My thinking here was that RIDIC blocks the board for bingos completely and after any IRIDIC play I was highly likely to follow up with a bingo of my own. But something like 12B CIRL also blocks the board nearly completely without allowing huge potential counterplay, and I completely spaced on K11 CRIT, though I'm not sure how smart that move is to actually play. (edit: K11 CRIT was not actually available to me thanks to my AUGITES annotation error referenced earlier) #strategymedium
Really confusing turn. Basically after EA I wanted whatever my play was here to limit the damage from AXE hooks. Sadly, I saw 10H NEAT and I guess didn't fully appreciate how effectively it accomplishes that task while keeping my vowel. #tacticsmedium
why didn't i trust myself? i held him for a long time and i've looked VANED up out of curiosity, i'm sure. i was too worried my bingo would be unplayable next turn if i was wrong. #knowledgelarge
14M BYS for sure. I was unsure of SEPTORIAS, which is annoying. I wanted to block RELAND. This is -21. The best non-BYS play is the crazy J13 (T)OR for 5. #endgamelarge
I did see POTTERED on Column I until Richard blocked it. But H1 DEPORTER scores enough to make it worth blowing up the rack as opposed to this bingo-friendly leave. #findinglarge
F4 (B)OX sets up a hotspot at E5 and keeps column O open, and (L)OX apparently gives me a 3% better chance of bingoing next turn. Yet (B)OX wins the sim. I suppose that I often draw decisive double-doubles afterward. #tacticsmedium
K4 GoRSIEST is best; I didn't bother to iterate the blank. GrISTERS opens only three distinct floaters instead of four, while GoRSIEST weakens 6J and puts the S in row 10, rather than row 11 which has a DWS. #tacticssmall
I thought I had to block O1 (AQUA)TONE, but it looks like I can just score with J6 E(G)OS holding my H to come back with N6 H* plays and I probably always win. #strategysaddest
I either have to fish eit something like O(C)A or A(C)E, or I do this, which seemed to win if I drew some X? stuff. I did not iterate properly though, and this seems to always lose with the draws I was hoping for. I have to avoid stuff like FOIBLE, but a lot of outs in two will be good enough for Arie even without big plays. Spread was not important here, so I needed to find something better. Maybe I had to play A(C)E or O(C)A, though I felt he could too often block everything with a play like FIL(AR) 5B, although those plays are hard to find and make with one in the bag. Gotta try something, so maybe I do something like (P)EE or (L)EE going for ANOXIA for 67 and complications. Maybe best to play EE somewhere else. Yeah, I think that's the right idea. If ANOXIA?T or ANOXIA?B are unseen to Arie there's (P)AINTBOX, if ANOXIA?E is unseen there's (A)NOXEMIA. Damn, wish I had thought of that. Way better at conceptualizing wins that don't involve very specific bingo threats. #strategysaddest
The sim winner is 5E VIG(A), minimizing Tim's bingo chance by blocking both (AB)S and S(COPE). Second is D2 V(e)G, maximizing my bingo chance. #strategylarge
Incredible. Not only did I not know 14J QuIST, but I also chickened out of putting the S on JETSOM and didn't think to play 14J WRIST. This move is so bad that I'm tagging it with multiple mistakes. #knowledgelarge #knowledgelarge #visionlarge
There's times when I've made a more patient play than this. ONION is too reckless. I didn't think of the ONIONY hook when I did play this. Maybe L9 IO(N)ONE or M8 NOO(G)IE if I wanted to fork? I like those better. #strategylarge
I get 7% more bingo by holding onto the P and those bingos I do get score slightly more thanks to my holding a tile worth more than one point. #tacticssmall
yeah this is bad, I need to be more proactive. obviously REHA(B) is the play here, but I started doubting myself on HEAPER , which I think is justifiable to open the board. I should have tond that. this is overly optimistic, it doesn't work out well usually. #findinglarge
And let's just say that I delivered myself an even bigger blow by not seeing I1 CREESES and not being sure of B5 RECESSE(D), which I chickened out of. #knowledgelarge
Here I figured that 9-letter words on 2D were the most dangerous threat. Bingos on column B require designating the blank an A, and give me something back. CAIN seemed better than WAIN because the W fits better at F6. Quackle agrees with all this, but there's an even better block: AECIA L11. (-4) #visionsmall
I was really happy to have found this unorthodox play, figuring it frustrated Joey's S spot while setting up the BLE combo at H4. To my indignation, Quackle absolutely HATES this play, going for KEBLAH F9 (which I didn't see), or the more obvious BARE, BARD, BARED 10G. (-13) #visionlarge, #strategymedium
Oof, missed H8 (U)NAwARES for 8 more. I was correct to pass up J8 SANtERA because of bingoes with SANTERAS and I also didn't care for ARSENAL at 9D or 7D. My play sims well ahead of the 9D and 7D placements, but after an exchange 5, (U)NAwARES would have been fine to do if I had seen that. #findingmedium
4A JE(ZA)IL would have been 10 more and forced a response from him that would allow me to open the board more. If he takes the J spot, I could have a nice Column K reparallel. #findingmeh
This might be an overreaction even after an exchange 6. I'm certainly correct to play ELATING over ATINGLE, but B8 AGENTIAL is fine despite how much easier it might be to hit 3x3s through an L in the 2nd spot than a G in the 7th spot. I should have gone with AGENTIAL. #strategysmall
At this point I am very low on time and proceed to absolutely blow the game for this turn and the nex. This is technically winning, but it's way harder for a human to play, especially with no time. L4 AE is best. #TIMESADDEST
I should've just passed, but I wasn't sure of the math after B8 TIRITIS -> G8 (G)EROnIMO, but it wins by 1. This loses 3/8 when the I is in the bag, except none of any of that matters since we miscounted the bag and it actually wins, but I didn't do a recount oops lmao. #STRATEGYSADDEST
thought i needed to score but this is too dangerous. If I draw two Is, im toast. Maybe I go for M6 SI and draw into DAUTIES or GAUDIEST. #strategysaddest
I was thinking of PREOWNED, which is why I played this. But I could have cut spread a lot better than I did by finding 5H R(e)NEWERs for 68. The best valid nonbingo is 4H s(P)EWER. #findinglarge
Poor leave evaluation by me here. 13G MOI bingos significantly more. In hindsight I'm not sure why I thought keeping the I here was okay. #strategysadder
could also do PAH for one point less to further restrict overrlaps. I retain the only two letters in the pool that can overlap PA. Furthermore, he can set up D(RAG) or B(RAG) after either play with R(AG) for 4, but I can draw an E to block with TE(PA) after PAH and it is much trickier to block after HAP. B(ROO) is the lurking threat here, he could just bingo there at any time, but making another spot with R(AG) might just be his key to victory in some lines. #tacticssmall
another poor decision. I felt I had a larger grasp on this game than in actuality. I should play 8L (O)OZE for more and leave the R open
not challenging last move was #knowledgelarge
this move is #tacticsmedium
come on. i have to fake open the board (PARETICS is obviously available but he might catch on if i don't try to open another lane?). E8 AFIRE is beautiful though, i should have seen it. #findingmedium -2.5
#endgamesmall O1 QI is better because after DREG he can block with OBE, saving AI for 9. If I start with Qi, he can't block with OBE cause that gives DREG back for more. this endgame worked out better cause there was the chance he missed my out
i got so afraid that he would have some 3-3 through IT that i decided to block it, instead of just play AA, keeping EINRS for the triple-triple (or a likely bingo) myself! i really psych myself out a ton when playing top players. -10 #strategylarge
Even after Joey's fish, the sim does favor A5 S(I)ZE over ZEE. Seems like a strategical oversight since Joey can still hit stuff on Row 5. And SIZE is 12 more points on a board without any S hooks to make bingoes. #strategymedium
considered QUAGS as well, since the G is a huge impediment here. Incredibly, my reasoning was off. The S doesn't improve Joey's chances at a bingo, since QUAGS is otherwise quite defensive. He also scores a whole lot more after QUATE because of the hooks, and my chances of a bingo next turn are only slightly better with GS, perhaps only because of how open of a play QUATE is compared to QUAGS. #strategysmall
This is a huge blunder. I was trying to figure out which part of the board to block while low on time and it seemed like there were a lot of bingos that ended in E that fit on the A column. The problem is that almost all of those bingos also fit on the right side of the board making AGA/AGE. If I empty the bag, I'm lost to bingos that can play on the right and the left, so I need to block whichever side has more bingos that only fit on that side. In this case, the M and N columns on the right have way more, so I need to block with something like M9 QUER(N). #strategysaddest
damn so it turns out A12 (F)LIC wins if I draw N or S, and I11 FLIC/FLIR or K11 ERIC win if I draw the S. I had like none time (left beef) on my clock by this point so i hadn't even tracked. also, #knowledgesad for letting FIES* go. #timesaddest #endgamesaddest