About Lone Star Bridge Club

Where We Meet

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

Lone Star Bridge Club meets in the Fellowship Hall at St. Paul United Methodist Church 1100 Semands Dr. in Conroe, Texas.

CLICK FOR MAP TO ST. PAUL

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

Lone Star Bridge Club uses a dealing machine for game hands, provides hand records at end of game, posts scores to Unit web site, and provides Bridgemate score pads for players' convenience. Our games begin every Monday at noon, and every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. All games are sanctioned and stratified. Game fee: $5.00

LINK TO UNIT WEBSITE AND SCORES

Special Games and Lessons

Awards, Missions and Activities

Jeff Kroll's Improving Your Bridge Bidding and Play

Jeff's classes are every first Monday of each month, starting at 11:00, and are concluded in time to make the noon game. Videos of his classes are posted below.

*****************************************************

Proof of COVID vaccination is required to play at the club, and masks are optional.

*****************************************************

ASK THE DIAMOND LIFE MASTER
Diamond Life Master Jeff Kroll welcomes questions about bridge hands. You may send them to him at texas.blue.hen@gmail.com or place them in a box at the games. After receiving several questions, Jeff will schedule a free lesson to cover the topics requested. Variations to the schedule will be announced in the Club's weekly newsletter.

**************************************************

Previous ACBL Bridge Bulletin Notes

https://acblunit174.org/Kroll_ACBL_Bulletin_Review.html

This link is not a newsletter from Jeff. It's the ACBL Bridge Bulletin Notes from April 2016 to the present that Jeff wrote, and Sam Khayatt edited. These notes have been captured over many years and posted to the ACBL Unit Website.

The earlier notes are more lengthy as we wrote up everything that most bridge players would find helpful. These earlier Bulletins are available on the ACBL website. The later notes were shorter as we wrote up only the highlights.

Also, the earlier notes required that the reader have the Bridge Bulletin in hand to follow what was written. The later notes are written so they could be understood without the Bridge Bulletin.

Awards, Missions and Activities

Members of Lone Star Bridge Club participate year-round in charitable support to organizations such as Children's Protective Services, Operation Christmas Child, Montgomery County Food Bank, and others.

**************************************************

Lone Star Bridge Club August, 2022 Events

The next scheduled tournament is The Awesome August Sectional which will be August 11th thru August 14th, at the Arabia Shrine Center. AND, after that, The Houston Fall Sectional tournament is being scheduled for late October.

There is also an Intermediate/Newcomer Sectional scheduled for October 6th thru October 9th, 2022.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – August 11 thru August 14
Unit 174 – AWESOME AUGUST SECTIONAL , Arabia Shrine Center, 10510 Harwin Drive, Houston 77016
NOTE:: The ACBL has increased masterpoint awards by 20% to encourage attendance!

***********************************************

The Future Life Master Program of Unit 174 has been growing and growing. If you are in the 0-100 masterpoint category, there are special on-line bridge games and lessons just for you! Flyers with all the information for the Apollo (0-20) , Gemini (21-50) , and Discovery (51-100) Playing Groups are available at the club where you purchase your entries. It is easy to sign up on BBO, but you do need to have an ACBL number. (Applications are available at LSBC) **************************************************PLAY BRIDGE WITH A LIFE MASTER!

Don’t forget to sign up for our NEW MENTEE/MENTOR game. The first one is going to be Tuesday, August 16th at 10 AM. Partnerships are now being arranged and anyone with less than 300 masterpoints is eligible to be a mentee, AND play bridge with a Life Master! The mentee will be paying the regular $5 entry fee, and the Mentors will be playing for free. The main idea is for this to be an opportunity to play in a shortened bridge game, and allow time afterwards to discuss the bidding, play of the hand, and best defenses. We will be sponsoring this game once a month on the third Tuesday, and masterpoints will be awarded to all ACBL members. Don’t miss this amazing opportunity!

**************************************************

Bridge Classes for Beginners – Bridge 101 – will begin again on Tuesday, September 6th. 2022.

Lessons will be from 10 am to Noon, and allow time for practice playing hands to illustrate the day’s topic. The cost is $25 for all six lessons, if paid at the first class, or $5 each, plus the cost of the book, Audrey Grant’s , Bridge Basics I - An Introduction. The book will be available at the first class for $15. Exact dates of the lessons are September 6, Sept 13, Sept 27, October 4, Oct 11, and Oct 25th. This will allow time to play in the new Mentee/Mentor game on September 20th and October 18th.

PLEASE let your relatives, friends, and neighbors know that this is their chance to learn to play bridge!! Flyers are available now for distribution, and please contact the instructor, Linda Sutton at 936-443-3600, or lindasutton212@gmail.com, for more information and to register for the classes.

**************************************************

Thanks to everyone for helping us fight COVID! Your cooperation has been appreciated! Hopefully, the worst is finally over, and we have avoided any serious cases or hospitalizations of our friends at Lone Star. *************************************************

Here is the August game calendar for the Lone Star Bridge club for the Unit Score Calendar.

Notice: We are having a mentor/mentee game on Tuesday, August 16 (morning game). It will be an open game.

Monday, August 1 - UC
Thursday, August 4 - UC
Monday, August 8 - NP
Thursday, August 11 - NP
Monday, August 15 - NP
Tuesday, August 16 - (regular Club Masterpoint - not an upgraded game)
Thursday, August 18 - NP
Monday, August 22 - CC
Thursday, August 25 - CC
Monday, August 29 -UCC

UC - Unit Championship

CC - Club Championship

NAP - North American Pairs

UCC - Upgraded Club Championship

**************************************************

DON’T FORGET THAT ALL NAP GAMES AWARD 81.8% OF SECTIONALLY RATED MP’S – 50% ARE RED POINTS, 50% ARE BLACK POINTS.

**************************************************

For Partnership please contact Sandra Maalouf at 936-597-8756 or smaalouf@icloud.com. Your name will be added to the sub list. Should she be unable to find a partner for you, she will notify you in due time. Also, if you prefer playing a particular bidding system (2/1 or S.A.), let her know and she will try and find a suitable partner for you. For additional information call: Linda Sutton, 936-443-3600 **************************************************

We have started our Ambassador Program. This will make sure you get to play in case your partners cancels at the last minute, or accidentally schedules two bridge dates. The goal is to prevent anyone from having to go home. Ambassadors will play for free and earn one or two additional free plays. Skip Brower will supervise the program and has his list of volunteers. The complete guidelines are available at the club.

Jeff Kroll's 2/7/2022 Lesson

Check out this great lesson video from Jeff Kroll.

As most players play team games as opposed to pairs at tournaments, they will have a better chance of doing well if they know the differences in strategies between IMPS and Matchpoints. Some of the key points covered:

Differences in pre-empting strategies
Differences in doubling strategies- When to risk your contract for overtrick{s}
When to bid game, and which game- When to bid a small slam
When to bid a grand slam

Important Information

2022-2023 Lone Star Bridge Club Board of Directors

President Deb Alexander
Vice President Chip Brower
Secretary Julie Halperin
Treasurer Carol Jenkinson
Club Manager Linda Sutton
Church Liaison Mary McDonald
Members at Large: Bill Gemas, Sandra Maalouf, Kay Rice

Lone Star Bridge Club Policies

THE FOLLOWING POLICIES HAVE BEEN APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB BOARD:

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB has a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY. The Lone Star Bridge Club endorses and enforces the ACBL Zero Tolerance Policy. The full Zero Tolerance Policy is available on the ACBL website.

The following behaviors are not allowed at our player-friendly club:

· Rudeness, intimidation, badgering, gloating

· Profanity, abusive language

· Violence

· Negative comments regarding opponent’s bidding or play

· Negative comments regarding partner’s bidding or play

· Aggressive or confrontational behavior with any director, opponent or partner.

Violations of Lone Star Bridge Club’s Zero Tolerance Policy are:

1. Upon the first violation the Director has the right and discretion to do any of the below in the following sequence:

· Issue a warning

· Access a ¼ board or 3 IMP penalty to the offender’s pair.

· Take the issue to the Conduct and Ethics Committee for review and further action

· Ask the offender and his/her partner to leave the game

***PHYSICAL VIOLENCE OR THREATS OF PHYSICAL VIOLENCE WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE EVICTION FROM THE PREMISES***

2. Violations will be documented in the Club Manager’s Notebook with accompanying date and description of the nature of the violation. Further violations or patterns of infractions by the same offender will be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee for further review and action.

We want to develop an atmosphere of camaraderie and healthy competition at our Club.

Thank you for your compliance with this Zero Tolerance Policy.

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB APPEAL POLICY*

Any member who legitimately believes that a Director has made an incorrect call of an ACBL Rule shall have the right to request an appeal of such a call. The great majority of Director’s Call shall stand.

· An appeal request must be made at the table at the time of the Director Call in question.

· Both the player and his/her partner must agree that an appeal should be made.

· No other Director shall be called to the table to discuss at the time of the Call. The Director making the call may walk away to confer with another Director if he/she requires confirmation of a Rule.

· During the Director Call Process, the players at the table may always ask to see the ACBL Laws of Duplicate Bridge Book to reference the rule in question.

APPEAL PROCESS:

· Immediately after the game, as many of the Board of Directors as are available, shall meet to review the Director’s Call in question.

· The Board may request other Certified Directors, or if unavailable, advanced knowledgeable players to participate in the review.

· A total of at least three or five BOD/Directors/knowledgeable players shall be required so that a majority vote may occur.

· Once the Appeal Committee has reached a decision, no further appeal is available.

· Both the Director that made the call and the offending pair must be present to give the facts of the call.

If the offending pair is not satisfied, they will be advised that they can always send an email with the facts and final ruling to the ACBL for confirmation of accuracy.

The Club Manager will maintain a Notebook which contains Appeal Committee decisions with dates and notations regarding the facts of the appeal and decision, as well as previous examples from ACBL to LSBC, its members and sister clubs giving guidance on specific calls and results.

Any club member who requests appeals on a repeated basis, in such a manner to be deemed frivolous, shall be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee.

*Appeals relating to issues other than Director Calls shall be referred to the Conduct and Ethics Committee.

LONE STAR BRIDGE CLUB SLOW PLAY POLICY

· Directors shall make all efforts to encourage players to play within the time limits of each round.

· All four players at the table are responsible for eliminating slow play when it occurs.

· If a table has not picked up its last board before the end of the round has been announced, the Director, at his/her discretion, may give the two pairs at that table the option to take a “Late Play” of that board. This is not a penalty…it is only to ensure that the tempo of the entire game is maintained. The ACBL stresses that the objective should always be to strive for an actual score in preference to no score. Directors shall make every effort NOT to assess a “No Play” as this affects non-offending pairs as well as offending players, but a No Play will be assessed if both pairs do not agree to a Late Play.

· A Director may, at his/her discretion, apply additional penalties in line with ACBL guidelines for those players/pairs that have established a continued pattern of slow play which impacts repeatedly on the flow of the LSBC games.

Enforcing the Slow Play Policy will result in a better functioning Club. Slow players have a negative effect on the over-all tempo of the game, which often results in player frustration at the other effected tables.

Please read these policies carefully as they are in effect immediately. They will also be posted at the club. If you have any questions, please ask a Board member.

About Lone Star Bridge Club

Where We Meet

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

We Are A Friendly Duplicate Bridge Club

Special Games and Lessons

Awards, Missions and Activities

Awards, Missions and Activities

Awards, Missions and Activities

Awards, Missions and Activities

Awards, Missions and Activities

Jeff Kroll's 8/1/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 7/11/2022 Lesson

The Power of a Splinter Bid

Jeff Kroll's 6/6/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 5/2/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 4/4/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 3/7/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 2/7/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 1/3/2022 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 12/6/2021 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 11/1/2021 Lesson

Jeff Kroll's 10/4/21 Lesson

Lone Star Bridge Club Honoree Photo Gallery

Contact Us

Lone Star Bridge Club - Sanction #275321

Drop us a line!

Important Information