The Bridge Zone

The Bridge Zone – Episode 407

Judge Julie helps clear up the alerting process in auctions

Outside opponents’ expectation of what a bid means the Judge helps clarify this situation

And reminds us that when a question is asked – a full explanation is required, not just the name of the convention e.g. Michaels which can have several meanings – the opponents want to know HOW your partnership plays it

Mr Jinn announces the results of the Jin Club tourneys

East Coast Bays has another mention

Pickle juice seems to be a phantom drink at lunch

JIN members are chasing tournament and the results sees 3+ tourneys booked out

Respect all Fear None – what a motto for the Jinnies

Ps – don’t forget the Teaching and Learning Committee brings to you

ONLINE LESSONS AND SUPPORTED PLAY 2026 in April

April Intermediate/Improver Lessons - $8 for one or both sessions

Sunday 19th 4pm – 6pm — Competitive Bidding when WE Overcall

Tuesday 21st 7pm – 9pm — Lesson 2 Repeated

Barry and Mereana talk about a green jacket as Jack James and Wayne Burrows grab another 2 tournament wins over the weekend

The chase is on in the players ranking stats for the most A’s

Barry’s tip - Be a good partner

See you at the tables

The BZ Crew

The Bridge Zone – Episode 406

The Bailiff clears up who is responsible for Dummy, if you think everyone is – listen to what the Bailiff says

We also chat about Dummy preventing an infraction and also when Dummy is required to be mute

There is some reference to short- and long-term memory as well

Mr Jinn announces the results of the Jin Club tourneys

East Coast Bays has another mention

Remuera Bowling and Bridge Club comes to life

Well done in taking 1st place in the Intermediate events - Jin Club members over Easter – Mark and Carolyn Buckley on Good Friday, Bill Leach and Bruce Hart Easter Saturday

And 3rd place overall on Monday to Tomas Freeman–Greene and Christina Hyde on Easter Monday

Thanks for the emails of support for The Jin Club segment, keep them flying in

Ps – don’t forget the Teaching and Learning Committee brings to you

ONLINE LESSONS AND SUPPORTED PLAY 2026

April Intermediate/Improver Lessons $8 for one or both sessions

Sunday 12th 4.00 – 6.00 pm Lesson 1 Competitive bidding when WE open

Tuesday 14th 7.00 – 9.00 pm Lesson 1 Repeated

Barry and Mereana talk about the Easter tournament thru the eyes of the Gambler

India here we come – or not..

Barry tips like Sadie the cleaning lady, have you ever seen him with a mop

Jack James and Wayne Burrows snag the double Pairs and Teams – what a winning streak they are having

Well done to Jeremey and Fraser their team mates

See you at the tables

The BZ Crew

The Bridge Zone – Episode 405

The Bailiff is up today and Barry shares an infraction he had while directing the other day

Opening bid made out of turn – was he right in accepting the bid that was made as a comparable call?

Bailiff takes us back to 1979 or was it 1980 and is playing the fundraiser event on Good Friday

And the Judge and Bailiff are playing the Auckland Easter Weekend Congress together

Mr Jinn announces the results of the Jin Club tourneys

Shout out to all Jinnies to register for the Good Friday online tournament - entries are low

East Coast Bay players are everywhere, making podiums and are top 5 on XClub

Good luck with the proposals to Warkworth and Auckland Northland Regions relating to the Jinnie grades

Barry and Mereana talk about scorers or the lack of scorers, Swiss pairs at Hamilton and how the lessons are going – are the numbers still up there and what are other clubs doing

Why do a good majority of players not like playing 1NT?

Regional Championships we will come back to these

See you at the tables

The BZ Crew

The Bridge Zone – Episode 404

Counting Crows was awesome, thanks for entering well done Ros Wales

Judge Julie rules on 2 questions asked from members of The JIN Club

Is it even permissible to alert a four-level bid and in doing so, does it provide your PARTNER unauthorised information?

And when is the correct time to turn over the bidding pad, or put away the bidding cards?

When is the earliest time the pad can be turned over?

Mr Jinn shares the fall out from the Mt Albert Intermediate

Arch Jelley still playing at 104 years old

We have another go at the Latin translation of the JIN motto

Ross and Barry confirm a date

Barry and Mereana talk about the Kelly Peirse teams, lesson numbers, youth and perhaps a new venture for novice players coming out of the lessons this year – sounds like Game On

And we drop a teaser for next week – Regional Championships

See you at the tables

The BZ Crew

Last chance to enter the competition celebrating our birthday

Name five guests who have been on the show, excluding Judge Julie and the Bailiff

VIP tickets to Counting Crows concert in Auckland March 24.

Email [email protected]

Judge Julie rules on a Pass out of turn when partner is actually the Dealer

She gives some pointers on borderline comparable calls

What bids can be made to give more precise meaning and less than an opening hand

It a difficult decision to make

Mr Jinn gets a session prize at the Hamilton Intermediate and Mt Albert Intermediate is his next destination

Feedback on the monthly lists from Jack James and YOUTH players are hitting the summit in all bar one list

Don’t forget to register on MYNZB to get direct emails for The Bridge Zone link and any other areas of interest to you – that’s the tip of the week

Barry and Mereana talk about Lessons in Hamilton with 70 odd attendees

And we take the lessons on the road to Paeroa in April

See you at the tables

Judge Julie rules that playing and directing is a tough gig

She gives some pointers on how to cope with being called

Having other directors or capable players to assist in times of need helps

And tips about spreading these capable players around the room

An interesting situation happened; the director was called 7 cards after the initial infraction – what’s a nice way to handle that?

Mr Jinn podiums at again at East Coast Bays – it’s the middle step this time – congrats to Ross and Duncan

The JIN Club motto – hear the Latin version this week

Feedback on the JIN Club – nice to hear from the listeners

And we have share some thoughts on moving thru the grades

Barry and I talk about Km’s to A’s from his trip to New Plymouth

Podium finish for The Gambler

I have done some more caricatures for the rest of the Bridge Zone crew and will post them

Remember to enter the competition celebrating our birthday

Name 5 guests that have been on the show excluding Judge Julie and the Bailiff

VIP tickets to Counting Crows concert in Auckland March 24th

Email [email protected]

See you at the tables

The BZ Crew

Judge Julie is back

She teaches us how to calculate match points

Whether you are a budding Director or a player wanting to learn the formula, this week’s segment is for you

The Bridge World after 96 years is going full on digital

The new editor in chief is our friend Adam Parrish

Sorry Partner podcast says hi and mazel tov

How do you get to Open grade

64 is the new senior eligibility and 65 you’re not eligible – weirdo spoiler alert

Mr Jinn podiums at Taupo and takes a couple of pics

Guess who? Minus 1700 two weeks in a row

Proposal to host a JIN grade tournament at Warkworth is on the table

The JIN Club motto is born

Remember to enter the competition celebrating our birthday

Names 5 guests that have been on the show excluding Judge Julie and the Bailiff

VIP tickets to Counting Crows concert in Auckland March 24th

Email [email protected]

See you at the tables!

Happy 400th Birthday to The Bridge Zone. Nope, Barry didn’t get me a birthday present

The Bailiff rules this week while Judge Julie is on holiday

How do you apply a weighted score this week

To poll or not to poll that is the question

Barry tips on the Blackwood convention

Hello to Leanne Blackwood from Whakatane Club, a JIN Club member

Mr Jinn shares some results

Cromwell golds a tournament with great numbers

Youth bridge in NZ

Jack James and Leon Meier are part of the team that won the National Teams event in CHC

Who is the Machine? An international bridge player and he is a youth player too

Like Bob the builder, can we fix it? It’s a numbers game

The Bridge Zone Prize Cupboard is open. Get your entry [email protected]

PS: did we say it enough that we are 400 episodes deep this week?

Podcast produced and first broadcast at Free FM 89.0 - a platform for direct involvement in the media. Hamilton Kirikiriroa, NZ

Podcast produced and first broadcast at Free FM 89.0 - a platform for direct involvement in the media. Hamilton Kirikiriroa, NZ