Card Sharks

Hi kids.

A much-appreciated taco/nacho bar was the spread for this evening's party.

One of our tribe's annual parties one can always count on is the big Collier Euchre Tournament, which almost always goes down during the drudgery of winter existence. 

Generally he gets like two dozen people to participate in the tournament, which lasts like ten rounds and randomizes all players into different pairings for each round. This year was somewhat smaller than the previous few years, so we only had five tables going instead of six or seven, but it went fast and so folks didn't get funned out with cards ('cause after a few hours of cards, it does tend to get boring.) In all the years we've participated in this tradition, I've never placed higher than like 6th or 7th place, and can usually be found resting smack dab in the middle of the pack.

And once or twice I've ended up kinda near the bottom. But anyway. 

Once again making an appearance: Mitch's world-class sushi rolls. 

While Euchre does require an understanding of the game and a tiny bit of skill, your success is like 95% thanks to the cards you are dealt. So if you end up with some awesome cards in your hand, you're bound to rank higher in the brackets. You can only do so much with a bunch of 9's, 10's, Queens and Kings.

Which is basically what I had all night. Again.

So, ultimately, I once again ended up right in the middle of the pack: I didn't win any money, but I also wasn't one of the bottom feeders facing ridicule from my peers. Kris didn't even participate this year - she hates card tournaments and only jumps in if she's absolutely needed - and spent the evening chatting it up with Alicia, who also wasn't playing. All in all, it was a fun way to pass an evening with the usual suspects.

Check it out. . .

Folks receive their marching orders at the beginning of the tournament.

As usual, Collier had a series of numbered tables set up throughout this house: this one here in the living room, two in the 'dining room,' and two in the basement.

Aside from the usual tribe families - about five of which weren't on hand this evening, a big reason why turnout was as low as it was this evening - Ryan supplemented the guest list with a few couples that they know from college (including the randoms shown throughout these pics you'd probably otherwise not recognize.)

Mitch and Kelli's oldest, Drew, sat in to help fill in some gaps for the tournament.

Down in the basement. . .

My luck throughout the night was consistently shitty, except for maybe one round where it was somewhat respectable.

Back upstairs as the tournament drags on. . .

I forget why Kris and Alicia were walking around with all these beers (Kris definitely doesn't drink beer.)

Steven attempts to take a nap (seriously.) 

Kris hung out here for pretty much the entirety of the night.

Checking out the scoreboard in the living room (which, like I've said before) is automatically updated as each round's table scores are submitted.

After the tournament ended, some of the dads got into some bourbon that was sitting around. I opted against this, which ended up being an incredibly smart move on my part - Mitch didn't handle it so well.

Hens, grazing around the food spread.

Kelli, Mees, and Corey doing more shots.

Congratulations, Ryan.

Mees and Ryan "I'll Never Get a Dog" Collier, showing off their brand new puppy, Winnie.

Folks starting to head home at the end of the night, ready for bed (or a toilet, in Mitch's case.)

- Brian