I can't be scared of Joey blocking Row 6 plays at this time. If anything, it would serve as a diversion so that maybe I can hit stuff ending with the C in COME. 7I DAY is fine. #strategymedium
I think it's better to just ditch the Q now and do K1 Q(U)ORUM, which I didn't even spot. It's actually the only way I can even ditch the Q. #visionmedium
I had a hunch that I should've played BLIVE right after hitting my clock and before Bob's next play...too fixated on keeping an E with seven more to redraw. #strategysmall 15:03
A really interesting first rack! PAYED is standard and I think I still should have played it. I didn't realize the S hook it set up when I considered it, which would have pushed it over the edge for me. Also, as I took a little while on it, there is some challenge upside. I could also do PAY or PYA to set up S hooks, they do well in the sim. I was worried about the overlaps after PAYED, and some of them do give back good plays to me, but he can probably find one that doesn't. I think PAYED is definitely better though, I average 6 more after PAYED! #tacticssmall it is a bit odd that I forwent the standard payed due to overlaps then I went with the PEATY that gives easier overlaps, but I felt that Y on the star was too bingo defensive for my leave. not a great play
3B PAEAN is worth thinking about, and so is B5 PA. PATH keeps a pretty bad leave and opens the board right after he fished. bad idea. -4 #strategymedium
This bingos the most, but gives back too many points on row 13. 6L FEH is best even though it doesn't bingo as much because it sets up my S. #strategysad
I only have two wins: N12 (T)OT and N12 (T)OD, keeping Eric from playing a word hooking MYXOS. Note for future self: play the endgame out for myself to see if it's possible for me to block the worst case scenario #endgamesaddest
M7 MIB is a lil better it seems, at least defensively. -4 #tacticssmall -- actually, i can't see why AEIP results in a higher average score next turn (but lower bingo %).. anyone?
Quackle says N5 IN is the only winning play, but when I play out the games it loses to A1 FUNKiA, A1 FANKlE, and even A1 UNRAKE, so I'm not sure what's best here. #strategysaddest
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
i saw ELVEN and i was positive it wasn't good, or at least just Collins. did they add it in 2014 or 2018? i should have played it anyway since it's my only win right? i was 2-5 and had to leave for dinner and was not thinking straight. #endgamelarge
I thought the S was pretty valuable on this board but Quackle is saying to play L9 (T)EAMS. J12 A(U)F is also worth considering, but her last few plays seem kinda fishy. #strategysmall
Don't think I saw F6 EON somehow. It scores 6 more than OGEE and bingos roughly the same amount, making it several points of valuation better. #findingsmall
sim likes C12 (L)OT. it bingos on row 3 and to the N. I had like nonezo time, so i just went with the first scoring play i saw #timesaddest #strategysaddest
I tunneled on blocking the V, which isn't really a big threat here. Plays like J1 TITULE and O1 LUTITE are better, and even C1 T(H)ULITE is better defense for bingos. #strategysad
joel tells me he hates fishing but wtf do i do with racks like this and the previous one? the problem here at least seems to be that if i'm going to fish i should make it easier for my bingo to fit next turn, so F14 OI is definitely better. -4 #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
Absolutely and horribly inexcusable. This is invalid and I held for a while, unable to remember if BATWING or WINGBAT* is valid. I remembered that Reid had a history of knowing a lot of words and I know that I don't know anything at all and eventually accept and make the spread-cutting move but WINGBATS* ISN'T A WORD ASDAFSD
Literally when the only way to lose is to accept a word that looks funny to you, you should probably challenge that word. Guhhhhhh. This is one of many, many times where I show absolutely no faith in my word knoweldge this tournament.
#knowledgesaddest #tacticssaddest (idk if I can tag two things but I'll try)
Omg...I missed a really cool idea here. I did not see that I could have made BRAIDINGS, which is valid, with G7 CAB. That sets up an S hook that will be extremely difficult for Evan to block and it keeps additional lanes in MANSIONS open. #visionlarge
1 letter off from getting back in this one- would have hit a 3x3 of INFANTAS! Looking back, maybe it's not that crazy of an idea to do 13A AFA(R) to distract him. I didn't think about that and maybe he would actually bite the 12A spot since that has a vowel and he scores more easily there. #strategylarge
Considered BIPOD in the same spot, but didn't want to allow high-scoring 7s ending in S with all four Ss out. Also PRO is a much better leave than NR especially with no Ns played yet. At this point I'm pretty much conceded to an open board so wasn't that worried about the BINDI hook, so chose BIND over BOND to avoid a possible onslaught of Is from the pool. The best play is probably 2J IODIN, which I didn't see. #visionsmall
BURAN is the pure equity play, but 5H UNBE handily wins the sim. There are up to 5 E's in the bag and no A's, and UNBE blocks column K and scores one more point. #tacticsmedium
this move symbolizes everything that is wrong with my scrabble game (i know that sounds hyperbolic, but hear me out). of course i should try to block, but the only thing that looked halfway decent was ADZ. still, the most important thing here is to ask myself how I can lose this game, and it is by him hitting a huge bingo afterwards, and me drawing poorly to RTVY, and him bingoing again. can that happen? absolutely. if i play ADZ, i force him to bingo at the top; row 2 or 3 most likely. I can then overlap his play, blocking any potential bingos, and i'm still up by a lot, and should be heavily favored to win. i even thought about something silly like VIZSLA being possible but if anything i have the V. ZOOID sims best of course. the biggest mistake i made here, and one that i make often, is not having enough empathy to put myself in his shoes and realize he's likely keeping an extremely strong leave. of course i thought the leave was probably pretty good, but it also seemed desperate enough that ZOOID might just block whatever he has, and that there's a decent chance he missed his fish as well. i didn't think he would have the blank. if i give him AEIS? as a leave ADZ DOES sim better than ZOOID, lowering his average score by about 24. with 4-ply ADZ is still on top. the only issue is that the win% diff is so tiny, yet i'm convinced this is a massive error. #strategylarge
thought a lot about LI(E) 10B to set up PLIE, but if he plays QI/LI there I might be in trouble. I didn't know PULY#, which seems right at 3L #knowledgeSAD
I got too excited here because I knew I was close to 700. The play should have been H1 DELUSTE(R) for the purpose of play finding. But it worked out in the end because if he has AENOORT, he still hypothetically has RATOONE(D) available, which I think he's more likely to find than ANTEROO(M), which he has right now if I pick EJR out of the bag. #visionsmall
And now I have to block his only out play of (C)LOVER without giving him a spot to play LOVER. But a move that could have netted me more spread is to do 2A A(C)E so that I get more for my out play. #endgamesmall
Wasn't really sure either way here. Decided to go with it, but was kind of aware it might not be a word. Some are intentional, some are unintentional, and this is somewhere in between. #knowledgesmall
OOF is right. at least i didnt throw away a win by missing 10G E(M)OTICON. i saw N10 COOTI(E) but thought i could still make up spread if i bingoed next turn #findingsaddest #strategysaddest
the worst miss of the tournament I would say. Saw RENAILS and NAILERS and knew there was a 3rd. Then I couldn't find it. So I stopped looking and decided this was better than NAILERS despite TRENAILS because I needed to maximize scoring spots for myself for the rest of the game to try and outrun. ALINERS is just better. How could I miss this. #findingSADDEST
13A GLIA seems kind of insane to me with two Is and two Ns still in the pool but the sim says it's best. I really did not want to open it up like this, but I didn't see any other options. #strategysad
a bit of a counterintuitive situation here. quackle says i bingo slighlty more next turn if i do ROVED, and it scores 3 more. it sure doesn't seem that way to me. -2.5 #tacticssmall