
(650) 207-1816
Send Email

Master the art of playing a bridge hand. (Or at least give it a try!)
This Basic-Intermediate Bridge Class builds upon our Beginning Bridge Classes and prepares our students for our Intermediate Classes.
Notes will be emailed for all classes. No make-up classes are offered for missed classes.
Our course instructor is ABTA Master Teacher Kathy Harper. Kathy and our wonderful volunteers give students individual attention which helps our students learn in a fun environment.
Please contact Kathy Harper at (650) 207-1816 email for additional information.

Playing for Keeps
Dates

Discarding Losers
February 10

Trumping Losers
February 24

Fancy Finesses
March 10

Dangerous Opponent
March 24

Trump Management
April 7

Choices
April 21

The Cross Ruff
May 5

The Master Hand – Trumping in the Short Hand
May 19

Palo Alto Bridge Sectional
2025-04-24 - 2025-04-27 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Thursday – Sunday April 24-27, 2025
Palo Alto Bridge Center
432 Stierlin Road, Mountain View, CA
Stratified pairs games for players of all levels
Separate Open & Silver Rush Pairs (0-750) sections
Special 0-99er Game on Saturday Morning
Swiss & Bracketed Team games on Sunday

Only play teams at your own level
All games award 100% Silver points
77% of players won silver points at the last eight Palo Alto Bridge tournaments
No signup required
Schedule and more

Supervised Play Tuesday Mornings
2025-04-29 08:45 - 10:30, 2025-05-13 08:45 - 10:30, 2025-05-27 08:45 - 10:30, 2025-06-10 08:45 - 10:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States

Beginning Bridge
2025-04-29 09:00 - 10:30, 2025-05-13 09:00 - 10:30, 2025-05-27 09:00 - 10:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Kathy Harper
(650) 207-1816
Send Email

Learn Bridge the modern way in this course designed by Pat Harrington! Each class includes both instruction and practice play. Start playing the very first day! Children & teens welcome.
For people who have never played bridge and those people who have played for years but want a refresher course or just to learn the basics.
Notes will be emailed for all classes. No make-up classes are offered for missed classes.
Our course instructor is ABTA Master Teacher Kathy Harper. Kathy and our wonderful volunteers give students individual attention which helps our students learn in a fun environment.
Please contact Kathy Harper for more information.

Free Lecture
2025-05-05, 2025-05-22 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Our Unit provides free lectures as part of our education program. Lectures cover areas of interest for new as well as intermediate players. Lectures are held at our Bridge Center. Sign-ups are not required.
More

Stardust Week
2025-05-05 - 2025-05-11 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Gold Points Shimmer at Clubs During Stardust Week
Stardust Week, where players can earn 25% gold points and 75% black points, has been a mainstay at ACBL Virtual Clubs for years. But this year, we’re expanding the event to face-to-face clubs, too!
What makes Stardust Week so special is the gold. If you aren’t familiar, to climb the ACBL ranks, you need to earn masterpoints in a variety of pigments. Usually, gold points are only available at regional tournaments and NABCs, but with Stardust Week, you have a chance to earn gold at the club.

Cinco de Mayo Game
2025-05-05 10:30 - 14:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
You and your partners and friends are cordially invited to Palo Alto Bridge’s first Cinco de Mayo celebration game on Monday, May 5, 2025.
Cinco de Mayo is an annual celebration to celebrate Mexico’s victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. More popular in the United States than in Mexico, Cinco de Mayo has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture.
This is also a Stardust Week game so you can earn 25% Gold points.
The Bridge Center will be colorfully decorated and there will be aptly themed snacks! Celebration highlights:

10:30AM Free lecture “When to lead trump” by Ed Lechner
11:30AM 499er section for $4.99 game
11:30AM Open section game
Game masterpoints is dusted with 25% gold
Drawing to include prizes such as free-plays, customized name badges, bridge stuff!

Please help our directors to make the game run smoothly by Signing Up. If you need a partner, please indicate so when signing up.

SiVY Pizza Party Tournament
2025-05-10 18:00 - 21:00 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Individual Game with Beginner and Open Sections, with pizza, prizes & ACBL masterpoints
Information at SiliconValleyYouthBridge.org

Swiss Team Club Game
2025-05-12 11:30 - 14:30, 2025-06-09 11:30 - 14:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Swiss Team games are great fun to play and grant generous master point awards at sectional, regional, and national tournaments! Now you have the chance to play at the club level in our monthly games hosted by John Schwartz and Will Watson.
These games are a wonderful opportunity to polish one’s Swiss Team skills throughout the year and especially prior to sectional, regional, and national tournaments. If you are less experienced or have never played in a Swiss Team game and would like to play Swiss Teams at future tournaments, these Swiss Team club games are a perfect opportunity to gain experience in a more relaxed club game environment. For those less experienced Swiss Team players, here are slides from a Swiss Team strategy lecture from a Swiss Team strategy lecture given in August 2023..
These games will have an Open and a Limited section. They will award 100% black points.
No lunch is provided. Snacks aree available before and during the game.
For planning purposes, we ask that players sign-up to play at: https://www.signup123.com/unit503bridge/Scripts/slogin.pl

The game reservation system is designed for pairs games and not Swiss Teams. So, to sign up your team, sign up you and your partner in both the N/S and E/W boxes.
Having trouble signing up? Email Will Watson watsonbridge@gmail.com

Don’t have a team of four? The Unit will help you find a team. Email Will Watson at watsonbridge@gmail.com.
Have questions? Please contact Will or Marc Cervellino at marc.cervellino@hotmail.com.

Board of Directors Meeting
2025-05-13 16:00 - 17:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Usually held on the second Tuesday of every month at 4pm. Meetings are via Zoom. Please see our Event Calendar for possible changes.
Members are welcome to attend. Please contact the board if you would like a subject added to the Agenda.
Please see our Governance page for information about the board, the agenda for this meeting and the agenda and minutes of past meetings.

Palo Alto Open + Silver Rush Sectional
2025-05-15 - 2025-05-18 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Stratified pairs games for players of all levels
Separate Open & Silver Rush Pairs (0-750) sections
Special 0-99er Game on Saturday Morning
Swiss & Bracketed Team games on Sunday
Information

Royal STaC Week
2025-05-19 - 2025-05-25 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Go for the GOLD! And the RED! And the SILVER! And the BLACK! (25% each)

Royal Sectional Tournament at Clubs (STaC) F2F games will be held daily at the Palo Alto Bridge Center. These games grant generous masterpoint awards. Game times and signup may be found here. For planning purposes, we ask you to sign up for the games.

Celebrity Bridge Seminar with Barbara Seagram
2025-05-24 09:30 - 11:00 | Online Webinar, Link to be provided to registrants
Defensive Magic
Barbara Seagram Webinar
Barbara now owns and runs a School of Bridge in Toronto. She teaches tens of thousands of students a year at all levels, mostly in USA and Canada but also travelling all over the world. Barbara and Alex have now visited 171 countries.

Seagram has been the recipient of a number of awards in bridge: The Kate Buckman Award, given to the person who has contributed most to others’ enjoyment of the game and the most recent being the Audrey Grant Award for teaching. She is a Sapphire Life Master and a frequent speaker at NABC’s. She has been named #40 on the list of the top 52 bridge personalities that have most influenced the game.
Seagram was a co-founder (one of two) of the Zero Tolerance program. Barbara is the co-author of 30 published bridge books; the most well-known being “25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know” This is now in its 19th. printing and has been translated into French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Danish. This book has been named one of the top five best-selling bridge books of the last 60 years. It has just been revised and reprinted.
Information and Registration coming soon

Bridge Center Closed for IFES Event
2025-05-31 - 2025-06-01 | CA

North American Pairs (NAP)
2025-06-02 11:30 - 14:30 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Today’s game is a NAP qualifier game.
Other scheduled NAP games

SiVY Weekend Summer Camp
2025-06-07 13:00 - 18:00, 2025-06-08 13:00 - 18:00 | Bridge Center, 432A Stierlin Rd, Mountain View, CA, 94043, United States
Learn the best card game ever! Meet new friends!
For Kids entering 5th through 10th grade in the Fall. Beginners and those with some bridge experience. Camp is not intended for those who compete on a regular basis in ACBL games open to all ages.
Location: IFES Hall next to the Bridge Center
Information and registration
