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#player1 Wayne_Barclay Wayne Barclay
#player2 Joshua_Sokol Joshua Sokol
>Wayne_Barclay: ACEHRTY 8D YACHTER +88 88
#note Superstition was really settling in preceding this game. Lots of things happened that made me lose my focus and my OCD was kicking in. I did not feel the right energies going into this game. But I took my time to prepare, wrote down the names on the scoresheet very neatly, only to realize that I had them reversed!!!! This is never a good sign for me, and I often lose games when I make a mistake on the scoresheet. It really takes me off my game.
So when Wayne drew, I figured he was going to get a bingo on his first rack. He took a minute or two and laid down YACHT, weakly adding the ER as if unsure of the word, or as if he couldn't believe that he had this kind of first turn shazam against me. I caught on to his hesitation, and in a prophetic do-or-die manner, I instachallenged. I wrote down the alphagram while he was scoring the play and it looked slightly familiar, but not familiar enough that I could risk the game on letting this word go. After all I was in very bad shape even if it stayed on. Although I had predicted he would open with a bingo, I tried to escape my fate, which was to lose this game.
>Joshua_Sokol: ADDEHII - +0 0
#note He's honestly a 4-1 favorite here after my best play, and that's a generosity.
>Wayne_Barclay: EX 9H EX +36 124
>Joshua_Sokol: ADDEHII 7H AHED +34 34
#note maybe I need to do something like DIA(C)ID to blow the board as open as I can. I feel like unless my opponent makes a series of big blunders, I will not win this game with optimal play. I have to make another blunder to give myself a chance to steal this one away. That's what I believe from my 1000 tournament-game experience. Quackle says go straight for an unlikely 7 with 7H AH for 5 less. It gives less back and I can actually afford to lose another turn to a low-scoring play if I miss, since the board is bereft of scoring opportunities.
>Wayne_Barclay: GIP 6J PIG +26 150
>Joshua_Sokol: ?BDEIIT D1 DEBIlIT. +80 114
#note I was not happy here. It was like Karma herself was laughing at my behest. I felt bewildered at the concept of winning this game, disgusted at the concept of a victory. Perhaps triumph itself had no opinion of me, no care in the world exacted toward the predetermined direction of the game we were playing.
>Wayne_Barclay: AY - +0 150
#note And even worse, Wayne challenged my play. If a word could better describe my feeling preceding this game, DEBILITY would have to have been removed from the dictionary. And now, I was mostly furious at the prospect that I could win this game if I tried.
>Joshua_Sokol: EEJNNOU 1A JEE. +36 150
#note This rack was also so frustrating, because I was a slave to my next draw. Was this just teasing at the notion of victory? Would Wayne just blow me out of the water after this play, leaving a path of destruction along the way? The unknown was asphyxiating.
>Wayne_Barclay: AY 5J AY +30 180
>Joshua_Sokol: AELNNOU 3B UN.ALE +18 168
#note Thought he was weaker than average, so chose this over 2A ON or other plays keeping weaker leaves.
>Wayne_Barclay: DOU H1 OUD +22 202
#note gave him a spot to unload tho
>Joshua_Sokol: NOQRRRS -NOQRR +0 168
#note didn't like the O here.
>Wayne_Barclay: S 8D .......S +24 226
#note oh come on why does this have to be so hard...
>Joshua_Sokol: ?AMRSSW G7 A.S +29 197
#note And now I draw the blank and 2 case eses, and I'm almost certain he has the last S. I think I have to prevent bingos ending in S here and play some bingo defense when behind. I can still hit a lot of 8s and even some 7s, and Wayne is not in good shape if he continues to fish. Even if he hits an unlikely bingo, I can keep scoring my way back into the game. I think this was a good play.
>Wayne_Barclay: CTU - +0 226
#note And Wayne challenges AAHED and AHS! wow.
>Joshua_Sokol: ?MMRRSW 1G W.RM +9 206
#note not the draw I was hoping for, but I'm still in good shape. I might hit a big play at 2J but I'm also likely to hit a bingo.
>Wayne_Barclay: CTU 5B CU.T +10 236
>Joshua_Sokol: ?MPRSTW J1 .M +12 218
#note Now I was too chicken to play B5 (C)WM, but he's more likely to hit a bingo from the C than he is to hit one starting in a vowel. He seems sort of consonant-heavy, right? This was probably a glaring error, but slowplaying might work very well here. PROWEST and POSTWAR with OAE draws. And CROWSTEP, what a cool word.
>Wayne_Barclay: DO 6F OD +13 249
>Joshua_Sokol: ?NPRSTW E8 .PT +5 223
#note Just totally confused at this point. Hoping he tries APTS* after losing two challenges. Not playing AWN in the same spot, 2C R(E)P is fine, or I can exchange again.
>Wayne_Barclay: AEGNRST M6 STRANGE +67 316
>Joshua_Sokol: ?FNRSUW 13K FUR +30 253
#note FU draw.
>Wayne_Barclay: EILOV 12G VOILE +14 330
>Joshua_Sokol: ?GIKNSW H11 G.WKS +39 292
#note Wayne drew like IIOOO after VOILE apparently. I forgot that WAKINGS was added, but I knew it wasn't a good play here. I also considered G(O)WK, but he blocks that too often with like IN/KI, leaving only one spot to play marginal 60-point bingos.
>Wayne_Barclay: IIIII -IIIII +0 330
#note wow
>Joshua_Sokol: ?BEINRZ 8M .EZ +36 328
#note And as I thought there was a bingo in here, my time started worrying me and I had to sacrifice the idea of 107 points for this play.
>Wayne_Barclay: AORV D10 ARVO +16 346
>Joshua_Sokol: ?ABIINT 15H .IBIlANT +77 405
#note please just let this game be over. I spotted something and played it. What a ridiculous turnaround. ANTIBIAS and INHABITS score 3 more but are worse positionally. I still didn't see them.
>Wayne_Barclay: IR 11K RI. +20 366
>Joshua_Sokol: AEEFIOO O6 OO.E +13 418
#note Two spots for the Q, nothing to worry about. O13 QA(T) and 10C Q(AT). Champ says 5G OI for whatever reason.
>Wayne_Barclay: ILLNNOQ 10C Q.. +12 378
#note missing B5 (C)INQ banking 8 more points in this completely pointless endgame.
>Joshua_Sokol: AEFINO 2J .ONIE +14 432
#note -3 5G OF
>Wayne_Barclay: ILLNNO 11A NOI. +15 393
#note that's because of 1L ION to block FA, and M1 plays. This is 6 points worse, making MONIE 3 possibly points better than the optimal alternative.
>Joshua_Sokol: AF 1N FA +20 452
>Joshua_Sokol: (LLN) +6 458
#note Disgusting.
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