We're just a few weeks away from the Tournament of Champions II! Think you have it in you to rise to the top? Prove it by joining us at the Center on Halsted, Sunday, October 14 at Noon. Signup ends at 12:30pm, and if you'd like to participate, please send an email to euchrechicago@yahoo.com or write your name on the sign-up list at any play venue.

This will be a double-elimination tournament like last time, so you're in the tournament as long as you don't lose two games. You're also playing as an individual, not a team.

Prizes are:

FIRST: $150
SECOND: $75
THIRD: $50
FOURTH: $25

One more important thing: As per the change to the club's bylaws, in order to participate in tournaments and parties you must not only have paid your dues for the year, but you must also have played a minimum of three times. Listed on the column to the right are everyone who has only played one or two times so far this year. If you're on the list and you'd like to play, be sure to visit us a few more times over the next three weeks.

We know -- the thermometer is topping out in the 70s today, but it's not too soon to start thinking about the annual ECC Holiday party!

This year's party will be at Athena in Greektown on Sunday, December 2. More details to come!

And props to you if you can figure out this article's headline...

Your weather for the week, provided by the meteorologists at WFLD-TV Fox Chicago.

TUESDAY - 78 / 60 Thunderstorms
WEDNESDAY - 74 / 55 Partly Cloudy
THURSDAY - 70 / 48 Sunny
FRIDAY - 71 / 45 Sunny
SATURDAY - 74 / 50 Sunny
SUNDAY - 72 / 51 Thunderstorms

If you've been to the new ECC website (click here), you probably already know that you can access averages and winners by clicking the "member sign-in" section. There's no sign-in necessary, but we've left it that way to scare off interlopers from the Euchre Club of Cleveland.

You'll probably also notice that we've managed to completely butcher your name in the standings; let's face it -- our evening directors aren't known for their penmanship. If you've noticed that your name has been misspelled, please send us an email at euchrechicago@yahoo.com and we'll fix it during our next update.

October 13 - Variation Night

December 2 - Annual Holiday Party!

Congratulations to the following recent winners!

Tuesday, Sept. 18 - Kevin Jackson with a 47.

Sunday, Sept 23 - Lou Smith with a 55!

Kevin Jackson: "I'd like the ability to blackball people."

Ron Hall: "Kevin, for the rest of us that's called teabagging."

Dear Hoyle,

My partner ordered up the right bower into our opponents' hand twice, and both times got set. Why on earth would someone do that?- Sometimes Everyone Tries

Dear Set:
There's three possible reasons why someone would order up the right bower into their opponent's hand. 1) They have all the rest of hte trump, or at least enough that they're confident they'll take three out of five tricks -- counting on their partner for one (so you see, it's actually your fault... 2) They're pre-empting a loner. 3) They're not playing with a full deck. Regardless of the reason, sometimes ordering up the right bower to your opponents is a smart move. And when your partner is Paul Zehren, sometimes it's just fun to do it to spite him.

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