| Player 1 |
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#player1 Carl Carl
#player2 Opp Opp
>Carl: AAEEILO -AEIO +0 0
#note You should pretty much always exchange this kind of rack on the opening move. AEL is the best combination to keep here.
>Opp: ?AIOSWX 8G WAX +26 26
>Carl: ADELLRT 7F RATEL +25 25
#note This was a tough decision. At the time, I preferred this over LATED, which can be hooked to form ALATED, ELATED, PLATED, and SLATED. I also prefer keeping DL over LR. RATEL could be troublesome positionally. Opponent is likely to play at 6G, which will put me down a tempo on a tight board. This favors LATED because it keeps two spots open, one for me, one for my opponent. Quackle considers LA 7H, which isn't as easy to play parallel to, and is much closer to a bingo than my play. Finally, someone like Kenji could reasonably deduce my remaining two letters after an play like RATEL (two low-scoring consonants, including at least one duplicate). I am definitely open to suggestions here.
>Opp: ?DINOSW K5 DISOWNs +96 122
#note A worst-case scenario.
>Carl: DEJLOQR J2 JOLE +30 55
>Opp: AACELNR 6E LACER +34 156
>Carl: ADOQRTV 5D QAT +31 86
#note I'm not crazy about shutting down the board at this score, but sometimes you have to.
>Opp: ANNOPYY L8 YO +23 179
>Carl: ADOORUV 3I V.DOU +26 112
#note Another play that is forced by my poor tiles. VODOUN 10F is awful because it severely restricts the board. If the scores were reversed, however, it would be correct.
>Opp: AKNNPSY M9 KNAPS +47 226
#note Or SNAKY N2.
>Carl: ADGORRT L1 GR.T +14 126
#note I couldn't decide between GROT or GOOD. Quackle likes them about equally, and so does Elise. One benefit to GOOD is that I can draw TRANQ. ARRT isn't that bad of a leave with a lot of Es left to be drawn.
>Opp: EFGNPYZ 13J GYP. +10 236
>Carl: ADHOORU L12 O.AH +34 160
#note Favoring this placement because if he plays a word ending in H, it may open the board, whereas if I slated the H in Column O instead, a play ending in H closes ithe board. Sometimes little things like this make all the difference.
>Opp: DEFLNTZ 15L .EFT +30 266
>Carl: DEIIORU 1L .UID +18 178
#note Quackle plays OI 14N. That can't possibly be right. I need to keep bingo options open, not close the board.
>Opp: DGHLMNZ -GHLZ +0 266
>Carl: EEINORS O8 ONERIES. +77 255
>Opp: ?DFLMNR N1 .F +10 276
#note This play is better than it looks. There are a lot of vowels left to be drawn, and every one of them hits a bingo. FETAL H5 does a little better overall, however, since he has two chances to draw a vowel.
>Carl: BEEENOT N8 BEE +28 283
>Opp: ?DILMNR 11D DRuMLIN. +68 344
>Carl: EEMNOTV H10 E.EVON +30 313
#note Quackle plays any of MOVE, VETO, or VOTE at 12A. I guess I like VETO the best of those options. I also like keeping the board relatively free of scoring options for my opponent. His best spot is 12A, which might allow me a big comeback. Elise chooses ELEVON. Suggestions?
>Opp: ACGIIUU D11 .UCI +14 358
#note Best! This takes out every bingo lane. I'm basically toast at this point.
>Carl: EIIIMNT 13B MI. +14 327
#note Quackle and Elise play IF N14 or MINI F15. In my view, these plays give the opponent too little credit. As they don't score much, they rely on the opponent generously opening a bingo lane for me, after we've just seen him make a great blocking play. MIC is proactive as it draws to ZEIN A12 for 74 points. Blocking with MICA costs him a tempo, there aren't many options through the M that don't also give back big plays. And if he has the case E for EMIC, oh well. I was going to lose anyway. Can you make a case for IF, MINI, or INTI? Do you see anything else?
>Opp: AABGISU D3 SU. +24 382
#note A fatal error. GAUMS B10 really hurts, as does BURSA E9.
>Carl: EHIINRT 3C I. +4 331
#note I love keeping 2 in the bag against an opponent who is in time trouble. He has scarce little time to figure out this pre-endgame. This fishing play has the additional advantage of hitting bingos on Column A or B 60% of the time (THERIAN, HAIRNET, NEITHER, THEREIN, INHERIT (B1 only), and my favorite: ZITHERN 9A for 124). My actual winning chances are less than 60%, however. If I draw an A for HAIRNET, then he will sometimes have AGATIZE 7A for 139 points. But that's a chance I must take to maximize win%.
>Opp: AABGITZ B3 BAIZA +41 423
>Carl: EEHINRT A8 NEITHER +100 431
#note It's always gratifying to win A) without drawing either blank, and B) after trailing for the entire game. A 100-point out-bingo is always welcome too.
>Carl: (AGOT) +10 441
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