YUM 7A #findingSAD #strategySADDER. Instead I opened up another possible triple triple (SUNSHADE was there already, and now ENDASHES), just really wanted to get rid of those Us
I would have scored no matter what since I still had 1M HAW if Maddy took the left TWS that I opened. I did not know 1D MAHWA in this position. It's another spelling of MAHUA. I would have kept a better leave after MAHWA, but this board is actually decent for Ws since I have the 3M scoring spot to work with as well as the C9 spot, for which I can make parallels next to HOLIER. That said, MAHWA is better equity and most likely would have been my play if I knew it and saw it since if I draw vowels, Ws generally do a poor job of absorbing those types of draws. #knowledgesmall
this is very bad for preventing bingos, given his last move. i was thinking i can't win without drawing the blank here. while that's still likely, if i play COAPT at 14G that scores quite a bit and maybe i can draw an H or something to score next turn. i don't know. but COPAL is wrong. Quackle likes 10K COAPT best, i don't really get it. -10.5 #strategylarge
I convinced myself that SLIDS* was a word; I had misremembered SLIDDERS#. David held for a long time and even remembered LIDS having no hooks, but he gave me too much credit for knowing words. I think I win 100% even if AVISO comes off; every valid play either wins or loses to a bingo. #knowledgelarge
completely missing a few plays here, such a tough spot! 5J MES(N)E is pretty clearly best here, sets up a lane that's really hard to block completely. This is all I came up with. I can get something once in a while but mostly, I'm preparing to use the C next turn on row 6 to fork the board. Otherwise, if I want to wait, I can play C(H)EL(A) 11J. This doesn't score enough to threaten much #findinglarge
I have to leave one in the bag here. 14A (T)IP is best because it sets up D12 JAIL to outrun any bing winning everytime according the Championship Player. This is almost as good. #strategymedium
BALED 4A is the obvious move here. I saw BALED on my rack and just didn't look for a place for it. Also exchanging AQ is probably better too. #visionSADDER #strategy#SADDER
I'll give myself a #knowledgelarge for challenging the valid 4 even though it only ended up costing me 5 points; it could've been much, much worse to have chickened out of a valid bingo on row 10.10:55
G1 QI seems like the kind of play that would sim best, but this time it's just the timid 9C QA(T) that wins. I have difficulty evaluating these kinds of decisions, though this one seems correct. Also, #knowledgesad for the challenge.
Quackle likes GLEIS but likes G13 GIE a bit more; interestingly, it far prefers GIE to GIO in the same spot, expecting I get a lot more bingos down the M column paralleling SO and perhaps a handful on column I with the (D)O(R) insertion. #strategysmall
I completely didn't see JOE until about 15 seconds after I hit the clock. BOOT(E)E is also really nice but also isn't congruent with my game plan #findinglarge
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
2B AECIA is best, unloading vowels and occasionally drawing into 1A QAT with four T's unseen. I seem to never find AECIA, especially when I am distracted by the Q on my rack. #findingsmall
Maybe 8A DEV(A) is a little less blocky, or even 9C V(I)G is probably slightly better leavewise, but my win % is still around 8% either way. #visionsmall
At this point I was shitting my pants. I thought he had S? and was gonna end me on row 14. I burnt a lot of time thinking of ways I could block, I even considered 14D TOC before realizing that was insane. I eventually resigned to just play equity, but I had already used like 5 minutes or something. B2 NOTC(H) looks fine here. #visionSADDEST
K5 B(OR)D is best. I need to block the 5K OCa -> 4I LOBS sequence and just playing K4 D(OOR)/B(OOR) just gives back 4H BOL(D)S/4H BLO(B)S. #endgamesaddest
I did not know H10 P(E)PITA, and that is 21 more points. Definitely worth keeping a worse leave here since PUP makes the board more S-dependent if I don't have a hook to LAW up top. Also, A12 (Y)AUP is better if I don't know PEPITA. #findingmedium
The sun has pretty much set and I was also slightly tilted because I thought UNMARRED might have been phony (it's not). I have no idea what I'm supposed to do here other than resign. #strategysaddest
just play X(U). This was stupidly fancy and cost me the game. It just seemed to fit my Nationals profile. Also shout out to PAN(CREATIN). #tacticslarge
i wanted to keep the ED for the tricky lane on row 2, and still open something. at this point my win % is so low that i don't bother too much with worrying about what my best play could be. maybe DIT just takes way too many hooks or something. quackle likes J12 TID(E) which doesn't create a new lane. however, it blocks a scoring spot for her. if i have to get lucky i might as well play the extra tile to draw for an N for ING or some crap.. who knows? scrabble is too hard. -4 #strategymedium
i have only one win here and it's 1A OSTIA because it takes out all the scary spots so that's a huuuge #endgamesaddest and #Knowledgesaddest I seem to win here as long as I don't draw the K
such an insane bingo available here. Can you find it? This is probably worse than MAY L11 because although I block myself with MAY, I also give him a lot less to work with, and I have the blank, so I don't really need to leave everything open. #tacticssmall #findingmedium #knowledgemedium
I put down 15K (S)HIVA first but picked it up because I was afraid of not drawing enough vowels with FLT to get the bing I need. I didn't even consider Q bombs. RIP. Even 15K (S)HAFT is alright, this is a huge oversight. #strategylarge
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
Played ZHOS quite quickly but didn't stop to think of N2 SHASH, which scores 9 more and draws into a boatload of heavy Z plays on column A or at the very least O1 ZO/ZOO. #findingmedium 14:42
I was so close to just doing M11 KYU instead of YUK to be safe. Yes, there is huge Z-bomb upside to YUK, but Vince has one of the *fifteen* unseen Es and Os so, so often to play there himself, and it's instantly by far the best scoring spot on the board. However, I need to add that Vince put down QUID, then looked at it in frustration and picked it up to play QUIN - I kind of read this as an admission that he didn't have an E himself on that turn, which does tip the odds a fair bit in my favor. I probably should still have played it safe here. #strategymedium
i didn't see PINKOEs here, but it might not be worth bingoing. my first choice KOP is best. i want to give myself the best bingo chances next turn. -2 #tacticssmall
Maybe H10 FOIL since the F is actually not doing much on this board. I'm not down a ton, so I don't think I need to be desperate to fork just yet. #strategysmall
I saw OcREATE, but I didn't want to give up a C hook at A1. This sacrifices 3 points, yet Quackle rates this an 8-point mistake. In hindsight, it was a mistake; I drew both C's and the other blank this game. #tacticssmall
whichever god blessed me with these tiles four times in a row is crying in their bedroom listening to emo music from the early 2000s. 13H GLARIER #KNOWLEDGESADDEST
This is pretty good, but TEENIER 14B is even better, because it sets up QI in two places. UNIFIES 3H is also cool (I didn't see it) but I have to keep an I here. (-3) #visionsmall
Quackle prefers M2 NOT, though it is reckless with ?KSSS unseen; next best is 8A PONCE. PERC sets up the S on column E, which makes potential bingos more likely to play (note that POSTERN on my rack is homeless), but it apparently sacrifices too much leave value. Note that there are five E's, three R's, and no O's unseen, which influenced my choice. Interestingly, despite this, none of Quackle's choices use the R. #strategymedium
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
I was low on time and forgot to track the blank in BIOTITE. I gave up an played line with seconds left. Only 14A LINIE(R), 14A INLIE(R), and 12F (T)I(R)E win. #TIMESADDEST
Joey: ESCARGOT
Josh: had I seen ESCARGOT during my thought process last turn or as a review of said thought process this turn, I would have challenged QUICKY* off the board and been ahead by 200. I should still challenge because how likely is he to block the D anyway? I don't need to worry pretty much at all about having a spot to bingo. Horrible #knowledgesaddest
I did see O10 ARGUER, but what prompted me to keep EGR was the open I in TRIGO and the 4 unseen Ns. I didn't think this would sim too far back, but Quackle doesn't seem to like my move, and I understand that knowing ARGUER is 11 more. #strategylarge
I want to do (NA)RDS 5J even though it blocks the D in FOOD, because YARAKS is good! I always forget that because of its definition: a fit condition for hunting: -- used of a hawk. The last part confuses my brain into thinking it's an adjectiive or an exclamation. #knowledgemedium #tacticsmedium