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#player1 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
#player2 Sam_Dick-Onuoha Sam Dick-Onuoha
>Jim_Burlant: AEEKLRW 8H WREAK +34 34
#note Any number of high scoring plays available. I chose this over the 8D placement because of the vowel placement issues. I saw the potential ING extension but felt that was a slightly lower probability threat than anything on rows 7 or 9 that would double a counter at 7G or 9G. Also - I considered WEAKER 8D but didn't want to burn both my E's. The sim agrees with me - this is best.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ENOR L8 .RONE +18 18
>Jim_Burlant: DEEFILT I3 FILTE.ED +68 102
#note The only bingo. 76% to win in a short sim.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: EJPU K10 JUPE +43 61
>Jim_Burlant: AAEIIUZ J2 ZA +36 138
#note With this much crap I figured I should just take the 36 and worry about cleaning the rack out later. I considered dumping vowels with ILIA but didn't like the spot it would create at 4H. The sim indicates this is a very good play (the 2-ply sim silver medalist), but 5G AA(L)II is slightly better. The word AALII didn't occur to me, so this was my choice.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: DORU K3 DOUR +17 78
>Jim_Burlant: ABEIIUW 5D BEWAI. +22 160
#note In retrospect, this is where I realized I was in for a difficult night. My previous turn left me no means of unloading the U, and on a 2-tile pick from a bag that was still 3/4 full, I drew the other W. Anyway - no way to unload both U and W, and the only thing to do here is clean as much of this crap out as possible. For the lower division players reading this game, the learning point from this position is to always look for the better play. I took a few minutes here; I was going to put down WAITER 6F (the sim runner up) but was hardly thrilled with both the BIU leave and easy front A hook it opened up. Then I saw this, saw the 3 extra scoreboard points and better defensive position, and put this down. The sim agrees: this is best. 6F WAITER wins 2% less often. 74% to win, but not for long.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ?AINOOT D3 lO.ATION +70 148
#note Sam initially put down D4 ABOrTION before pulling it up and playing this. My opinion is that Sam was right to do that, as A(B)OrTION sets up a huge S hook at 12D, and 4 S's are unseen to him at that point. The sim disagrees, saying he should have played
>Jim_Burlant: ACEIITU 3B CU.TI +12 172
#note TThis felt wrong when I put it down, and even without simming I know it's a terrible play, as it sets up a HUGE hotspot for an unseen Q or X - but I saw nothing I liked. I was also getting tired of looking at the U and didn't consider/see plays keeping either duplicated I's or the U. Thus, I didn't consider ACUATE 6A. I couldn't think of AULIC, I didn't like 3A ACULEI (seemed reckless to me to open up a 3x3 for only 14 points) Without simming, TUNIC 10B looks reasonable, and TUNICA is even better. I didn't notice row 10 plays, which is why I missed those. 3C ILIAC also looks very strong...but like I said, I wanted to unload the U. Sim says ILIAC and TUNICA are the right choices. This sucks.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ?ADEEER B1 DE.REAsE +74 222
#note Best bingo for Sam.
>Jim_Burlant: AEIINNO A4 EONIAN +35 207
#note This play is as good as my previous play was bad. Nothing else worth considering. This is my favorite play of this game.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: GHNOS C9 HONGS +37 259
>Jim_Burlant: EIMSSTV 12A VI.S +24 231
#note Saw row 14 plays like VIMS and didn't like them - I thought they gave too much back if he had EFI in his rack, and I saw 1B DIVESTS. Passed on DIVESTS because, despite the 45 points, I felt it burned all the ammo at once. Considering that there were still a couple of juicy S hooks available, I felt my remaining S was too valuable on this board to burn both wiht DIVESTS. Also - with the pool down to 1 E, I wasn't going to burn my E for anything short of 40+ points or the game-clinching defensive stopper. Q likes 4H MISO, which I didn't see. This is a decent, but not great, choice according to Quackle. YMMV.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ABR 2F BAR +21 280
>Jim_Burlant: EMNSTXY A12 .EXT +42 273
#note If a play can score 42 points and still suck, this accomplishes that feat. L2 NEXT scores 50. Sad but true: I missed it.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ACMO 1E COMA +39 319
>Jim_Burlant: DIMNQSY 4H Q. +42 315
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: U 14A .U +18 337
>Jim_Burlant: DIIMNSY 3I ...DY +26 341
#note Saw 14I MYSID but didn't like it because I thought it recklessly opened row 15. alsoe, this pool is so consonant heavy that I need to hold my vowels, even if it's a pair of I's. Q agrees with me - This is best, bringing my winning chances back up to 50%.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: RVY 13J V.RY +30 367
>Jim_Burlant: GHIIMNS 8H .....ING +48 389
#note Had been nervous about this extension being taken out for some time - was very glad to see GIN in this rack! This is best. 64% to win.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: GT 10B T..G +7 374
>Jim_Burlant: HILMPSS F10 SHIM +19 408
#note I anagrammed each of his possible racks and determined that he didn't have any playable 7's down the F column or 8's down the N and O columns, so blocking the N and O columns wasn't an issue. Having said that, I was convinced that he was going to hook his A to TONG and dump enough of his rack in the process that he'd go out ahead of me and catch a ton of points from my remaining counters if I played short, so I fixated on stopping that. Also - I hoped that if I landed a vowel, it gave me a place to potentially hook my other s and go out. This isn't one of the original choices and it sims reasonably well...but it's not best. The best play, according to Quackle, is L1 SIDH. If I wanted to take out the TONGA hooks, WHIMS or WHIPS F5 scored 2 more than this. But this got the job done.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: AEILLOT 2J .OEAL +42 416
#note Great play! I hadn't even seen this when I was figuring out my previous turn.
>Jim_Burlant: FLPS L1 F..S +28 436
#note And after I calm down, I find it. This is the only winning play I have. Everything else loses.
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: ILT G12 TIL +11 427
>Sam_Dick-Onuoha: (LP) +8 435
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