You will learn more by losing to good players
than you will by winning against poor players
!s !h !d !c Holdo's Holdings
Right after my wife, Elizabeth, passed away, almost 25 years ago, I knew that Charo Holdo was giving lesson in Spanish, so
I became her student. We also discussed a lot of bridge! Once a week we would drive down to Long Beach and played
what we called, "Holdo's Holdings." It was fun, but always seemed to need an improvement. It was also something
mostly out of her head and very different, and like I said, it was fun! I found my notes the other day, so I would
like to share, "Holdo's Holdings."
We abandoned almost everything and made lots of changes... and then abandoned them again... and again! Below is the
last version I had in my notes...
* All 2-level bids were natural - minimum size was 18 HCP
* Any other opening bid was 10-18 HCP
* 1NT was 16-18 and never contained a 4-card major
* A 1!c opening bid was artificial and alertable... It always had either one or both 4-card majors
* The 1!d opening never had a 4-card major - and we did not alert this bid. Dunno... maybe we shoud have.
Not only did the 1NT opening bid not have a 4-card major, but any response at the 2-level was natural and non-forcing.
Jump responses were also natural, but forcing to game. We eliminated both Stayman and Transfer bids!
Very often we up-graded 17 point hands to 18 and opened them at the 2-level, usually with very good distribution and 6+
card suits. (And a few 15-16 point hands, if we had a very strong playing hand!)
This was a top board for us, so I saved it in my notes... Charo opened 2!h and I held 4-card support and two aces and put
her in six.
Goodbye, old friend, and I will join join you soon. I recently turned 91!
Roy Wilson - Emerald Life Master
and I have played bridge more than half my life...
The lesser half I wasted.
TEXT HERE
Unit Games -- Our unit games are held twice a month, on the first and
third Sundays, at the Pasadena Bridge Club. - Game time is 12:30.
Note: Open the link to the Pasadena Club Results for Unit game results.
Our Next Unit Game is Sunday, July 19
Unit Game Today
Extra Master points, good bridge and a chance to play with friends!
Top 30 Players
Every three months I update our list of the top 30 players in our unit, and I want to welcome Marilyn Kogan and
Fredy Minter to the list. Well done! (The list is at the top of ranks below-right.)
Update
I was a little slow this time, but I have finished my quarterly update of Player's Ranks... Lemme know if you spot
a problem. I sometimes get a note like, "Hey you have Jimmy Bob Jones listed as a Life Master but he's not!
Friends, the ACBL provides a data base, and they put players in the group according to their total number of Master
points... Not by rank. So you might find "Jimmy Bob" in the wrong category. but he does have the points necessary
to join that group. Most likely he still needs a few silver or gold points.
Charo --- My good friend!
A long, long time ago, Charo and I were partners for about a year, and I am so sorry that she is gone.
Charo Holdo Memorial Game on July 20.
Charo's son, Erik, has made an extraordinary offer
honor of his mother. He will be paying the card fees for those
who play in her memorial bridge game. Also, the Pasadena Club will upgrade to a Championship for extra masterpoints.
District 22 Newsletter
Here is the latest Newsletter From District 22 ...
HIDDEN TEXT
Pasadena-San Gabriel Unit 559
Our unit is one of nine in District 23 and we are sanctioned by the American
Contract Bridge League. We have an elected board of 12 members that meets
monthly and is responsible for unit games, our Holiday party and the annual
John Waken sectional.
BBO has many bridge forums where you can discuss almost any aspect or topic related to bridge.
BBO has a site on YouTube where you will see many interesting bridge discussions and explanations.
WEB PAGES AND WEB SITES
1
2
3
4
a
b
c
d
e
f
A
B
C
D
1
2
3
4
5
Unit 559 Membership Report
Ranks are updated quarterly after the 7th of the month.
Please note that some of the players listed in a rank
may not actually hold that rank, but they do have enough
Master points to be included there. They probably
need to fulfill the silver or gold requirements.
Unit 559 Active Members
Click the rank below for a list
Master Points
0-5
No color points needed
5-20
No color points needed
20-50+
No color points needed
50+ 5+ silver points
100+ 15+ silver points
and 5+ gold points
200+ 25+ silver
and 20+ red/gold/platinum
(5 must be gold or platinum)
300+ 50+ silver
and 50+ red/gold/platinum
(25 must be gold or platinum)
500+ 75+ silver
and 100+ red/gold/platinum
(50 must be gold or platinum)
750+ Life Master with
at least 750 points
1000+ Life Master with
at least 1000 points
(200+ must be silver/red/gold/platinum)
1500+ Life Master with
at least 1500 points
(300+ must be silver/red/gold/platinum)
2500+ Life Master with
at least 2500 points
(500+ must be silver/red/gold/platinum)
3500+ Life Master with
at least 3500 points
700+ silver/red/gold/platinum (350+ must be gold or platinum)
5000+ Life Master with
at least 5000 points
1000+ silver/red/gold/platinum (500+ must be gold or platinum)
7500+ Life Master with
at least 7500 points
1500+ silver/red/gold/platinum (750+ must be gold or platinum)
10,000+ Life Master with
at least 10,000 points
2000+ silver/red/gold/platinum (1000+ must be gold or platinum)
10,000+ Life Master with
at least 10,000 points
2000+ silver/red/gold/platinum (1000+ must be gold or platinum)
Must have a victory in an eligble event
January Total Membership 339
The Number of visitors since estabshment prior
to the reset on January 16, 2026 was 1,009,500 Since January 16, 2016 --
You are Visitor Number 223244
This website was established in 1999 by Roy Wilson
Linux version 1.0.0 was introduced March 14, 1994
The First Web Site was established at CERN in 1992 by Tim Berners-Lee.
This website was built in 1999
by Roy Wilson
Click on the
photo for a description of Extended Precision - Roy
Mike Marcucci
