DIATRON doesn't play, wonderful. If Jamie is gonna bingo anyway even after I do L9 ODOR, maybe do that instead. This was too aggressive. #strategylarge
I felt like he's always gonna block with plays at B12 after something like C11 LUG and the X seemed really important so I went for turnover and score, but maybe the leave is just too bad. Scoring under 20 in this situation just seemed hopeless but maybe I need to keep opening and go for a bingo through the V or something. I dunno. #strategysaddest
i had about 30 seconds or so on my clock. i didn't think he was going to let me play OVATIONS, so i was looking for a Q stick. then he did this. i didn't think he had given me a bingo, and i was only looking to the right. i saw novations on my rack at some point but then thought too bad the ON is backwards. i then tried to continue thinking of a way to Q stick him and couldn't figure it out. this is of course a ridiculously bad play, but it didn't register that i wasn't Q-sticking him at the time, i literally just ran out of time. The funniest thing is that slow-playing the game actually works too, i didn't need to find novations. 6F IT wins for example. -120 #endgamelarge #timelarge #nojudgment #meowmeow
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
IZAR would be a reasonable play here, on par with N8 NAZI and 11B REPAIR, except that I completely whiffed on L11 CAPIZ for 56. After MENTEES, I need those extra points to withstand an A1 bingo to the D and might even struggle to deal with a STAW hooking bingo without those points too. #findinglarge
terrible word knowledge continues. I put down STINGE and AIDE, and then take it back, and put this down. Joel says "you weren't going to play that." UGH!!! #knowledgeSADDEST
this seemed like a decent block, but it could backfire. DILATE is a little harder to underlap (LA LI LO vs NA NE NO NU with the blanks as vowels), and there are two Ns left. -3 #findingmedium
1st live tourney for me in 2.5 years! The drive to Holden, MA was well worth it. I stopped off in CT on the way there the day before to hang out with another buddy and had a great time with him too. Despite some word knowledge errors I made this tourney, it felt nice to use real equipment when it mattered most. So here it goes: I saw SLEEPED* but correctly passed that up. Unfortunately, I thought SPEEL was a noun and not a verb, so I chickened out of SPEELED. #knowledgelarge
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
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
8H OY is best, followed by 8G YO. TOYO sets up my S on column K, but it is fairly likely for Carl to have an N or S with which to use the spot; and OY and YO have better equity than TOYO. #strategymedium
I must not have found GIRD somehow. It's odd that Quackle rates DIRGE over 40 points back in valuation, given 4 unseen E's, a clunky pool (which means I am likelier to get a bingo than Will), and the fact that it is--well, seems--easier to play a bingo through a D than through a G. But DIRGE never wins anyway. #findingmedium
now I figure I can't play (REJECT)IONS because he just opened a 3x3, but I guess I can still play D(E)AF and save the 60 points for next turn. #tacticssmall
I didn't see E11 (K)HAF, but this isn't too much worse. It felt reckless to set up an S hook that I don't have and keep a not very promising leave. With that said, a play that might fit the theme of playing it safer is 13D HUB, and it does sim ahead of FUB despite HATE being a usually better leave. #strategysmall
I have no idea what I was doing at this point. I saw the J, I saw the open triple, and all rational thought left my body. The J was definitely my number one nemesis this tournament.
L1 JEL(L) is fine here. #STRATEGYLARGE
unsure of OFFY#! - hence why I didn't play AYU with OFFA, but totally spaced on AYU with FA and FY which is probably the best play anyway #findingsaddest
D10 ETUI is fine, but this isn't. I was afraid of making another S hook, but at this score I think the equity doesn't justify what I did. #strategymedium also #knowledgesad for the challenge.
Right idea with the turnover and blocking the HUMPS hook. I will say that TURNIP is a worse play than it usually is because I should not be keeping 2 Os with 3 more usneen. While TURNIP isn't egregious, I should be looking to address my O problem while also blocking more indirectly with F2 UNROOT or even 4C UNROOF. #visionmedium
i missed reticule... sigh. yeah, i was definitely not feeling it at all this afternoon :( i'm not surprised i missed it. i don't think i miss it earlier in the tourney. but then again, this just shows me how much i need to study. that way even if i'm having a bad day, the words just come automatically. #knowledgelarge
att 1-2 i have no hope of making the cold equity play here -- as i said in an earlier game i either am too scared to not bingo immediately, or too scared to fall behind in score, depending on the rack (usually the wrong choice for the rack). PIING or PIG are fine here, but i'm too scared. -3 #strategysmall
Obviously not opening after YIN. LUN preserves HAZAN/AZAN possibilities for the future. The only other move I would potentially do here is 9C HULA, which should be pretty difficult to bingo with. #strategysmall 14:46
i7 ATINGLE is the auto-pilot play. I liked trying to control the board with this, blocking more lanes, but I overestimated the bingo defense this provided. #tacticssmall
i fish way too much in general. i think i should play EYE here. at B5 it might give up a lot of pts, but if he bingos i might get a big play back, and he seemed like he was going to bingo again. -2.5 #tacticssmall
This is the best bingo, but 15H MIRID is better. It sacrifices 34 points, but it takes out the (WALLEYE)D spot and keeps ?N, which often draws into bingos hooking UPDRAW#. #tacticssmall
This preendgame is very complicated and I couldn't figure out what was best in the game or when analyzing it afterwards. Suggestions welcome. #strategysadder
I considered fishing the F with 5K F(AD) but I thought the 11H bingos would all get blocked. Apparently, it's best. I was trying to block the possible 2A (R)EADVISE with this play. #endgamesaddest
Wow. I could have just as easily done something like (C)OTTAgES in the same spot and be OK. Instead I phonied for the 2nd time today. Am I seriously wrong when I thought 2 people could give a speech or do a protest at the same time? Apparently, COSTATE means having ribs, and thus it takes no hooks. #findingsad
14A ZO has 25 more win % points. I'm really surprised by that because I thought I needed more vowels. I guess the odds of drawing no vowels is fairly low and I need the K for scoring. #endgamelarge
this was frustrating. I missed GERB(I)L which seems like the play I would make. Quackle prefers fishing again with (E)RG or B(E)RG. Either way, this seems like a mistake #findingsmall
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
A9 STROBIC #knowledgesaddest for the bing AND the BLEAKY hook T_T also D12 B(A)C is a slightly better version of what i was trying to do with setting up my S
I didn't see the 15H (RELAX)ERS extension on this turn. Even with some clunkers I could pick, 17 points is too many to miss out on. 1st sizable mistake this game. At a minimum, I need to keep my I just in case Zach plays through the U in VACUA and I pick the Q. #visionmedium