Auckland Bridge Club

The Club holds hundreds of activities each year and has about 650 members.

We offer a range of lessons, tournaments, general bridge sessions and a social atmosphere to suit all levels from beginner to international players. You can view or download the annual events programme from Sessions page.

Visitors

Visitors are always welcome. Call or email the Club Office (details on Contact page) to make sure you are coming along to the right kind of session for you, and perhaps to find a bridge partner if you are missing one. Potential members may play up to five club sessions and pay the regular table money fee: a higher fee is payable for the sixth and subsequent visit within any 12 month period. This does not apply to 'genuine' temporary and overseas visitors.

Bank details

If paying online to ANZ Remuera 01 0258 0010388 00, remember to put your name as a transfer reference. 

Emails and newsletters

You can Join mailing list to keep informed: the Club sends out newsletters each year and it includes reminders to upcoming events and activities.

Lessons

The Club is committed to helping non-members and members learn, enjoy and improve their game. You can also email the club so you can see when the next lessons are coming up.

Wireless

There is a public wireless network available and the password is displayed in the Club Office window. It has limited capacity and offered for short sharp internet access: it is not designed for movie downloads and alike. The facility will be withdrawn if there are difficulties, so please use it wisely and sensibly.

Standby partners or looking for a partner

contact the office by email,We will then do our best to match players.

Please ring the office. if you are looking for a partner, we will try our best.

The Office will call on volunteers who are Standby players. The Club wishes to thank those who generously give their time. And if you'd like to volunteer as a Standby, please contact the office who will make sure you are properly looked after 

At all times members and visitors are expected to dress to a reasonable standard, and be polite and courteous.

Subscriptions and table money

E Vouchers are used by members. Visitors is $10 Youth table money is $1.

 Please see the Sessions page for a Club session list.

Trophies and winners

The Club award about sixty Trophies a year, recongising the achievements of players at all levels. Pictures of each trophy and lists of winners over the years are on Trophies.

Road-test your partnership understanding

There are not any right or wrong answers, just partnership understandings and styles.

Partnership_agreements_1.pdf
Partnership_agreements_2.pdf
Partnership_agreements_3.pdf

Partnership agreements #4 in Word format (mostly around competitive bidding)

There are about 170 bidding and general questions. For the best results print two copies, give one to your partner and complete your answers separately. Then compare and contrast!

Our thanks to New Zealand Bridge for many of the materials.

Hire the Club Rooms

If you are interested in hiring our Club Rooms, please see the Rental page: all kinds of groups use the premises. And private parties and weddings. The rooms have audio visual equipment installed: click on the link AV instructions to see how to use the equipment.

Memberships

To get further information on becoming a member, click Join the Club.The main categories of membership are:-

In addition a discounted Associate Membership is available and requires a written application to the Club Manager and may be granted in special circumstances.

Auckland Northland Regional Bridge (ANRC)

Keep up to date with the latest news from Auckland Northland Regional Bridge and NZ Bridge websites. Receive the latest Regional news by email by clicking on Free ANRC email list.

What is the NZ Bridge levy?

NZ Bridge makes two charges to affiliated clubs: an annual $23  per person levy, and about 35 cents per member per session played. So if you play once a month the Club passes about $27 a year to NZB on your behalf. NZB runs the Masterpoints system and promotes Bridge throughout the country.

In addition the NZ Bridge Levy the Club also pays NZ Bridge against the following approximate scale:

InterClub

A fabulous way to meet lots of players from around the region in friendly competitive environment. Played on Friday evenings, Teams format with separate sections for Junior, Intermediate and Open players, ten sessions through the year, about 15 Auckland clubs represented. Bar open after play. About 170 people participate each year and multiple substitutions over the year are allowed. We are keen to see more clubs and more people participating. Complimentary light snack offered by the Club in the break between the two sessions. A great way to learn Teams play in a social environment. Join or start your own team of four in January, see Club notice boards for details. Hosted by Auckland Bridge Club. To enroll a team in Interclub in Dec/Jan click Teams Entry --- depending upon your preferences you might want to register a five or six person team for the year. Click here for the InterClub schedule. For those wanting a beginners guide to team playing strategies, scoring and tactics, click on Teams strategies for novices. And just because it fits well here, some ideas on Goulash bidding!

New Zealand National Bridge Congress

This event runs in September/October each year in Hamilton and provides challenging Team and Pairs contests at Junior, Intermediate and Open levels with 650 attendees over the week, many from overseas. The Club usually has 70 representatives and thus the Club operates a reduced programme during that period.

Dan Gifford Rubber bridge

This event finals take place at the National Congress with qualifiers run at club and regional level from about April each year. For those wanting a guide to rubber playing strategies,scoring and tactics, click on Rubber bridge strategies for novices (our thanks to Waikato Bays Bridge Club for their notes). And just because it fits well here, some ideas on Goulash bidding!

Newsletters and notice boards

The Club publishes newsletters and members are encouraged to keep their email addresses up-to-date at the Club Office in order to receive their copies in a timely manner. In addition members may pick up a paper copy at the Club.

While care has been taken to ensure that the contents of this website are comprehensive and accurate, please watch the Club notice boards for any changes and the announcement of new events.

Kitchen

Please bring your own lunch. coffee & tea are provided free of charge. A light snack menu is available when consuming alcohol. Food is included at some but not all tournaments.

Licenced bar

Available Tue EVE, Wed EVE, Thu EVE, Fri PM and at Competition and Tournament days. The bar offers soft drinks, wine and beer. 

Special events

• NZ Wide Pairs one thousand people play at 50 clubs across the country. Compare your results to those of the entire country. Play like a super-hero to win! Bar open continuously. A booklet discussing the hands and showing ‘perfect’ lines of play is available to those who pre-register.
• An extensive range of Tournaments at all levels: Junior and Intermediate participation is strongly encouraged. Some events are hosted by Auckland Bridge Club for other groups.
• Trials for representative events

• Regular Bridge talks before sessions at least twice a week

The Club encourages members and their guests to all events.

History

The Auckland Bridge Club was first registered on 21^stNovember 1931 and is one of the largest and oldest clubs in New Zealand. The original clubrooms were rented in the NZI Building on Queen Street, later in His Majesty’s Arcade and then in the Pacific Building. In 1959 the Club built its own premises in Airedale Street, and in September 1971 built the current premises in Remuera. The Auckland Bridge Club Incorporated is a NZ charity registration number CC38616, and is also an Incorporated Society number 459147.

Readers are encouraged to click on the delightfulful Diamond Jubilee 1931-1991,a short history compiled and written by member Marie Rice. And see the history and winners for our events at Trophies.

Security

The grounds are patrolled regularly by a security firm. Nevertheless the Club asks members to protect their property and vehicles as the Club is not responsible for any loss or damage that may occur to members' property while members are at the Club. Valuables can be left with Club Office if required.

Conduct and etiquette

The Club operates a zero tolerance policy towards rudeness. Turn off mobile telephones during play.

Section 10 of the Club's Constitution.pdf covers discipline and/or suspension of members. At all times members are expected to dress to a reasonable standard, and be polite and courteous.

A player should maintain a courteous attitude at all times and carefully avoid any remark or action that might cause annoyance or embarrassment to another player or might interfere with the enjoyment of the game. A player should conform to correct procedure in calling and playing. A player should refrain from:

• Failing to warmly welcome opponents when arriving at a table
• Paying insufficient attention to the game
• Making gratuitous comments during the auction and play
• Detaching a card before it is his/her turn to play
• Prolonging play unnecessarily for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent
• Summoning and addressing the Director in a manner discourteous to him/her or to other contestants
• Gloating
• When in the scoring seat taking extra time completing an additional personal score sheet when time is short
• Consistently slow play holding up other players
• Continuing to discuss a previous hand once the next hand has started
• Failing to promptly call the Director to help resolve an issue, early

There may be a natural reluctance to complain about fellow players. Should it become necessary to call the Director simply state ‘my opponent is interfering with my enjoyment of the game’.

Strongly discouraged

• Using different meanings between the partners for the same bid in the same situation (e.g. you play weak 1NT open, your partner plays strong 1NT open)
• Indicating approval or disapproval of a call or play
• Taking a long time to play a singleton where there is no thinking required (giving the impression that you have more cards than you hold)
• Taking a long time to play a card when there is no reason for the long delay, giving the impression that you have an important and challenging decision to make (for example your choice is 3 or 4 of hearts)
• Indicating the expectation or intention of winning or losing a trick that has not been completed
• Commenting or acting during the auction or play so as to call attention to a significant occurrence, or to the number of tricks still required for success
• Looking intently at any other player during the auction and play, or another player’s hand as for the purpose of seeing his/her cards or of observing the place from which he/she draws a card (but it is appropriate to act on information acquired by inadvertently seeing opponent’s card)
• Showing an obvious lack of further interest in a deal (folding cards)
• Varying the normal tempo of bidding or play for the purpose of disconcerting an opponent
• Placing your bidding cards in different locations on the bridge table (for example, placing bids on far left to show strong hand, far right to show weak)
• Leaving the table needlessly before the round is called
• Shuffling of cards after playing a card to indicate a suit is now void
• Anything outside or close to the boundaries of the spirit of the game

Players are reminded that the opening lead should not be recorded at the start of play and that the appropriate time to record information is after play of the hand is complete. To record the opening lead sooner is seen as an aid to memory (not permitted), delays plays and may unnecessarily irritate others. Furthermore play should not be delayed by players completing their own personal score sheets, ever.

Partnership agreements

When explaining the significance of partner call or play in reply to an opponent’s inquiry, a player must disclose all special information conveyed through partnership agreement or partnership experience, but need not disclose inferences drawn from general knowledge and experience.

Psyches

A difficult area for a Director is the evaluation and arbitration in breaches of etiquette, especially around psyches. Persistent psyching is not permitted. Directors would regard MORE THAN TWO deliberate gross mis-descriptions by a partnership in any one session as evidence of persistent psyching.

The key words are deliberate and gross. If your partner opens 1NT and you respond 2♥ on a singleton because you had forgotten that with this partner you don’t use transfers then that is a mistake, not a psyche. Likewise if you choose to open 1♠ holding five spades and 9 points then that is not a psyche as it is not a gross misstatement of honour strength.

A psyche is typically used when you strongly suspect that it is the opponent’s contract and you are trying to disrupt their bidding. For instance, opening third in hand with only 4 points or perhaps bidding 1♠ after your partner has opened 1♥, when holding few and poor spades and lots of hearts to hamper the opponents competing in spades. Responding to partner’s opening in your weakest suit to discourage the opponents from leading that suit is also a psyche when you eventually bid 3NT is also psyche, even if you have plenty of points.

Psyching is legal and adds an extra element to the game, but excessive psyching can cause problems, particularly when partner begins to half-expect them and field them in certain situations, thus creating implicit partnership agreements.

Psyches are strongly discouraged at Monday AM, Monday EVE and Thursday AM sessions.

Because they are within the laws of bridge psyches cannot be prohibited but the Director might want a discussion with you about your psyches.

It is prohibited to psyche a Multi 2♦ or a strong game force opening such as 2♣ if your cards do not merit the bid. It is also prohibited to psyche an artificial game force of game try in response to partner’s opening. A common example is a 2NT game try in response to a weak 2♥ or 2♠ opening.

Rules for events at Auckland Bridge Club

The Club welcomes visitors and guests of members. All visitors are to abide by the Clubs rules.

Members and guests are expected to dress to a reasonable standard, and be polite and courteous at all times.

Club Points are awarded up to and inclusive of the second to last session of the year. The scale of points awarded is dependent on the section played and the type of event. Cups are awarded to the highest point scorer of every session at the end of the year.

Appeals of a Director’s decision must be lodged by the end of the session. If the Appeal is without merit then the appellant’s score may be decreased at the discretion of the Appeal Committee.

Only ABC members are eligible for the award of prizes at Club events. To be eligible to qualify a player must be a financial member by the start of the final session of the event. Restrictions apply to eligibility for Monday and Wednesday pm session cups and trophies.

Unless a Director indicates otherwise, results from Club sessions can be amended up to two working days after a session. The time period for adjustments for events eligible for A or B Masterpoints may be as short as 30 minutes from the end of the final session of that event, and is also determined by the Director of the event. If prizes have already been awarded at an event they will not be taken back and given to other entrants, should a scoring adjustment alter final placings. However any scoring adjustment will be recognised for Masterpoint purposes so long as the adjustments are made within the correct time periods.

If a session is only partially completed due to technical problems, the Director may choose to give a lesser weighting to that session when calculating the  ladder for that event

Pairs substitutes

Any substitute must be advised before the start of play and only one substitute is usually allowed in a Pairs event. The Director must approve any substitute for the final session of an event.

The Director may choose to deny a substitution which substantially improves a partnership. For five session or longer events any one session may be missed, in which case all scores count. If all sessions are played the worst score is discarded.

The Director has discretion to allow a substitution that might otherwise be rejected. A substitution at the start of the event may later be altered to accommodate a change to the pair. For example B and C intend to play an event but because C is unavailable B plays with X as a substitute on the first week. If B then becomes unavailable for the rest of the event then X might be treated as a substitute for C (if B-X is the new partnership) or the substitution might be cancelled and C-X might play the whole event together.

No player may substitute for a player who is playing with another partner in the same session.

Teams substitutes

Teams may consist of 4, 5 or 6 players. There are no limits on the number of substitutions. Someone who is a member of one team may only substitute for another team in special circumstances. Permission must be obtained from the Director in time for a different substitute to be found if the Director declines the original substitution. No player may substitute for a player who is playing with another partner in the same session.

Swiss substitutes

For Swiss, two substitutes are allowed, either as individuals at different sessions, or as a substitute pair for one session. The Director must be contacted in advance to approve the substitutions. No player may substitute for a player who is playing with another partner in the same session.

The Club operates a zero tolerance policy towards rudeness. Turn off mobile telephones during play.

Bridge movements

While playing at the Club you may find yourself taking strange and twisty routes around the tables. The attached Movements for Bridge.pdf document gives the instructions for Extended, Hesitation, Pivot, Bowman Ewing, Rover, Web, Continuous, Mitchell and Tournament movements. Editor: this is a heavily used document by people all over the world and was prepared by Patrick Carter and Juie Atkinson!

Life Members

In recognition of their support of the Club, Life members have full use of the Club and are not liable for any Club subscription. They are elected at the AGM following nomination by a Committee Member and 75% voting support. Click Life members for the list of names since 1934.

Presidents

The Club’s Officers and Committee members are elected at the AGM. Readers are encouraged to click on the delightfulful Diamond Jubilee 1931-1991, a short history compiled and written by member Marie Rice. Click Presidents for a list of the names since 1932.

Scoring adjustments

The time period for adjustments for events eligible for A or B Masterpoints may be as short as 30 minutes from the end of the final session of that event, and is determined by the Director of the event. Unless a Director indicates otherwise, results from Club sessions can be amended up to two working days after a session. If prizes have already been awarded at an event they will not be taken back and given to other entrants, should a scoring adjustment alter final placings. However any scoring adjustment will be recognised for Masterpoint purposes so long as the adjustments are made within the correct time period.

Results on this website

The Director will, at her or his discretion, decide whether scoring adjustments are material and if so to make corrections to the information on this site if the changes took place after the results were posted onto these pages. Should the Director feel the adjustments are no more than minor in nature then the site may not be corrected to reflect the adjustments.

System cards

Ideally all players should carry a system card.

A NZ or Australian system card is required by all "A" and "B" point events players: visit NZB Website or a card if you do not already have one. Players without a card or with incomplete, inaccurate or illegible cards may be penalised by the Director. 

Make sure you have Adobe reaRer Version XI (eleven +) on your computer http://get.adobe.com/reader/ --- it won't work with earlier versions.

Take your pick from the System Card examples below, and add your own personal touches. It works if you download the card onto your computer and then use Adobe Reader XI or better to do your updates.

Some tips from unfortunate experiences with the card are:

• Do not forget to save your work
• When editing your card, if you want to delete a text entry such as "3D 6+ points" pressing the DELETE/BACKSPACE key does not have an effect: you need to make a change by entering a space instead of the text in order to cancel text in a box
• If you want fancy symbols for suits then the !S [exclamation mark then S without a space] makes a ♠, !H makes a ♥, etc...

NZB10 - Start up ACOL System Card Learners .pdf 
NZB11 - ACOL System Card Basic Template .pdf 
NZB12 - ACOL System Card Advanced Template .pdf
NZB13 - Standard American System Card Basic Template .pdf 
NZB14 - Standard American System Card Advanced Template .pdf

System cards provided by NZ Bridge. You need a System Card when competing in A or B point events.

The Auckland Bridge Club Inc disclaims warranties of reasonableness and accuracy, and all warranties with regard to the information on this site, including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for particular purpose. In no event shall the Auckland Bridge Club Inc be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of the use of this site or attendance at Club events.