September 24th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
12 Comments 
With fall classes getting into full swing, and students scrambling to bring their brains up to speed, how can bridge students get the most out of their classes?
I’m writing a short article for an upcoming ebooksbridge newsletter and I would love to hear your responses to the question above. I know there are some golden nuggets of wisdom out there – from teachers and students alike – these could include strategies in class, out of class, whatever comes to mind! Please feel free to add anecdotes if you like. I will credit you in the article, of course, and would be happy to send you the article itself when it has been published.
August 23rd, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
3 Comments
The World Bridge Games have their winners (click here to see who they are) and here at Bridgeblogging we have ours. In an unusual turn of events, our three top scorers tied with 10 points each and they all had the same answer to our tie-breaker question!
We’ve been muddling over how to fairly resolve this tie, and we’ve decided to use time of entry as our tie-breaker. SO Congratulations to our 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners!
1st Place: Richard Higgins
2nd & 3rd Place: Memphis Mojo & Arvie
Richard, Memphis & Arvie, we’ll be e-mailing you about your prizes shortly.
Thanks for playing, everyone!
We’re planning on hosting more contests like this one in the future, so please check in with us regularly and feel free to e-mail any comments about the contest process to libby@masterpointpress.com
August 16th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
9 Comments
The World Bridge Games are heating up, and I hope you’re keeping on eye on how the results compare with your picks for our contest so far. Check in with us on Monday morning (EST) when we’ll update the contest standings right here. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will receive their prizes after the final results have been tallied. May the best wo/man win!
Coupons: We have just sent out complimentary ebooksbridge gift certificates/coupons to all our contestants. Enjoy!
Note: Please email me at libby@masterpointpress if you entered the contest and didn’t receive your gift certificate/coupon (check your junk mail/spam folder first please)
August 14th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
2 Comments
Ray Lee has just informed us about the exciting finish to the Open Series Round Robin today: the Canadians hung in for fourth in their group, and the team is gearing up to play Monaco tomorrow. Good luck, Canadians! All of us here at Master Point Press are rooting for you.
Results and live play broadcasts are available here
August 7th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
No Comments
Due to the withdrawal of a couple of teams from the Open Series at the World Bridge Games, we are extending the contest deadline to midnight of August 9th (GMT).
Michael Yuen has kindly sent me the most recent list of teams. Here is the link to the pdf. Thanks, Michael, for keeping us posted on all the action in Lille!
Here are the changes to the teams for the World Bridge Games: In the OPEN, Luxembourg and Indonesia no longer appear checked as entrants, and in the SENIOR, Israel has been added.
We have 20 contestants so far, and I’m hoping we can get a pretty heated competition going! Latecomers are welcome – so enter the contest and read all the details here.
If you have any questions or concerns about this contest, you can contact me directly at libby@masterpointpress.com
August 2nd, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
12 Comments
So we won’t be hosting any tear-jerking medal ceremonies, but we do have some perks on offer for our World Mind Sports Games Contest. (Enter here.) In addition to the brain-building prizes awarded to the top three contestants, everyone who enters the contest will receive a coupon from ebooksbridge. This is your chance for a little fame, glory, and free bridge books this summer – so what are you waiting for?
FYI: Contest closes August 7th at 5pm, and the World Mind Sports Games starts on August 9th in Lille, France.
Photo source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1092493
July 25th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
6 Comments
The 14th World Bridge Games at the World Mind Games kicks off in Lille, France on August 9th. Get into the games with our Pick the Winners Contest and compete for great prizes from ebooksbridge. Enter now using the contest form below! The contest closes at 5:00 pm, August 7 2012, EST.
Contest Details:
Guess the quarter-finalists, semifinalists, finalists and winning team for the Open Series at the World Bridge Games. As a tie-breaker, you’ll also guess the winning team from the Senior Series. If you’d like some expert guidance, check Linda Lee’s picks (and rationale) on her blog.
How to Enter:
Fill out the form below – provide your full name and correct email address,or we won’t be able to send you your prize! You will receive a confirmation email within a few minutes.
Deadline for Entries:
Contest closes at 5:00 pm, August 7 2012, EST
|
Participation
|
Each participant will receive a $6.00 coupon to www.ebooksbridge.com |
|
1st Place Winner
|
The winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to www.ebooksbridge.com AND your choice of one of the three Master Point Press books nominated for the IBPA Book of the Year Award 2012 (See Nominated Books) mailed directly to you.
|
|
2nd and 3rd Place Winners
|
2nd and 3rd place winners will each receive either: an e-book of your choice from one of the three Master Point Press nominees for this year’s IBPA Book of the Year Award (see above) or a $10 gift certificate to www.ebooksbridge.com
|
Choosing the Winner: Points will be awarded for each correct pick you make according to the following table:
| Point Distribution |
Maximum Possible Points |
| 1 point for each of the Quarter Finalists |
8 |
| 2 points for each of the four Semifinalists: |
8 |
| 3 points for each of the two finalists |
6 |
| 4 points for the winner of the 3rd-4th playoff |
4 |
| 4 points for the winner of the final |
4 |
| Total Possible Points (before tie-breaker) |
30 |
The Fine Print:
- One entry per person
- Contestants must provide their full name and correct email address–or we won’t be able to send you your prize.
- Contest winners will be announced on bridgeblogging.com on August 24th and contacted by email regarding delivery of their prizes.
- All entrants will receive their coupon from ebooksbridge.com via email by August 31st.
More Details
Contact/Help
If you have difficulty using the online form, or any concerns, please email your questions before August 6th to libby@masterpointpress.com
Tournament Information:
The 14th World Bridge Games will be held at the World Mind Games in Lille, France, 9-23 August, 2012. For more details, visit the official site at http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/Lille.12/microSite/Information.htm#Format
This year’s IBPA Book of the Year nominees from Master Point Press are:
Defend or Declare by Julian Pottage; Bridge at the Edge by Boye Brogeland and David Bird; and The Contested Auction by Roy Hughes. Read Linda’s blog on the nominated books here. For more details on these, and other great bridge books, please visit www.ebooksbridge.com
July 9th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
5 Comments
As I start to learn a little more about bridge and bridge players, I find myself wondering about the dynamics of partnership. At a wedding I attended recently, the newlyweds got an earful of relationship advice: figure out how to communicate effectively; take the time to work on your relationship; forgive; give a little, take a little; laugh.
It seems to me that bridge partnerships might face many of the same challenges that couples do, such as differences in communication styles, background, and personality type, and I wonder how bridge players find the counsel they need when they run into difficulties. So I put these questions to you: what is the secret to a healthy partnership in bridge? What guidelines have you used to choose your partners in the past, and once you have found a partner you’re happy with, how do you keep that partnership working well? What lessons have you learned about partnership in bridge that you wish you knew when you started playing?
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Cartoon © Dell Publications, 1000 Jokes, 1968
Cartoon published with permission from Don Orehek www.donorehekcartoons.blogspot.com
June 28th, 2012 ~ Libby Stoker-Lavelle ~
14 Comments
My name is Libby, and I am the newest member of the Master Point Press team. My background is in teaching and freelance writing, and I love books – reading them, talking about them, writing about them, convincing other people to read them…..Anyway, I am thrilled to be working with Master Point Press this summer and I look forward to being part of the dialogue here at Bridge Blogging.
At this point, I’d like to reach out and see if anyone out there has some pearls of wisdom to share about learning bridge. Learning bridge is one of my first tasks here at Master Point, and I am enjoying the process so far, but I am sure it will be challenging. It seems to me that learning the game of bridge is a lot like learning a language: not only is there a mile-long list of terms to learn, but mastering the game requires years (decades?) of practice. Most importantly, it seems that tenacity is essential at the beginning–because the more you learn, the more rewarding and enriching bridge becomes.
Over the past few years I have been learning to speak Spanish, and I love that the Spanish language is a part of my life now–I am so glad that I stuck with it. As I embark on my adventure into the world of bridge, I am wondering, what are some of the challenges beginners run into, and how do they deal with them?
If any of you bridge experts, bridge teachers or bridge newbies out there have tips for getting started in bridge, or any learning-bridge stories to share, please drop me a line!
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Libby
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related