| Player 1 |
|
#player1 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
#player2 Craig_Sjostrom Craig Sjostrom
>Jim_Burlant: HIPRRSV -HPRV +0 0
#note My second consecutive game going first...and my second consecutive opening rack that has to go into the bag. I wondered what I should exchange here - keep the H? Toss it? Apparently, the best exchange is to just throw RV into the bag, though that could get ugly if I don't draw a vowel. Given all the options, if I had this to do again I'd probably keep the H and exchange 3 instead of 4.
>Craig_Sjostrom: ??BEFGG -G +0 0
#note When he exchanged one, I figured he was sitting on AEINORT or something similar. He told me after the game that this was his rack, and he exchanged the G. My own inclination if I were sitting on this rack would have been to play BEG 8G or 8F EGG. Quackle agrees with me; BEG is Championship Player's choice, and EGG wins 1% less often and sims 2.4 points down. Splitting the blanks with BEFoG for 26 (which I would have rejected due because it didn't score at least 40) is also very strong in Quackle's eyes. While not strictly necessary, the duck indicates that exchanging FGG is also a reasonable choice. For the lower division players reading this, it is essential to unload more than just one of the G's from a rack like this. The problem with exchanging only one G is that, if you draw a consonant other than N, you could easily find yourself still staring at those blanks 3 or 4 turns later because you're only able to dink off one or two tiles at a time while your opponent establishes tempo. And when your bingo finally does come in that situation, it only scores 60 points and you're still behind the 8 ball.
>Jim_Burlant: AEEIRSS 8H ES +4 4
#note I was very tempted to just exchange ES and not telegraph the rack. Against 1400's Craig, I wanted to see how he'd react. It turns out that taking out the star was the best thing I could have done. If Quackle is to be believed, best play here is to exchange EI; this wins 54% and is not quite a 3-point dog in the sim.
>Craig_Sjostrom: ??BEFGI 7E BeEFInG +71 71
>Jim_Burlant: AEILORS K3 SERA.LIO +68 72
#note Any of the anagrams of this word score 68 down the K column. Quackle says this is the worst of the three choices...but that's only because it knows with 100% certainty that this takes a back S. Craig might not know the S hook on this and perhaps might not take the chance on it. 42% to win.
>Craig_Sjostrom: AEGLRV 8A GRAVEL +47 118
#note Ouch!
>Jim_Burlant: CDEEIIV 8K .IVED +30 102
#note FAIL. DECISIVE 3G should have been the no-brainer play...but I never saw it. Because of that, I was planning on playing CIVIE 8A until he blocked it. This is my next best option, but there's no excuse for missing the bingo. The bingo wins 60%; this wins 35 and sims merely 53 points down!
>Craig_Sjostrom: HOT J9 THO +29 147
>Jim_Burlant: ACEIOOQ J2 QI +33 135
#note Best, but I haven't done myself any favors with my blundering to this point. This is only 27% to win.
>Craig_Sjostrom: CINTU 12I TUNIC +21 168
>Jim_Burlant: ACDEOOX N10 COAXED +52 187
#note At least with this turn I've managed to somewhat reduce the impact of my having missed DECISIVE. And with his next play of NUDE, I felt like he'd start playing to his 1400's rating by playing cheap defense with his bingo tiles rather than making his best plays. And, with nowhere to score on this board, I could take control of the game. From this point on, the tile gods had other ideas. And it didn't help that my brain went into the tank with my tiles, either.
>Craig_Sjostrom: ENU 15L NU.E +18 186
>Jim_Burlant: IOPRRUU O4 PROU. +11 198
#note No clue hat to do with this crap. This? GURU for 5? RUBE? GUIRO? Exchange? This is mid pack, but that's more of a reflection that nothing stands out. This play, which sims as the 7th or 8th best choice, still wins within 1/2% and sims within 1 point of the best play. Pick your poison. Q says GURU for 5 is marginally best. Maybe my brain wouldn't have melted if I played GURU.
>Craig_Sjostrom: INYZ C7 Z.YIN +31 217
>Jim_Burlant: EGIRUWW -GIUWW +0 198
#note And now my brain melts. I saw WIG K3 but the IWIS front hook scared me (even though only 2 I's are unseen) and for some reason, I never saw BEWIG. Between my unjustified paranoia about IWIS and being fixated on being unable to get out of this without having to hold UW that I said, "screw it" and opted to exchange. All that said, there is absolutely no reason to exchange here. BEWIG E7 or WIG I3 are fine. This is horrendous.
>Craig_Sjostrom: BNOOS 12A BOSON +38 255
#note Small consolation: if I find BEWIG, he still has BOSON B10.
>Jim_Burlant: DEHIRRS E10 RI.D +10 208
#note And my brain continues to melt. I saw BIRD, then thought I should get cute by setting up my S, and I forgot about BIRD. There is no reason to do anything but A12 BIRD here. This is yet another stupid play. BIRD wins 29%; this wins about 23.
>Craig_Sjostrom: AFMU A12 .UMF +33 288
#note And when it rains, it pours. Then again, the small consolation: he told me after the game that even if I'd played BIRD, he'd have played RAM B8 and I'd still be down a bit on a dead board.
>Jim_Burlant: AEHIRSY 14A .ASHY +35 243
#note Yeah, I've packed it in by this point. Best is the simple N5 AY but even that only wins 19%.
>Craig_Sjostrom: ADMN 14K NAM.D +17 305
>Jim_Burlant: AAEEIJR E5 JI.. +26 269
#note Best would have been a play Craig saw later that I never did: EIDE O12.
>Craig_Sjostrom: AEGOTWW I3 WOG +21 326
>Jim_Burlant: AAEEEKR 10B K.E. +18 287
#note Just moving tiles to end the game.
>Craig_Sjostrom: TT 6K .TT +3 329
>Jim_Burlant: AAEELNR L1 LEER +21 308
>Craig_Sjostrom: APR M3 RAP. +31 360
>Jim_Burlant: AAAENOT 1K A.ANE +15 323
>Craig_Sjostrom: EILTW O12 EI.. +25 385
>Jim_Burlant: AOT F3 TAO +12 335
>Jim_Burlant: (LTW) +12 347
#note The only mystery to me is how on earth I only lost by 38 points playing this poorly. I have to wonder how differently this game turns out if I find DECISIVE?
|
