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Welcome to the Euchre Club of Chicago weekly newsletter
-- a collection of event information, club news, gossip,
advice, and things that amuse us from the Internets. And
there's no truth to the rumor that you missed last week's
newsletter.
If you have ideas, gossip to divulge, humorous thoughts,
abject praise, rampant criticism, ideas to improve the club,
or you're just kinda lonely and want to talk, send a note to
euchrechicago@yahoo.com.
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Important News from the Treasurer |
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Greetings, fellow euchre enthusiasts. With spring
upon us, the new fiscal year is fast approaching. We
would like to take a moment to remind everyone that
it is time to start collecting membership dues for
the next year. You may begin paying dues on April 1
at any play venue. These dues will cover you from
July 2008 through June 2009.
Of course, this also means that the fabulous
Anniversary Party will be here before you know it.
Eligibility to attend requires you to be an active
member (dues paid plus three venue plays) for this
current fiscal year. There are some folks out there
with several plays but have not yet paid this year's
dues. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on the
Anniversary Party, so get those dues paid! If you're
not sure of your eligibility, each venue has a list
of active members and those folks that should pay
dues for the current year.
As we reflect over the past year, we have seen
great accomplishments within the club. We've added
another night for play, and have seen a 20% increase
in playing over last year. It's wonderful to see so
many new faces and more members getting out there to
socialize and play cards. With such growth in
membership and play, we need to assess the club's
ability to continuously finance our activities.
The Board of Directors has discussed this topic
at length, and in an effort to keep our great
activities going have decided to increase the Play
Fee from $3 to $4, effective July 1. This slight
increase will enable the club to continue providing
such euchre excitement as the play venues,
Tournament of Champions, Holiday and Anniversary
Parties, as well as some additional things we'd like
to do to make your euchre experience even more
fulfilling!
We're proud of the fact that we've not had to
increase fees in well over seven years; however, we
want to ensure the club's viability for the future.
We hope you agree that the Euchre Club of Chicago is
a great social club with a lot to offer and
understand that this increase is necessary to keep
the fun going. As always, feel free to share any
thoughts you have with the Board members. We
appreciate your feedback and any suggestions you may
have to improve the value of the club.
Here's to another successful year . . . cheers!
David Rothen, ECC Treasurer
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Tournament of Champions - In Two Weeks! |
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The third Euchre Club of Chicago Tournament of
Champions is less than two weeks away! The TOC3 (as
we call it) is Sunday, April 13th at our regular
Sunday venue, Charlie's Chicago (3726 N Broadway).
As with our previous two TOCs, you don't need a
partner, and you're in it as long as you don't lose
two games. We're again offering prizes of up to $150
for top finishers. This time around, we're also
adding a Second Chance tournament for people whose
two losses come right away (*koff*PAULZEHREN*koff*).
This is a potluck tournament as well, so bring your
favorite dish to pass and impress your friends with
your culinary and euchre prowess! Signup sheets are
at all venues, or send an e-mail to
euchrechicago@yahoo.com.
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This Week's Weather: Peripatetic |
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This week's weather provided by the meteorologists
at
WFLD-TV Fox Chicago.
TUESDAY 46 / 38 Cloudy
WEDNESDAY 50 / 32 Sunny
THURSDAY 54 / 35 Rain
FRIDAY 50 / 35 Cloudy
SATURDAY 53 / 39 Partly Cloudy
SUNDAY 50 / 58 Rain
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Things that Amuse Us from the Internets |
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If you're like us, you're eagerly waiting the new
"Sex and the City" movie due in theatres this May.
If you can't wait for all the fun, we direct you to
the film's official trailer. We'll admit, we were a
little surprised at how much the gals have aged in
the last few years -- but they're still funny!
Click the video below for the trailer, or if that
doesn't work (and it often doesn't -- freakin'
Internet Explorer!), then click the SATC logo above.
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Dates to Remember |
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Sun, Apr 13 - Tournament of Champs III
Wed, Apr 16 - Next Variation Night
Mar 11-15, 2009 - Spring Break 2! Never too
early to start planning...
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Congratulations to All! |
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Congratulations to the following winners!
Tue. Mar 18 - Dan Miracle with a 51!
Wed. Mar 19 - Andy Van Dyke with a 53!
Sat. Mar 22 - Dan Miracle with a 53!
Sun. Mar 23 - Eric Wallbruch with a 53!
Tue. Mar 25 - Vik Punjabi with a 51!
Wed. Mar 26 - Tom Hamilton with a 56!
Sat. Mar 29 - Steve Rosemurgy with a 53!
Sun. Mar 30 - Paul Zehren with a 53!
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Overheard at Euchre |
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"There's a thin line between love and hate,
and it runs right down the middle of our bed."
-- ECC member ???
In the interest of marital harmony, we'll keep
this one anonymous...
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Another Installment of the Euchre Dictionary |
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Fes·ter·ba·tion [fehs-tur- bey-shuhn]
-noun
The act of screwing up your own good score in game
five. See also "Fester"
Related forms
Fes·ter·ba·tio·nal -adjective
Fes·ter·ba·to·ry -adjective
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Happy Birthday to a Fool |
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A warm, happy birthday to our very own April fool,
Paul Zehren. And honestly, can you imagine anyone
being born on a more appropriate day?
And he's lucky we lost that picture of him with
the stripper...
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Ask Hoyle |
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Dear Hoyle --
Where does it say that euchre deals have to be done
in two full rounds? Why can't I just deal 5 cards at
once? - Deal or No Deal?
There are a lot of questions about Euchre, like
this one, that make me wonder what those Germans
were smoking 150 years ago when they invented the
game. The Left Bower? Give me a break.
One of the rules (or call it a convention) that
came to be adopted was the "Deal everyone twice in
two passes" law. The law (or convention) states that
each player must receive a total of five cards, and
the dealer must deliver those cards via two passes
of the deal. The deal will always start with the
player to the dealer's left, and end with the
dealer."
Sounds simple, right? In reality, it's loophole
city. Most strict Euchre players insist on a 3-2-3-2
/ 2-3-2-3 dealing convention -- none of this 1-1-1-1
/ 4-4-4-4 or even "the Marv" 4-3-2-1 / 1-2-3-4. But
most strict Euchre players play "stick the dealer,"
and we don't do that either. Being a social club, we
allow members some latitude when it comes to the
deal, but that latitude ends when it comes to making
two passes with the deal. Official club policy is
that the deal must be two passes, and each player at
the table must receive some cards during each
pass. Failure to do so is a misdeal, and if called
by the opposing team will result in the dealer
forfeiting his/her deal.
And what about two and three handed? Since the
"kitty" is a stand-in for a player, should the kitty
be dealt in two rounds as well? Technically, if
we're going to follow the rule of the law, yes. Even
the kitty must be dealt in two rounds, so 1-2 or
2-1.
And if you don't believe me, no less an authority
than Wikipedia agrees with this philosophy. Of
course, Wikipedia is open to user changes, so no
fair changing this entry if you don't like it. Click
here for the Wikipedia Euchre entry.
If you have a question about Euchre strategy,
ECC club rules, relationships or just
life in general, send an e-mail to resident
expert Hoyle at
euchrechicago@yahoo.com. We promise all e- mails
are anonymous, and the answers may just
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A Gay Romp Through Americana
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What's more American than apple pie? And what's more
Gay-American than low-carb apple pie featuring
plump, juicy fruit in an exquisitely flaky crust?
2008 is an election year, and Chicago Gay Mens
Chorus is rolling out the bunting and firing up the
sparklers in a tribute to everything that makes
America great. They'll bring you patriotic songs,
flaming baton twirlers and notable moments in
American history from their own unique perspective.
Look for appearances by Betsy Ross, the
suffragettes, great American inventors and the
wholesome mothers who keep America's stomachs filled
with a steady diet of delicious apple pie.
Performances are April 4 (8:00pm) and April 5
(3:00pm and 8:00pm) at the Anthenaeum Theatre (2936
N. Southport). Tickets are available at Ticketmaster
or by
clicking here.
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