I have to block INOSITOL! I can also just play OEsTRUAL which I missed, but that's quite bad on spread and I should only play if I have a read that she has INOSITOL. (D)A is a stronger fish, hitting 5/8 in both spots, whereas this hits 4/8. #strategymedium
Generated a lot of options here. For some reason I seemed to be reluctant to just play OXIDE. Sim likes 11B OH, but I don't, since it blocks UTS and incentivizes Kenji to block SOH at all costs, leaving me with much more difficult lanes to hit. I didn't generate 9H TALLYHO which looks stronger than DO solely on the basis of the RIDES leave hitting so much more than HIRES. Also thought of N10 HORDE, 14B DEHORS, and a few other things. Ultimately OXIDE is just too many more points not to play, but the idea of making more S hooks that can't ever really be usefully addressed was very appealing. #strategymedium
hoping to beat him to ADAMSITE here. I didn't see another 3x3 after this. Apparently it's better to allow way more 3x3s with HOM. Crazy plan. However, EDAMAMES, ADAMANTS, ADAMANCE and ADAMANCY are all words too. #strategymedium (?)
EXED much better, fewer points, but blocks Wendy's best chance at winning COXES making LORDINGS also good, didn't know that was valid. #endgameSAD #knowledgeSAD #strategySAD
I shouldn't play so many tiles to let him stick me with RR. 15K RE is 8 points better than this. But I calculated it out and it seemed I still won. He was also low on time. #endgamemedium
Now I know there's a chance my opponent can take the triple lane, but I couldn't figure out how to block it. Definitely needed to score a lot more than I did, though. F10 CEBID is nice here. #knowledgesaddest
ugh, this move is so bad. at least i realized that i can't play 4J O(DE) by itself, it doesn't hit enough and scores abysmally. but LODE bingoes even less so it also sucks. i did see 2L ULNA and considered it for a while, but i hate ROTE and i'm down by 100 pts already, i absolutely need to bingo next turn. i didn't see M1 ENOL despite breathing deeply, so maybe there is no hope. -8 #findingmedium #strategylarge
IN MY HEAD I SHIT YOU NOT I WENT "oh I need an N for NEONATAL" and then i DIDNT. SEE. THE. FUCKING. N. I just spent the whole time being like "huh i wonder if I should play OAT or AAL" instead!!! AND I PICKED THE WRONG ONE LMAOOO #VISIONSADDEST
17:05 (exchange to just M - the M is quite good here between MY plays on column D and column N overlaps. Apparently keeping MN does the tiniest bit better; probably because the N gives me flexibility to parallel the U of RENATURE going down) #tacticssmall
he would later mention that i got all 10 power tiles but if you notice here it's a great disadvantage to have these tiles in this case. D11 BEG looks standard, i suppose, but so ugly. ugh. -7.5 #tacticsmedium
JC: LMAO. I thought I played optimally here but it's not even close. A1 DEVO is 14 points better. It leads to some dumbass 7 turn dinking sequence that sticks me with the Q but is somehow better. #ENDGAMESADDEST
noooo just play B(O)W. i think i wanted him to waste some equity but why not try to bingo again. i'm trying to consciously fish a little less but blowing up INRST with a nice G to bingo through is just silly. -6.5 #strategymedium
I saw but hated how blocky D9 TOPO was. I liked this move to eventually open up the top left because I have the P hook for POI. Maybe OVATE would have been a better version of this if I was going to also pass up G12 OPT. #strategysmall
i chickened out on baneful (thought maybe i was confusing it with baleful) but didn't think it was a huge mistake. but it sorta is. -12 #knowledgelarge (also, it's risky after his last couple plays).
Definitely didn't seem crazy about D11 OBE, which I saw, but it would have been worth it here, 10 points is too many to give up when the board is wide open as is. #strategyquestionable
I again don't really know if I should play 4A BEGS or M3 BEGS or exchange. I was trying to block what I thought was the easier spot here. I await your hatemail #strategylarge
could just play DUD(E) here. That seems fine actually. The problem is the duplicate I's which might cause me some trouble here. As a result, fishing off the U with (K)U(E) is quite strong, since it hits with AAEEIIIIIOOORR. However, blocking the E in ZONAE is a good idea as well. KUE still looks too strong to pass up. This hits similarly often to KUE, but KUE scores 8 more points. The E is definitely a liability, but not that much, it would seem. #strategymedium
A8 TRaNQ is best! It sacrifices 17 points but gives back much less than QuANTISE (note QuANTISER#) and saves the S for KABS with several high-scoring tiles remaining. #tacticsmedium
this was my most unfocused moment of the tournament. Totally tunnelled on this spot being where I could score and keep scoring tiles. Carl just gave me a great scoring spot. My best play is probably with QUADRATED but I need to at least consider the top of the L column. DOH L4 sims a couple better than BOSUN. This would we an interesting idea if 1) QUADRATED weren't valid and 2) I would have considered stuff like DOH L4 #visionSADDEST
oh shit C3 ENVIR(O)N is an option here. Dig for the blank again, perhaps give myself better tempo, but it doesn't seem like it's the right play. Hm.. This whole game was hm. O7 LEVIN is better at least. #findingsmall
LIBEL 11I is actually simming better; i suppose there's the dangerous hotspot i'm creating, plus it's relatively easy for him to score a bunch at 11K as well with the right letters. -2 #strategysmall #finding
missed a bunch of better options here. QUIFF and QUAFF 9C are the most obvious. I couldn't stomach AQUAFIT 13I opening a 3x3, so I tunnelled on how I didn't like this play or that one. #strategymedium
Not sure what's correct here. Blocking the S hook after his last play seems maybe okay, since this play isn't a huge equity sac anyway. #strategysadder
I honestly thought he had taken away a ticket back into the game, but unfortunately I did not see my bing to the O, once again. Damn. If I had only thought about this rack as more than a "play ENTICES/IGLOOS if he doesn't block and play it with KIS if he does block" #findinglarge #knowledgelarge
This and 10H TUP(I)K, which I saw, sim closely. The D is a reasonably easy lane to hit and TUP(I)K undoubles my T, so maybe that was a little better. Doesn't seem like 5 extra points is quite enough to justify keeping an extra T. #strategysmall
1F ST(O)OKIES or 1F SO(O)KIEST or 1E STO(O)KIES. I'd like to think that I would have found the bings with more time, because I had almost none at this point, so I'm marking this as #TIMESADDEST
the best play here is an awesome setup, I12 E(V)E. This sets up ZA J14 and if I draw one of the 6 remaining I's, I get ZI(N)GY K5 as backup (or front-up, depending on position)
TE(N)GE is also better at K5. I don't think I ever saw GHAUT. Wanted this over GAZE for 1 more so inhibit L-column plays down the line that open up annoying parts of the board
#tacticslarge
A(QUA) doesn't seem all that important according to Quackle. Apparently I should play LOAD in the same spot, which was my original instinct. 11L (F)OLD is also reasonable if I think STOVE was a Z setup or if I don't want that variance in my life. Truth is I didn't even think of ZE. #strategysmall
bingoes like B3 GYrAtED are not worth it here, but IDEAloGY is definitely the right play here. it's 83 points and i should be able to survive a bingo back on column B. i should have looked a bit harder. -16.5 #findinglarge #knowledgelarge
once I actually realized my misplay in this position I assumed YEAH was probably an 18-point mistake. I mistracked a U instead of a D, so I thought my Q had a better chance of not getting stuck. I also didn't notice that INSNARE played under DIF which I was not blocking. So I should play QA(T) 8C and just brace for impact I think.
#tacticsmedium
N9 ICE #endgamesad
I went over time so we tied with the scores that we had (376-376). There was no recount (I would have lost by 1 point had there been one).
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
Not sure this move really accomplished as much as I thought it would. I suppose it might prevent more 7s from playing, but I'm not closing everything down. 13C BEAU is fine. #strategylarge
Leaving OO isn't appealing either, but AXIAL was missed for 6 more. An exchange 4 is at least random enough to the point where I can just play my game. AXIAL keeps the board open longer, which is what I sorely need to have against Richard. #findingsmall
I missed a really cool play here: 4K AR(E)CA. Even though it is a huge point sacrifice, Noah is going to have a hard time blocking the board after that, and there's still 3 Is and 4 Ns left to hit gerund bingoes on Column E. #visionmedium
A bunch of plays sim better, including G6 AKA, E5 RAKIA, and a few more plays on the G column. I played HAIKA quite fast - clearly I should've slowed down and looked harder. #findingmedium
9F MAXI is a _perfect_ move here, especially after he took so long on DUCKS (it was several minutes, which strongly implied to me he kept a blank; it seems like an easier play to make if he's holding another S). -4 #strategymedium
this is the worst possible draw to EINSS, seriously. i need the blank after the bingo! although H1 HIES actually looks better than my play. -3.5 #strategymedium
bingoing here is wrong, at least i got that part right. paesanos never wins. i didn't have too much time left, but i figured that the spot at L4 was potentially worth a lot of points, and any bingo i made would be negated by that spot. so i should try to fish and go there, right? i saw ANOA but it empties the bag and i did not estimate my chances of having an out in two spots very highly (it seems to be higher than i thought). i didn't see L4 EON, and i might not have liked it for its AAS? leave. turns out EILO was in the bag so i win many games with a lot of those draws. i should have reasoned it out better. if i leave one in the bag, he can just score a lot and my bingo out won't be enough. why did i get it correct that i needed to pass up a bingo, but then not finish the thought? massive strategic mistake to end this game. -40% win chance roughly #strategylarge
8K (T)OZIE is best. This ties because he can play M7 D(E)NI threatening to go out with E1 (Y)ODE if I play B4 ZO, though he had very little time remaining and finding that sequence would have been difficult. #endgamesaddest