And yet, the nagging voice in my head telling me FUDS is no good (mixing it up with WUDS*, of course) tells me to throw it right back. I was 95% sure FUDS was bad but OF COURSE I should still try it instead of accepting a loss. A 5% chance at a win is worth a lot more than 25 spread. Idiotic and missed mate in one (4th of the tourney?) #knowledgesaddest
8L (DI)VO# is better than this, but the sim winner is 11E VOR#. VOR# scores well and reduces Robert's average score, and the pool is vowel-heavy, so I can afford to keep DINN. 11C VINO and 5C VINO(US) are close behind. #strategymedium
jeez, sigh, totally missed the anagram of OPES -- PESO. even 6H OP is pretty decent. OPES is just like "here be my guest and score some points / bingo". -7 #knowledgemedium
I liked the defense of this play, but a simulation actually prefers N10 GL(UT) due to the scarcity of vowels. After Bryan played ARO 2 turns ago, I think keeping a U is better than usual, and I can also take out some scoring plays at N10. #strategysmall
I wasn't 100% on this but I had the urge to be confident, after the CHAINER challenge and after no bite on BAGWORM or BUNTINGS. It's really funny that I played a phony against Mina with these specific letters, since the first time we played a game together she assured me that VEINERS was definitely a word on our opening rack of EEINRSV against David Whitley in the NOLA airport in 2017. Had I thought of that, I probably would have played VEINLE(T) 11D or RELIN(K). #knowledgeSADDEST
Waffled over VAWS, O1 EA, and NAVE for quite a while. I was going for the final blow bingo, and indeed I do get a massive amount more bingos down after NAVE; but VAWS still seems like the right play here, going up by 70 and keeping the board very tight. #tacticssmall
since i'm at a disadvantage even after i bingo, quackle actually prefers i volatilize it a bit with M5 TACRINE. i didn't want to fall behind again to a lucky X, but i do need more scoring spots since there's a potentially big one in the left of row 12. -3 #tacticssmall
I did not know the ATWAIN hook in this situation. So I decided to try to bingo again and rack up additional spread. #knowledgelarge because I would have scored much better than this.
oh my god what am i doing this is not a word. i wanted to play K12 JEEP for the longest time but couldn't stomach it because of the E hook (???) and the more obvious I hook. 3A QUA is fine here. #knowledgelarge
Considered A6 VIDEO; classic give and take between points and bingo%. The RASSLER lanes look pretty appealing for bingos but odds are pretty good that they get blocked. The plays sim in a near dead heat with VIDEO slightly ahead. #tacticssmall
Wayyyy to many points to lose out on here. Not only was I unsure of M8 LITHOES (LITHOS* isn't good), but 13B HOSTILE plays for 90! I could have had much more on this turn. #visionlarge
I considered 15K GOURA#, which wins the sim by 1% win chance, and several other plays. I wanted to save the row 15 spot so that I might use it next turn. But Jane could easily score well in that spot if she has an O or Y. #strategysmall
the Lewises say hi. Hi Lewises! wasn't sure enough of webless or aweless for that matter, although i liked the second more. but i should find tWELvES. bingos with two blanks are hard. #knowledgelarge -9
I like closed boards and all, but I'm not sure this is the position where I should be happily closing. I didn't even look for plays down from the V even though they score more because I'm blind to opening closed boards. Plays like this make me "me" but I don't think that makes them right... (V)ARNA holding IRT looks pretty damn solid. #findingsad
This is when S(PORTERs) becomes relevant. I was not a fan of it at the start of the game, but I forgot about it when things started frowning upon me in this middlegame. It is absolutely relevant here and keeping my S is very important. #knowledgemedium
ROT is a T setup, but it's actually a QATS setup. if i infer EST for him (reasonable, although HAH doesn't necessarily imply the S, he did play it fast enough), YEW does a little better than before, but still not as well as M9 WANEY - i need to keep a better leave. i wasn't ultra worried because the bag is very slightly consonant heavy but still i may have overreacted here. -3 #strategysmall
I really wanted to play OUTFOXING but this looked better for me. 22 points is pretty good, the leave is better. And I know it doesn't take an S, unlike FOXING. #tacticssmall
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
This move actually sims quite well despite it being poor on static equity. There's only 2 As left for her to be able to play on top of the G, and if she plays below the G with the numerous Is that are still unseen, I can actually play underneath and make the board harder for her to play on. That said, I can see N2 CLAW being better since it's 8 more and it still effectively takes out Column M. #findingsmall
Quackle tries to outrun with LAH 11C. Not sure how I like that. The sooner Kenji bingos, the sooner he bingos again, and the fewer lanes there are, the less likely that happens. Then again, sometimes the best defense is a good offense. There are plenty of lanes to deal with, and I probably won't get to all of them. Also, notice that RHINAL isn't even that good for defense. It's not too implausible that it could get paralleled with a bingo. (-12) #strategylarge
This play isn't bad. It is a sound play. But the leave after 12H BE(S)TOW, which I didn't see, is much less clunky. The score I average next turn is several points higher after BESTOW than KOEL, and it is more than enough to offset the 1 extra point David will average after I make the more open move. BESTOW is the play since I can save my K to score again next turn. #findingmedium
6A YARDeRS #knowledgesaddest #visionsaddest. This ends up being a 12-point dynamic equity mistake. I saw the word but wasn't sure of it. I might have tried it but didn't even see the spot. My play is second best tho
both aitches are out, so this is highly dangerous. It's notably better to play 10J D(E)BUG against a robot, but perhaps not against a human, as the extra points keep the pressure on, especially if he doesn't have the H or any easy play elsewhere.
#findingsmall
I think GN(U) has to come down here. Again can't reasonably outrun, so have to go all in on defense. TONG is also reasonable, emptying the bag here is good to prevent him fishing (he could hit the B and E column, I will not be able to block both too often). GNU has the issue of allowing better fishing options for him, but it's really hard for him to open a new lane after GNU, so he's stuck having to hit the blockable B column. I looked for blocks but didn't consider GNU. #findinglarge
the most heartbreaking miss of the entire tournament. DISCIPLINES from DISC. And it's not like I didn't look. I was just thinking about DIS as a prefix. #findingsaddest
should probably just do LUM M2. I thought this might get a hold/challenge or at least unsettle Jason if he didn't know the word. Then I noticed A(LUM) and was annoyed at that prospect, although that could be good for me if I draw an A. I didn't think Jason would miss a play with ALUM. DU(A)LLY was an option I didn't consider. I also considerd (A)DYTUM but that looked to make the game too easy for him and too tough for me with my LL leave. #strategymedium
Tanked down to next to nothing here, just could not find anything I liked. However, SULFO is obviously very wrong and hemorrhages any win% I have here. I probably should've done the other move I was considering of N10 FUERO and hope to draw unblockable bingos in different areas of the board, of which there are a handful. #strategylarge
I didn't like 11A COO(K)IE with what that gave back to him. I also wasn't a fan of getting rid of my E with C11 OPE. KOP isn't bad since I have 2 open Ns, but I think I needed a move that plays longer since CEILO is a bit risky of a leave- 10B PI(C)COLO accomplishes that while also being fairly sound. #findingmedium