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#player1 Geoff_Thevenot Geoff Thevenot
#player2 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
>Geoff_Thevenot: AEIRU 8D URAEI +12 12
>Jim_Burlant: ADEELNO E8 .ELOANED +68 68
#note The only bingoes are OLEANDER E1 and this. Both score identically, but if I have to slot the 3x3, the least I can do is avoid placing the vowel at E1. Q agrees - this is best. For reference, OLEANDER wins 1% less frequently and evaluates a little more than 2 points down.
>Geoff_Thevenot: HOOY 14B HOO.Y +38 50
>Jim_Burlant: EFIMSTY 15A FEY +37 105
#note It's either this for 37 or DEFY 15E for 38. I chose this because I thought it would be microscopically harder for him to play from 15E instead of at 15A, so I didn't mind giving up the one point on the scoreboard to do so. Q says DEFY is clearly better. I'm okay with this.
>Geoff_Thevenot: EIOX 15E .OXIE +44 94
>Jim_Burlant: AIMSSTU 13A UTS +24 129
#note Post-mortem I told Geoff that, unless I whiffed on something on this rack, there wasn't anything I could do about this game. Well, my gut was on target. I recognized STADIUMS and TSUNAMIS as potential 8's which didn't play. I even looked for -ISM words and still whiffed on the playable bingo. If you strike out like I did this is the best of the rest. But I really needed to find AUTISMS (which would have scored 81 at J9) here.
>Geoff_Thevenot: AGIINPR 7G PAIRING +75 169
>Jim_Burlant: AIKMNSS M1 MASKIN.S +80 209
#note You gotta know it to play it. KAMSINS (I'd seen KAMSEEN, not KAMSIN) plays at 14H for 96. When I put this down, I wasn't entirely sure MASKING took the S. However, I needed a strong comeback, and one other factor pushed me to pull the trigger on this. Geoff mostly plays Collins these days, and a lot of -ING words that don't take the S in OWL do take it in Collins. I figured he might either confuse the dictionary or wouldn't be sure enough to challenge. He held this, but let it go. Lucky guess on my end - it's good. 61% to win.
>Geoff_Thevenot: LOOPU 4J LOO.UP +30 199
>Jim_Burlant: ?GHRSVW 2L V.W +18 227
#note At the time I saw this, I saw that I could unload my two most negative constants and make sure that he didn't have a free run at the O column, so I settled for this. While nothing really scores well here, Q suggests I was being a little too protective of my R. With this many consonants in the rack I need to clear it out a little better. Q indicates VROW K2 for 20 is a hair better to unload the third consonant. Still in good shape at just shy of 75% to win.
>Geoff_Thevenot: ADEIRU L6 U.AIRED +23 222
>Jim_Burlant: ?AGHQRS I6 Q. +11 238
#note A Q-dump is in order, but where? I ruled out H14 because, possessing a blank, I didn't want to kill my easiest line. I considered 9K QI but didn't like giving him easy points if he had ADI in his rack, which left this. The duck thinks 9K QI is best - not sure I agree with that. I'm fine with this, even if the duck isn't.
>Geoff_Thevenot: ?EEIORT O4 .OETIzER +77 299
>Jim_Burlant: ?AAGHRS 14I HAnGARS +79 317
#note I finally get one right. I was going to play at 14H, but his bingo changed that. Now that this doesn't open a 3x3 possibility, this placement prevents all sorts of easy points at 15L. This is best - 50% to win.
>Geoff_Thevenot: ABDINTZ 11I ZIB.T +32 331
#note Geoff's rack. He initially thought he had BOTANIZED on row 11 until he realized it didn't fit. I was hoping he'd leave row 11 alone...no dice. While D10 ADZ would have scored 53, this play's blocking row 11 bingoes was still enough to do me in.
>Jim_Burlant: ACDLORT 1M .OC +26 343
#note Now that DOCTORAL 11A was blocked, there's not much else to do. This or the impressive 12D CARLOAD for 36 is best. Either play is as good as the other in Quackle's eyes. Given his next rack, what I put down here didn't matter:
>Geoff_Thevenot: ACDEENT 3E ENACTED +67 398
#note And that should just about do it.
>Jim_Burlant: ADJLNRT J9 DJ.N +28 371
#note Q says I should keep the D - maybe so I can front-hook JIN on the next turn? Whatever, this rack sealed my fate as I needed a bingo this turn if I was going to have a chance. Ostensibly K6 JILT wins 22% and this wins 17-1/2, but that's a smokescreen.
>Geoff_Thevenot: EFIW 4C WIFE +27 425
>Jim_Burlant: ABLRTTV H1 VA. +24 395
#note Best to end this quickly would have been ABVOLT 11B to dump the rack and leave myself outs all over the place. I never recognized it.
>Geoff_Thevenot: EGLMN 9E .NG +16 441
>Jim_Burlant: BLRTT K6 B.T +13 408
#note What we'll never know: if I find AUTISMS, do the points on my side of the scoreboard come out in the wash with the game still breaking the wrong way late? Or does it completely change the ebb and flow and do I win the game? While missing AUTISMS was enough to deservedly cost me the game, that and - maybe - VROW instead of VAW are about the only things I could improve on re: what I expect from myself. Within the limitations of what I know and have studied, this was about as good of an effort as I could put out. A better player than me might have beaten Geoff, but this one was beyond my skill set.
>Geoff_Thevenot: ELM 10B MEL. +12 453
>Geoff_Thevenot: (LRT) +6 459
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