Tactics Small
O8 KOANS +41
okras is the play here. even though RS > NS, the difference is small on this board, and OKRAS gives back enough fewer points from that overlap that it's worth it. i'm still sad about playing KOANS instead of KAONS, which sims half a point higher. it's a tiny difference, but it had a huge effect, and that's why it's important to make as few errors as possible. it seems impossible to get rid of all these little leaks. -1 #tacticssmall #knowledgesmall
Alec Sjoholm vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 32703)
Knowledge Medium
14I SNEAPEd +82
once again being safe, though I missed SPElEAN in the same spot which I would be sure of as opposed to SPEANEd, which I was not, given I always confused SNEAPED SPEANED with SNEAKED SKEANED*. #knowledgemedium #findingmedium
I suppose he could have S(E)RAGLIO, the only playable 7 on row 14, and nothing else. I should therefore play deP(L)ANES A2 or fish with E(ME).
Will Anderson vs. Joshua Sokol (Game 32878)
Knowledge Small
10F HILLY +41
D4 KILL(JO)Y. I'm pretty sure I would have known this was good if I had seen it and I didn't even look at playing through JO, making it a #visionsmall mistake. Also #knowledgesmall for the +5.
Joshua Castellano vs. Daniel Milton (Game 31567)
Strategy Medium
M12 YUK +33
I was so close to just doing M11 KYU instead of YUK to be safe. Yes, there is huge Z-bomb upside to YUK, but Vince has one of the *fifteen* unseen Es and Os so, so often to play there himself, and it's instantly by far the best scoring spot on the board. However, I need to add that Vince put down QUID, then looked at it in frustration and picked it up to play QUIN - I kind of read this as an admission that he didn't have an E himself on that turn, which does tip the odds a fair bit in my favor. I probably should still have played it safe here. #strategymedium
Vince Castellano vs. Will Anderson (Game 34375)
Finding Large
5E RET(O)TAlS +78
This turn, I completely failed to see TRISTE(Z)A through the Z, which was yet another case of complete blindness to a bingo I looked for. I realized I had TRISTEZA right after I made my play.
I also looked for 5-way overlaps, but failed to see the only one, STARETS at I2. That's the play. I really didn't want to make an X spot, so failing to see STARETS and TRISTEZA, I could still make an effort to see RHEOSTAT, which doesn't create the X spot. #findinglarge
Joshua Sokol vs. Nicholas Tam (Game 35784)
Strategy Small
C12 MIB +28
maybe BAM M7 to take out the X spot, or even 4H VI(G)I(A) now to a) take out the G column and to keep BAM for next turn. I kinda like that play honestly, this play is annoying with S plays and doesn't really do anything productive. #strategysmall
Sophia Ozorio vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 35361)
Vision Medium
4H PI(L)OT +30
PITOT 10J is better, once again because F2 (A: 10J?) is such a big spot. Also better is TIPTOED 13C, breaking up the unpalatable DS combo. (-3.5) #visionmedium
Alec Sjoholm vs. Carl Johnson (Game 34492)
Finding Small
15H FLEA +25
Trying to block row 15 without opening anything on row 14 that didn't already play on row 12. But 15G FLARE fulfils this requirement while scoring three more points. Apparently 15F RALLYE is best, but I would still play FLARE. M3 VOCABLY is awesome, and it doesn't take any hooks, unlike VOCABLE. #findingsmall
Rafi Stern vs. Alec Sjoholm (Game 34241)
Strategy Medium
A4 (C)OWIEST +36
sigh. i thought the U was likely to be in the bag, there's also an S and a blank to draw for (this late in the game, turnover does start to matter a tiny bit). additionally, this is also a bit of a blocking play, but not totally, it's easier to overlap cowiest in collins. but i was reasonably happy with this play, it puts me up by a lot and there's a decent chance i can unload the Q next turn for some points as well. C3 Q(A)T only sims a little better, but the best simmer is 2A OWT! maybe it's ok to keep the Q for now and play shorter? after all 2A OWT scores only 7 fewer than COWIEST but keeps the S. damn. -6 #strategymedium
Ben Schoenbrun vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 33035)
Strategy Small
15E M(ID)I +21
i kind of gave up on finding the best way to win here. i'm not totally sure how to do it. it probably involves him having the Q. like - i'm going to lose anyway, so i shouldn't be trying to avoid the Q, just assume he has it and open up another lane and hope to draw for a miracle. i saw something like 2L MOI could lead to LEPORID, for example, but that seems easily blockable. 15L IM(ID)O is looking best here. #strategysmall
Alec Sjoholm vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 32680)
Strategy Small
15G TELIA +25
Quackle burns the S for an extra 5 points with STELAI. I'm not sure why that is. Another superior play is OILCLOTH 8A, which I never would have seen. I'd find it as a bingo every time, but not as an extension. (-2% win chances, -10 valuation) #strategysmall, #visionlarge
Carl Johnson vs. Joshua Sokol (Game 34480)
Strategy Medium
1F (C)AUDAL +27
a poor pre-endgame. once i laid it down i realized where it put the A, and with the unseen tiles he's likely to hit me back for a ton of points. i figured i'd probably won the early bird but i shouldn't be so lazy and pick it up and look again. i considered ducal and acold too. 1F CADI sims best on many-ply. -3 #lazynessmedium #strategymedium
Cesar Del Solar vs. John Stardom (Game 33817)
Tactics Small
14A MI(N)ING +26
ANIMI instead of my sad steam play. sigh. -1 #tacticssmall. it seems funny because i'm such a points person that it's such a small error, but it feels like ANIMI is a far better play. is it?
Jay Levin vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 32939)
Strategy Small
9G (B)ERK +21
i think this is mostly OK, but i don't like opening an S lane. quackle just likes XU or even burning the blank with REaNNEX! -3 - i have a lot of draws for tinkerer, or a bunch of 7s hooking AJAR. nice possibilities. #strategysmall
Jackson Smylie vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 33782)
Tactics Small
6I NA(H) +14
really weird position. I think this is OK, but I could see how something else would be viable, like SADL(Y) and SAND(Y), which are both very aggressive. SL(Y) now is also a thing. It looks like LA(H) is better than this though. #tacticssmall
Joshua Sokol vs. Eric Harshbarger (Game 35819)
Knowledge Large
9A CAPOT +26
7F UPO sims best, and I probably would have played that if I had seen H8 RaMSHORN; Kenji's best play after UPO is B7 RAMSHOrN. CAPOT is bad even if RaMSHORN doesn't exist, because of Kenji's next play. #knowledgelarge
Kenji Matsumoto vs. Alec Sjoholm (Game 33090)
Tactics Small
3A DYI(N)G +20
DYEINGS vs DINGEYS against Wally, now DI(N)GY vs DYI(N)G vs Don. I got both of them wrong. Thought I needed a floater. #tacticssmall
Joshua Sokol vs. Don Finkey (Game 33872)
Strategy Large
10K Q(U)ERN +16
i'm a bit surprised at how horribly this sims, but it's not just a simple points formula; QUERN sucks because it gives up 12 more pts on average than exchanging keeping DENR! (it only barely increases the bingo %). -9.5 #strategylarge
Cesar Del Solar vs. Jack Lysowski (Game 35456)
Finding Small
A8 CuRvIES(T) +77
one of many ridiculous draws at the start of the tourney. I missed the two 8s that doubled the C after looking a bit less than a minute. I had already used a lot of my clock so I decided this was probably fine anyway since it blocks.
#findingsmall
Joshua Sokol vs. Scott Appel (Game 33141)
Strategy Medium
K10 UPO +14
wow, this is a big misevaluation. i thought my UPO was much better defensively than the UPO on lane 4, so i gladly sacrificed the point. mainly, it blocks the QUALMS/QUALMY hook. but my UPO is very easy to overlap for a ton of points, so it gives up at least 5 more points on average, and only slightly decreases his bingo %. UNROPE at 4G however is the best simming play. -5.5 #strategymedium
Will Anderson vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 32684)
Endgame Large
13K ZHOM(O) +57
I calculated that ZHOMO would win by 1 here, and it does; but there could have been a scoring error, and there's far a better option here of 14F HERTZ for 62, following up with 10J MOO. #endgamelarge
Jason Keller vs. Will Anderson (Game 34587)
Strategy Medium
J13 (A)ZO +32
i should have just played VIPER at 8A. i keep the Z to score next turn. i thought she was less likely to have a bingo through the O, after what could be a vowel dump. quackle likes 15A UP keeping VIZOR for next turn. -7 #strategymedium
Cesar Del Solar vs. Leesa Berahovich (Game 35170)
Tactics Small
H6 OXER +22
I didn't consider for long enough the option of exchanging OQ. I also eschewed the defensive aspect of LOX. It would appear exchanging down to ELR is best here #tacticssmall
Joshua Sokol vs. Deen Hergott (Game 35775)
Strategy Small
9G WOK +31
Played this WOK thinking I keep the E for EWE but there are more front hooks to WE if I play the other WOK, but I realized after I hit my clock I should've probably played the other one because of JEW and other hard-hitting overlaps there. #strategysmall
Kenneth Rubin vs. Mack Meller (Game 34726)
Knowledge Large
4A EmISSIO(N) +66
i've actually played ossifier at a tournament earlier this year, but no hope of finding it here. i was nearly in tears by the end of this game, which hasn't happened to me in many years! i ended up losing my focus for much of the rest of the day. -9 #knowledgelarge
Cesar Del Solar vs. Carl Johnson (Game 32861)
Strategy Medium
1G LITU +16
i wonder if i should actually exchange. quackle likes 14J WRIT. at this point in the game i'm low on time and not thinking straight; there's a lot of Es to draw so if i play WRIT i give myself a chance at JEU (which is hard to block) or even JOULE. i need to play faster and stop taking so long on every play so i have time to actually think here. -7 #strategymedium
Cesar Del Solar vs. Jay Levin (Game 33682)
Finding Large
15I (L)UCK +17
bad! by far the best play is the excellent 11J AMUCK. i have the case S, score 28 pts, and go for letters like the Z to score a lot with. i thought of AMUCKS/AMUCK on my rack, but didn't quite look hard enough. LUCK is very weak and is the type of game-losing play i make way too often. the fact that it takes a Y makes it even worse. 9J MUCK is ok if i don't think of AMUCK. -15.5 #strategylarge #findinglarge
Cesar Del Solar vs. Joel Sherman (Game 33553)
Knowledge Large
F2 ZEE +37
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
Joshua Sokol vs. Orry Swift (Game 33140)
Tactics Small
7F OOM +16
Considered just 7G OO and I apparently get 5% more bingos keeping the M here. Would not have guessed that. Then of course there's the fact that OO doesn't make the big scoring spot for power tile bombs. #tacticssmall
Winter vs. Will Anderson (Game 34406)
Strategy Large
D3 AL(c)OVE +18
stupid quackle. i'm basically just going to get every move wrong this game as it wants me to keep making dumb plays at 14A. yes 14A LOVE scores good and keeps a nice leave but then i have to worry about that spot all game if i don't draw the S! -10 #strategylarge ?
Cesar Del Solar vs. Leesa Berahovich (Game 35170)
Tactics Medium
9G AGED +26
Chosen over 9G AG, which allows 10G pOMFRET. H6 OVA wins the sim; ADEGR >> ORV, and after OVA, Steven's highest-scoring bingos are 6C/6G FOREMOsT 66. The sim assumes that after AGED, Steven will play 10I FORMaTE, allowing potential OVER- plays at O8--which means that if Steven plays at 7H instead I can expect worse results than the sim suggests. #tacticsmedium
Steven Alexander vs. Alec Sjoholm (Game 33632)
Strategy Medium
9I (G)UY +14
ugh this is too difficult. with such a small % chance of winning, i don't know what's right anymore. it seems in these types of situations i have to limit the amount of damage he can do, so something like 4K AY or YA is going to sim best despite keeping a U. the problem with GUY, even though it does play short and keeps a good leave, is that it gives back so many points; i know this but have to hope he can't punish it too much. -3 #strategymedium
Joel Sherman vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 34026)
Endgame Large
B1 JIN +24
poor endgame. i wan't totally sure on FLOCS so didn't want to play it first. #endgamelarge #knowledgelarge. i bled a lot of spread this tourney and it may have made some difference for the cash prizes.
Cesar Del Solar vs. Charles Reinke (Game 32706)
Vision Large
6F FU(N) +14
ahhh CONVENTED! #visionlarge I also kinda regretted playing FUN, it lets him overlap sometimes when he has MNX tiles. The sim is kinda weird cause it has him opening a lot after FUN, but realistically I think I should play (E)NUF to be more defensive. CO(N)N is super defensive but also blows up my rack. #tacticssmall for ENUF.
Mark Pistolese vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 35241)
Tactics Small
10J STAVE +27
thought about 4b HAVE for spread cause i Have the case Ss, but there is still a blank out and it just opens the board more. SHAVE is more standard than this, but it also takes NNNRRRR from the pool (mainly just the R is the worry) so he hits the spot more than I do. it's pretty close in a sim, but SHAVE still does better #tacticssmall a lot of that is bingo% though, which isn't very important here
Mark Pistolese vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 35241)
Strategy Medium
2B PANDA +27
Yes, I saw 2A PANADA, and I absolutely should have played it--it scores better, keeps better, turns over one more tile for the blanks, and creates a high-scoring lane on column A, which I may need because I am behind. #strategymedium
Alec Sjoholm vs. Carl Johnson (Game 34514)
Strategy Medium
N9 THOU +32
now that I'm not winning, I should at least be able to limit the damage a bit. between HUT and this, HUT is a lot better, since it keeps a scarce vowel. #strategymedium
Robert Goetz vs. Joshua Sokol (Game 35862)
Strategy Medium
exch EGHI +0
i saw TARRIER but it seemed dumb to block up a couple of (bad) lanes. however, 10 pts is 10 pts. i should just take the points, right? what do you think? -7 #strategymedium
Jesse Day vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 33047)
Tactics Small
J11 TEIN +13
I don't know why I played this over J11 TENIA--maybe to keep the A for G9? Quackle prefers short plays like 4N DA, 14H AIT, and O10 AIT, but it doesn't realize that Mike has just fished. I like J11 TENIA best. #tacticssmall
Alec Sjoholm vs. Mike Frentz (Game 33068)
Knowledge Medium
12H HAMAT(E) +30
Although I'm in a great position after HAMATE (his bingoes will empty the bag, leaving me up a tempo in a close endgame, meaning a very likely win), I should still do AHEM N11 - I really loved what that did, but I was only 90% sure that AHEM didn't take an S, and if it takes an S that could be a game-losing mistake. I felt like the chance that AHEM took an S was higher than the chance that HAMATE would lose me the game when AHEM would win me the game. Either way this is just an estimation and a clear word knowledge error. #knowledgemedium
Jackson Smylie vs. Michael Fagen (Game 33098)
Strategy Large
F3 TH(I)GH +16
tough situation here. should i do 14A JIG for real? it sims far best. but if i don't, JIG at H4 and GITCH at D2 are still significantly better than my lamish move. i definitely saw JIG, but it really didn't seem right. -14 #strategylarge
Cesar Del Solar vs. Leesa Berahovich (Game 35170)
Strategy Medium
D1 AUTUM(N) +18
YUM 7A #findingSAD #strategySADDER. Instead I opened up another possible triple triple (SUNSHADE was there already, and now ENDASHES), just really wanted to get rid of those Us
Danielle Barker vs. Peter Maas (Game 35342)
Tactics Large
G13 (AL)L +3
What do I block, 15H sELENIC/sILENCE or O1 SILICONEs? Quackle says neither, that 14A UNS and many other plays outrun. I decided to block sELENIC/sILENCE, I think because it scores more and is easier to find than SILICONEs. However, my block for sELENIC/sILENCE scores only 3 points, and if Matt has sELENIC/sILENCE he also has L4 ELENChI. Also O1 SILENCINg, L4 CaNNOLI, and 4G LYCOpENE and sYNCLINE exist. In order to block all bingos except sELENIC/sILENCE/ELENChI, I would have to play three or more tiles on row 3 spanning from 3L to 3N, but it is impossible to do that without allowing another bingo starting from 3M. In short, blocking bingos isn't worth it, and 14A UNS saving F4 FLEW is best. #tacticslarge
Matt Canik vs. Alec Sjoholm (Game 33067)
Tactics Small
J2 NUCHA +29
this is admittedly a bit of a weird move. i'm not up by that much and i have the dreaded Q, but at least i have a U to go with it -- yet i can't really play it somewhere that makes sense. NUCHA does sim best, keeping the U open, drawing for an I for QI, or maybe some other synergistic tiles. tough move. RANCH J1 seems to sim best as keeping QU is probably for the best despite the point sacrifice. -1.5 #tacticssmall
Richard Popper vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 35101)
Tactics Medium
exch OUUWW +0
Quackle hates this exchange and wants me to conserve spread by playing G3 WOWS, blocking the bingo lanes on rows 2-4 while saving 4I LUAU for next turn. #tacticsmedium
Jerry Lerman vs. Alec Sjoholm (Game 32985)
Strategy Large
E9 (L)OOR +8
Here I am again shitting my pants trying to block as many bings as possible when I should just be playing equity. Compared to the top equity play of O12 OURN, this brings her % down by a chonking 2 percentage points. #STRATEGYSADDEST
Joshua Castellano vs. KC Frodyma (Game 34969)
Strategy Medium
L12 MILD +32
bingos aren't worth it here. but L11 positioning is best. L11 MID sims best here; my move gives back way too much for no reason. -5 #strategymedium
Cecilia Le vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 35314)
Tactics Small
M1 WIFE(Y) +28
gotta do W(A)IF here for sure, gives back way less and keeps a very prone leave, especially now that OUTA looks like it's mine. INteresting that WIFTY sims better than WIFEY, it gives back less and averages the same (even more bingo % after WIFTY!), likely cause of the open T that is duplicated in the ART leave but helps the AER leave. #tacticssmall
Jackson Smylie vs. Matt Canik (Game 33114)
Finding Medium
1A WIL(J)A +45
I played WILJA extremely fast, thinking it had to be right - but 11I BEWIG scores 40 and leaves AL, which is far more flexible than BEG for bingoing next turn. Didn't generate it as a choice. #findingmedium
Jason Keller vs. Will Anderson (Game 34587)
Endgame Large
14C SENT +22
I had no time. There's two in the bag, so The Duck *should* be able to figure this one out and it's saying E11 (MAW)N at 16.67% win. Maybe I have to play that and hope to draw the other S, I'm not sure. Anyway, #endgamelarge I'm sure.
Joshua Castellano vs. Martin Gold (Game 34776)
Strategy Large
1C (J)AILER +42
Better to fish here, but the Q is in the bag 1/3. 2/3 times I draw a bingo 4/8 times, so there's around a 1/3 shot at CALIBRE, BRAILLE or whatever with the blank. I guess it's worth it considering the likelihood I get Q-stuck after this play. #strategylarge
Joshua Sokol vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 34800)
Strategy Small
O12 SEEM +26
My thinking here was that by playing SEEM down low instead of EMEUTE the odds were good that if Ayo bingoed, it would still be on row 3 or 5 yielding strong counterplay. the other play I strongly considered was 5E MEE, but a SMEE bingo after that could be a disaster, especially because it scores 11 fewer points than SEEM. Quackle calls for 3B EMEUTE, which I also thought about; I suppose I can withstand most of the responses to that too, and the somewhat bingo-prone unseen tiles combine well with the S, so I get EFS bingos a lot. Thinking this is probably at least a #strategysmall 6:56
Will Anderson vs. Ayotunde Adeyeri (Game 33406)
Vision Small
J10 (J)ORUM +22
should just do HOURI, forks the board some and I probably need the lanes. His range isn't super strong after OXIC cause the board is dead, in fact he had ILRRY. I was happy with JORUM but HOURI seems like the best thing to do for the board. #visionsmall
Thomas Reinke vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 33105)
Tactics Small
J9 W(A)X +13
looks like WAND or exchange here (CNS or CST are both fine, going for the COBIA hook). CDNST is really lane cause I don't even bingo often, and when I don't I'm not in a great position. WAX also encourages COBIA to be blocked. I think I should exchange. #tacticssmall
Jackson Smylie vs. Leesa Berahovich (Game 33110)
Endgame Large
M8 OVUM +16
I dunno. Championship Player says it's alright, but the only play that has a nonzero win % is M8 UM, which sets up the massive N8 VAQUERO which should always be blocked. Probably worth a shot I guess. #endgamelarge
Sam Kantimathi vs. Joshua Castellano (Game 32558)
Finding Large
B10 TOTAL +22
Sheesh, you know DOTAL. What a garbage play this was. I also missed 10I TROD, which I think I like best. Interestingly, TROD loses to TROT in that spot in the sim, and they both lose to TRAT. Keeping the DO for B10? DOTAL wins the sim. #findinglarge
Chris Lipe vs. Bill Rexhausen (Game 35558)
Finding Large
E9 FAU(G)H +24
wow, this is a plain bad play. i don't think i even looked that long, FAUGH seemed obvious to me. but surely 13L AHOY for 34 is great, and E10 FUGIO looks good too. -10 #findinglarge
Alec Sjoholm vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 32680)
Vision Medium
O5 GUACO +26
I think VOCAB needs to come down here. Although it doesn't do as good a job at outrunning as GUACO, it lowers his bingo% from 22 to 13. I may have to go all in on defense here, it will be tough to outrun (if he bingoes he's still drawing into a great pool). If he bingoes after GUACO I could possibly win, I'll be down at least 25 (for 11 row bingoes), an out in two will probably not win with GV in hand. RE- bingoes will win the game instantly for him. I think VOCAB is the play, outrunning with GUACO isn't viable enough. #visionmedium
Jackson Smylie vs. Matt Canik (Game 33114)
Strategy Small
O8 QUE(Y) +48
-0.5 i think, QUELEA lessens disaster racks next turn. i typically like taking Ys in triple lanes because they're good dumps of ugly letters for my opponents. #strategysmall
Cesar Del Solar vs. Leesa Berahovich (Game 35152)
Tactics Small
13E OKRA +20
The same word plays at 6E for 3 more points and blocks the -ER lane on row 5. I think I saw it. My play is more defensive, blocking the lanes on columns D and E without opening any new lanes. #tacticssmall
Alec Sjoholm vs. Orry Swift (Game 32986)
Strategy Small
D8 (M)OUE +15
N2 OUS is Quackle's interesting suggestion - only the L hooks it in the unseen pool, and I have the N to hook NOUS myself; the AEINR leave also bingos a solid amount here. #strategysmall 10:18
Will Anderson vs. Robert Linn (Game 33173)
Strategy Small
3I MIR(I)D +22
looks like I chose wrong here. M1 MODI, 6D ROD, 6D ROM all look worth playing here. I liked opening the top left with this play, but I also set up QAT and X plays, which are really annoying. ROD is probably my favourite of the bunch. #strategysmall
Jackson Smylie vs. Anita Rackham (Game 35364)
Strategy Large
1H BROO(K) +33
BIRO at 4I sims so much better, partly because of the leave, but also because BROOK gives up significantly more pts. i thought i had a strong chance of playing BROOKITE next turn. -9.5 #strategylarge
Howard Pistol vs. Cesar Del Solar (Game 35442)
Knowledge Large
14E BEG(U)N +10
huge error here. I thought BING took an S and felt weird about setting up an S hook when he has one on his rack. BUNG is the same type of deal, good aggression but obviously that's not the goal here. I surely would have played BING had I been sure it didn't take an S, but I think BUNG is still far better than my play. BEGUN has two major issues, defensively. It allows plays from 15a which will let the left side be opened, and it doesn't really block the 15 row, the M will now be really really tough to block and will just sit there until one of us hits it. This is why BUNG is better than BEGUN, at least an S play will do great things to the board next turn. as long as I can avoid an immediate bingo I will be in a great position. BING is still the play, also blocking the D, and working out so well so often. #knowledgelarge
Jackson Smylie vs. Matt Canik (Game 33114)
Strategy Small
K2 WY(T)E +24
was happy to draw the last remaining Ss and to see him play BIKE and block most of the ?AT setups. I might want to play wyn/by here. looks close. EGSS at least takes out the 7 conso rack danger. I should probably do that. I wanted to keep both Ss to hit SCURVY as a scoring play, hence not WYTES. however there is something to be said for playing the S to avoid the 7 consos. I think WYN is the play #strategysmall
Jackson Smylie vs. Maxim Panitch (Game 35245)
Tactics Small
A12 A(T)OM +28
Quackle likes 11I OMEN a lot, blocking columns J-L and, to some extent, M. I wanted to keep my N for E4 INFLUXES, and ATOM is the best equity play, but blocking the board is of greater importance. #tacticssmall
Alec Sjoholm vs. Joshua Sokol (Game 33160)
Strategy Large
5G QUERN +34
13G QI is best. QUERN has the best equity, but the pool is less than good. Honorable mention to L2 LID, which occasionally draws into FREQUENT or QUITRENT 1A or QUEERING 15A. #strategylarge
Alec Sjoholm vs. Gary Waltuch (Game 33629)
Finding Medium
F2 GR(I)M +15
must have missed M(U)GG, obv better. I didn't like that this also closes the option of opening the top left later on, GRIM opens this marginal G line but prevents me from doing a good setup there later. #findingmedium
Stefan Fatsis vs. Jackson Smylie (Game 33117)
Strategy Medium
13H (E)CAD +30
Took a stupidly long time here and still didn't even think to look for a play like B1 OCEANID for 38. I did ECAD over other plays like DECANI in the same spot (my other primary choice) to keep IN together for -ING words down to the G of TROMPING. But the AINO leave is just too imbalanced and the pool not bingo prone enough. Just EOAN in the same spot is Quackle's pick, and if I want to keep IN together something like 2B ODA looks like a much better way to do it. #strategymedium 11:17
Will Anderson vs. Robert Linn (Game 33173)