In addition to having higher equity than FINNED, 7M FIN allows fewer immediate bingos, more effectively blocking those making GAITT# which I didn't see. #visionmedium I guess
The G is so bad that A8 KNUR is barely worth it for 7 more. 14L YUK is worth it though because of the open I in INFIX which suits leaving GNST nicely. #visionlarge
The idea here was for me to save my C to eventually score with the COHO hook, which is why I didn't want to part ways with it. The best equity plays are 1J CEE, which I passed up since I saw significant value for the C, and 3L DEE, which I passed up since I didn't want to give Brendan free points with Column O plays. Quackle doesn't seem to mind parting ways with the D since I already have an open D with BOXED. The play I needed to spot was 13B LE(ER)ED for 18. It cleans up the rack better, gets rid of the D, and also sets up another scoring area on the bottom of the board in case Brendan set up Row 2 plays for himself underneath MEOW. DEB is a small to medium sized mistake. #findingmedium
I liked this for defense, but XI bingos so much it looks like it's worth it. Especially for spread purposes it's probably the correct play, which would matter a lot later in the tournament. #strategymedium
This isn't bad. But at nationals, a good move isn't exactly good enough. L8 (C)APFUL was missed for 4 more and sets up my S so well. For only 4 less points, CAPFUL is absolutely worth it and would have created a more favorable board for me. #visionmedium
I wasn't sure if it was FUTHORc or FUTHORk. They're both good. But either way, FOURTHs is not hard to spot. This was just bad. Definitely would have done FUTHORk if I played this position optimally. #findingsad
chickened out of 2B WH(I)FT #knowledgesad also i picked 15A WHI(T) over 1A WHI(D) because i figured the T was easier to trip-trip through but i should just go for the points #strategysadder
This play doesn't even sim because that's how bad this rack is. Probably should have exchanged down to CR instead of forcing my way through this. #strategylarge
Seemed a worthwhile gamble; if Tim doesn't have an E or blank it's just so annoying. Quackle slightly prefers M8 PEZANT, 2A PATZER, and 13J GATED. PEZANT opens two lines at once on a board without many good ones; PATZER creates a moderately annoying threat on column A. Marlon noted that GATED sets up both ZAG and ZIT as potential overlaps on row 11, which I didn't consider. All three plays draw more tiles towards a blank with both unseen than ADZ does. Upgrading this from small to #strategymedium. 11:14
N5 (Z)O is best according to Championship Player. There are no sevens in the pool that fit at O6 and not even the Q can be dumped in O6 plays. It also minimizes the chances of drawing the Q if it's still in the bag while keeping the I to dump it off if it's drawn. Also, if I draw a bingo at O6, my opponent will most likely (if they have the Q) have to choose between dumping the Q off at J13 allowing me to bingo out or sacrificing equity to block it. This is just my best guess analysis, I may have missed something. Even though N5 (Z)O looks fucking nuts and would probably only be played by Nigel, this play is still a mistake. #strategylarge
I probably didn't need to be so defensive here since Amika didn't keep an S after OOLITE. I got too focused on blocking this and shoud have looked harder and spotted C9 DA(B)BLE for 40, even with the hooks it takes. That's too many more points. #visionmedium
i really find it impossible that i lose after this play unless he has a 6 with -oke. piquet is an option i did not see and pretty much outruns any bngos -10 #findingmedium
With 90s left, I played this quickly, having noted it as the best out-in-two that I saw. I had been looking for out-in-twos because I figured Joey was going to bingo. There's actually one better sequence: DOSED J14, threatening TIDY N12 and TYIN J1. (-2) #endgamesmall #timemanagementmedium
the dagger. Completely missed ZIL(c)H this turn. Figured I could navigate most things after this, but that it would be close. I also missed ZAIR(E) 2K which is very safe. Only saw AZUR(E). #findingSADDEST
Yea, I looked thru the N in INCH trying to find something other that INTERNAL which would not open up a 3x3 for David. It's too easy to spend several minutes on a turn like this when I have a million bingoes available. Might as well just do 11A ReTINAE, idk. That's several more. #strategylarge
Q's simulation slightly prefers NUN. JS tells me that he prefers that board shape against a lower seed, but I also feel like I don't want a bunch of one-pointers that don't really bingo that often. Sim has nun up by less than a point #strategysmall I suppose?
LOL this is phony! jeez... i remember thinking it looked a little funny, but i was pretty dejected by my record, lol. but even now i thought it was fine. #knowledgelarge
I now realized that I wasn't actually ahead, but this still looked quite strong to block the easy scoring spot, so I was happy to take it over XI(S) for 55. This is valid strategy for blitz, since I'm also leaving myself with FEH 4F for next turn, but the position is obviously richer than that. Not playing 4 tiles is good here because neither of us wants too draw the Q. The pool is very bad so blocking row 1 isn't really all that valuable, except for a game-ending play there like WEARY, TEARING, YEARN, which happens only once in a while. 14F XI(S) is definitely the stronger choice. #tacticslarge
just with BRANG*, I was about ready to snap challenge, and the longer I took, the less I felt I should challenge. This is a huge mistake, but I still figured my best chances were holding on from this position. But I missed AR(M)Y for 39, which is too many to say no to. There is very limited risk of 7 consonants next turn being pivotal enough to lose the game, and also very minimal chance of not drawing a vowel, given the 15/10 vowel/consonant ratio. Something like 10-15%? I just missed AR(M)Y, but worse, I made this play with absolutely no clue about RALLYE, a word I know. I never saw RALLYE. This was Jackson's game to come back and win. Incredibly good pressure by him, picking at my confidence levels more and more every turn. #knowledgesaddest #visionsaddest #strategysaddest #findingsaddest
I had problems focusing and counting plays here. I don't remember exactly, but I remember counting both plays and getting it wrong and then trying again and getting it right, but blocking the TO and partially the E in AUTOED is much better for bingo defense than blocking up top. This is a stupid decision on my part. I think I thought I could deal with the right side later. #strategysmall
Even if the scores of both HEW plays were reversed, I should still play under AUTOED.
best by far is N2 TINDAL# for 41. I've somehow never seen it. I was not 100% on POWN#, and knew this would be at least a small mistake if POWN# was good, so that didn't feel great. Still, I could have spotted NITID C5 which seems decent. #knowledgeSADDEST
I'm down, so I guess I need to be aggressive by playing L2 ETCHInG. I didn't want to do it because there was still an F, two Ls, and an R unseen. IDK, maybe I distract my opponent with this while I hope to bingo elsewhere. big oof. #strategysmall
Damn i bingo more after 3G ZO #visionsadder #strategysadder i was so sad to have spotted LOZENGe on my rack but it didnt go anywhere T_T also just found out that LOZENGY is a words
Definitely did not like B8 TIZ with there being only the unseen K in this pool, and I also didn't care for 5K GLITZ as that's like throwing meat in a lion's cage. 2F (BLOW)ZIER is a nice extension which I did not spot. That's easily better than anything else there is. #findingmedium
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.
I'm really surprized to see RAX F4 win the sim. I wanted to keep that RAZ combo for 14H. I suppose drawing the Q without that U is pretty bad, but I wouldn't think burning the R and the A would be worth it. (-5) #strategysmall
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
A: I chose EPIGrAM because it creates a decent sevens lane on row 2. But 1I PrIMAGE is slightly better, possibly because EPIGrAM creates scoring opportunities for Carl? I don't know. #tacticssmall
C: The whole game, I wanted to play EPIGRAMMIC*, but it's ENGRAMMIC/IDEOGRAMMIC/PHONOGRAMMIC only.
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
This is a good play, however, O7 YEN(t)E for 40 is clearly better and was missed. IIP isn't that bad of a leave with only 1 more I to draw. #findingmedium
This is where I lost the game. Yes, I need to play longer with this rack. But the proper way to do it would have been C9 B(A)RBOT for 26. The right side of the board is very volatile and I need that to be open when I'm down, especially against someone who tends to play aggressively. I would welcome that at this deficit. The A in VAPED is not that useful for parallels on this board, so I can live with using the bottom left. #findinglarge