All About QuickTricks, The Castro's Longtime Bridge Club

All About QuickTricks, The Castro's Longtime Bridge ClubPhotos: Sari Staver/Hoodline
Sari Staver
Published on January 23, 2015

Every Monday night at 7pm , about 100 people gather in the basement of the Castro's Most Holy Redeemer Church to spend the next three hours playing bridge, the world's most popular card game. 

For $5, anyone who arrives with a partner can play with the Club at 110 Diamond St. (at 18th). The fee includes unlimited snacks and beverages and a hand record summarizing the 24 hands that were played.

Of the handful of clubs in the city, QuickTricks is widely regarded as the "best" because it attracts more top players than any other club. "It's the best, that's all there is to it," says nationally-ranked player Harvey Brody, who is an occasional QuickTricks player. Brody holds the title of "grand life master," which means he has won over 10,000 Master Points (MP), the currency of bridge.

If you play well at QuickTricks, or as some might say, "get lucky", you can be awarded anything between .25MP to as many as 3MP, depending on the game that night. "Master points are simply an attendance record", notes Lauren Friedman, "until you get to the level of many thousands of points." Then, says Friedman, it undoubtedly means you have a good game. 

If you're interested in learning bridge, QuickTricks is the place to do it. Beginning this Monday, January 26th, the club begins its annual 15-week group lessons, known as EasyBridge, suitable for newcomers and those who want to brush up.

QuickTricks was founded in 1978, largely as a social outlet for gay men. Back then, it was located at a gay center near City Hall, but quickly moved to the Castro, where it has remained ever since. 

In addition to offering the club's well-known competitive game, it also offers a second game where newer players compete against other less experienced players, a feature QuickTricks is able to offer because it is so large.

"I'm almost ready to go over to the other side of the room," said intermediate player David Ochroch, a Castro resident, on a recent Monday evening. "Until recently," he said, "the thought of playing against those sharks was not very appealing. I'm about ready now." 

While bridge is often thought of as a game for grandmothers, a look around the room can alter that stereotype. Players range in age from 19 to 90 and include doctors, lawyers, software engineers, investment bankers and retirees with a lot of very interesting backgrounds, including an exotic dancer and a woman who bought and sold trailer parks. 

Brian and Patrick Sullivan

"Come on, bridge is absolutely the greatest game ever invented," says Jim Leuker, one of the founders of QuickTricks. Leuker, who was an IT executive, became so enthusiastic about the game that he changed careers and went on to be a professional player and teacher. He also founded the Center for Bridge Education, which has taught bridge to hundreds of San Francisco elementary and high school students.

Leuker has played in clubs and tournaments around the world and often teaches bridge on five-star cruise ships. Still, he tries to come back to QuickTricks on Monday nights. "It's the best," he says simply. "There is no other club where i can find this level of competition."

To bridge players, the "best" club doesn't mean the fanciest surroundings, says Kim Fanady, the club manager for the past 12 years. Fanady, a lawyer in private practice, points to the club's recent all-time high attendance records to prove that the game is thriving, at least in the Castro.

Club manager Kim Fanady

Fanaday, who is a volunteer, does everything from making sure the coffee is plentiful to overseeing the paid staff to be sure the game runs smoothly. She runs a tight ship and will not hesitate to issue penalties to anyone whose cell phone rings during the game. If you are overheard being rude to your partner or an opponent, you'll be suspended from the club, she notes. 

On the evening we visited, we met bridge "celebrity" Harvey Brody, a nationally ranked player with the title of "Emerald Grand Master," which means he has accumulated over 10,000 Master Points. Brody, who has the highest number of points of any player in San Francisco, was playing with a woman he has been dating for the past five years, Sarah Rothmuller. "Yes, we met at bridge," said Brody with a smile.

The clubs includes a number of married couples, who seem to either play with each other all the time ... or never.

Stephanie and Rick Rogers

Stephanie and Rick Rogers always play together and recently have begun wearing baseball caps to the game. "We hired a teacher to help us with our game," explains Stephanie, "and she suggested we wear hats so that we don't 'make faces' at each other during the game." 

Jim Leuker never plays with his husband Gilbert Gonzales. Although the pair have been a couple for 24 years, Gonzales just learned bridge at QuickTricks two years ago and plays in the beginner game. "We played together on New Years Eve," said Leuker. "Otherwise, let's just say we travel in different circles."

Brian Sullivan, an investment banker, brought his 14-year-old son to QuickTricks for the first time. They placed fourth that night, "and we were pretty thrilled," said Sullivan, who learned bridge through QuickTricks' EasyBridge lessons, and then taught his son.

Dr. George Paphitis and his service dog, Ajax, are regulars. Dr. Paphitis, a retired ophthalmologist who lives in the Castro, is an EasyBridge graduate who started playing in the "downstairs game" as soon as the lessons ended. "I really, really enjoy the game," he says. "I'd recommend it to anyone."

Dr. George Paphitis and his service dog Ajax

Russell Gowen was also present after an absence of several months while he was recuperating from a heart transplant. He wore a yellow mask to avoid picking up any germs spread by coughing, sneezing, or just touching the cards that have already been handled by half the room. "I came back as soon as I could," said Gowen. " I was really missing the game."

Sadly, announcements of memorial services are more common than weddings and births. Last Monday, a number of players expressed serious concerns when one of the regular and most popular players, Bob Chase, didn't show up even though he had promised his partner that morning that he'd be there. The following morning, his friends circulated an email announcing that Chase had died suddenly that afternoon.

While estimates of the number of bridge players is believed to be in a continuous decline since its peak in the 1940s, QuickTricks seems to be an exception.

Under Fanady's 12-year reign as club manager, the club's membership soared, hitting an all-time high last year.

"We pay close attention to the details," said Fanady. "That means enough coffee, a game that moves at the right pace, and most importantly, a well behaved group of players." 

"We welcome one and all," she concluded, "as long as they follow our rules."

To learn more about the club's EasyBridge lessons, please see the QuickTricks website, and be sure to email the club as directed if you'd like to attend the series of lessons, which begin this Monday, January 26th.