| Player 1 |
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#player1 Joshua_Sokol Joshua Sokol
#player2 Castellano Castellano
>Joshua_Sokol: ?DGORST H7 GOD +10 10
#note A question I could have asked myself here is if I was confident on a closed board against Josh. Many of our games have resulted in a closed board and I think all of them have ended up in my favor, usually from a mistake on his part, which means if he doesn't make a mistake, I am not a favorite. Fortunately it is unlikely that he won't. So I'll go with GOD. Sorry Matt Graham.
>Castellano: AEIIKRT 9F KA.I +11 11
>Joshua_Sokol: ?AIRRST 10B TARRIeS +75 85
#note This play is actually pivotal for this game. You will see why later, but perhaps you already know why. I had no idea at this point in the game.
>Castellano: EILQRTZ C9 Z.IRE +48 59
>Joshua_Sokol: EFGHMNN 12A HE.M +26 111
#note it's either this, FERN or HERN. Perhaps FERN is slightly better, I really don't want two N's here, and 4 points doesn't seem like something that makes a difference. There's also the possibility of opening the board later with something like (R)IA E10 after HERM, but I really doubt that to be much of a factor at all. This seems like a small leave value mistake on my part.
>Castellano: BILNQTY 8G N.BLY +16 75
#note BIL(G)Y has to be right here
>Joshua_Sokol: CFGINNS 14A FISC +33 144
#note this was quite the draw. I can now close basically the entirety of the bottom half in one play. It isn't easy to reopen either. I don't think any other play is worth considering here, as there is simply no reason to not take the 33 points and the huge board control advantage.
>Castellano: ADIOQRT 15A AD +27 102
#note A12 (H)A(F)T looks a tad better
>Joshua_Sokol: ADEGLNN K3 DANGL. +22 166
#note Unfortunately this is an aspect of my strategy that I must work on. There is just no reason to play DANGL(Y) here and open up a plethora of possibilities for Josh. Not only scoring opportunities, not only bingo opportunities, but also just clarity on what to play. This makes his next turn so much easier than it needs to be. Although if I had seen D7 GNA(R), there would have been no issue here. That is clearly the right play. In hindsight I would exchange all 7 before making this play. At least the bottom is even more inaccessible after this.
>Castellano: EIOQRTT J2 QI +34 136
#note Yeah, I just completely saved his whole rack and turn.
>Joshua_Sokol: EEINOOU -ENOOUIE +0 166
#note 9A OU(Z)O is so much better than anything. Again blanking on what can be played with that Z. The E didn't seem worth keeping and neither did the N, but perhaps I should keep an I here instead. But of course OUZO.
>Castellano: EIORTTT 7K .OT +4 140
#note looks as good as anything
>Joshua_Sokol: LNNOOUV 6K .NU +8 174
#note time to "paranoid" block. I just have no idea what his range is here, I was quite afraid he could still bingo after this, since LOTA and LOTI are possibilities. But this play is much better than it looks at first, since if I draw an I I have VOL(UT)ION and I might even draw EVOL(UT)ION! Yet my leave seemed terrible here.
>Castellano: DEIORTT 3G IOD.. +10 150
#note well, I blocked something. Josh really wanted to open here. This is the first opportunity to make a sneaky opening... More on that later.
>Joshua_Sokol: LLNNOOV 2E LOON +10 184
#note OV(O)LO is clear as crystal but I missed it...
>Castellano: ?AERTTU M5 T..U +4 154
#note missing AbUTTER and sTATURE. Damn...
>Joshua_Sokol: ELMNUVV -ELNUVV +0 184
#note looks like the right exchange. I think I need to exchange to better respond to Josh's plays.
>Castellano: ?AEEERT E2 .EE +3 157
#note 12A (HERM)AE looks good. Maybe even (HERM)A
>Joshua_Sokol: AIMNSTY H1 A..MY +39 223
>Castellano: ?AEERTW N8 TARWEEd +74 231
#note hmm, other bingos look a bit better.
>Joshua_Sokol: AIINOST O8 AI +17 240
#note the problem with keeping four 1-pointers. I don't know if I should have left O8 open given that I am no longer in the lead and would rather have as many lanes open as possible. Again this begs the question if I am confident on a closed board against Josh, even with a slight deficit. I think the answer remains a yes.
>Castellano: ABJOPRR M13 RAJ +25 256
#note good play
>Joshua_Sokol: INOSTUW L4 WI.. +27 267
#note hmm, not sure about this, but what else is there? If only I had prepared my plan one turn earlier. WIST or WOST are also premiere choices here. Unsure as to why I didn't play either of them. Perhaps my S is worth keeping here.
>Castellano: BEGOPRV O13 BOG +25 281
#note BOP looks better. The G isn't too bad here. PROVE and BEVOR at D4 look good too. Josh was running out of time.
>Joshua_Sokol: EINOSTU I7 O..T +18 285
#note Given his time trouble, I thought it very strong to finally see/make the sneaky setup. Even though there is still an S out, I am very doubtful Josh will see it. Underscored by one, I was nervous :)
>Castellano: ELPPRVX D4 PLEX +34 315
#note 5D PREX(Y)
>Joshua_Sokol: EHINOSU E6 HUE +20 305
#note I.... didn't alphabetize......
Soon I will be a good player and not miss HEINOUS for one-hundred points.
>Castellano: EEFPRVV N3 VEE +10 325
#note He chickened out of VERVE. That is the play, although I may still pull off the win if I have a bingo. He still doesn't see S(TARRIEST)
>Joshua_Sokol: AEINOSS I3 .O +7 312
#note I felt here that he had not seen the hook and would not, and he had barely a minute left. I therefore decided that I needed every point I could get so as to win without a bingo, and that I might not win if I took the safer option, B10 (T)O(E), which eliminates the possibility of him blocking STARRIEST with U(H)
>Castellano: CEFNPRV 11K CRE. +18 343
>Joshua_Sokol: AEINSSU 11E ES +15 327
#note I should just take UNAIS I guess.
>Castellano: FNPTV 1G P.N +10 353
>Joshua_Sokol: AINSU A6 UNAIS +23 350
#note wow
>Joshua_Sokol: (FTV) +18 368
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