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#player1 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
#player2 Rafi_Stern Rafi Stern
>Jim_Burlant: AEIIOPT -IIO +0 0
#note I rushed this; I only saw short plays like POI and TOPI that left me vowel overloaded, and I never shuffled tiles to take the find what should have been the obvious OPIATE 8C. Having said all that, this wound up being the best play I could have made for this game.
>Rafi_Stern: CIORU 8D CURIO +20 20
>Jim_Burlant: AEFOPST F6 FO.EPAST +77 77
#note I saw POSTFACE for 80 but I was 50/50 that he would swat it off, so I took this for the guaranteed 77.
>Rafi_Stern: GGIKNO E1 GINGKO +29 49
>Jim_Burlant: EIMORST 1C ER.OTISM +86 163
#note Luck box! I finally get a play right. This is best.
>Rafi_Stern: AEMNNR 2J MANNER +40 89
>Jim_Burlant: ?ADOTTY O1 T.OY +33 196
#note Spent a while on this but couldn't find anything, and a check of Zyzzyva shows why: this collection of tiles doesn't make any 8-letter word with any letter of the alphabet. Hence, this. It's best. TRAY and ARTY are also acceptable choices because the pool contains 6A's as opposed to 3 O's.
>Rafi_Stern: EILNRV 11E R.VELIN +40 129
>Jim_Burlant: ?ADEPTU L1 U.PArTED +76 272
#note Or UNTAPPED in the same location.
>Rafi_Stern: ?DEELTW M7 LEWDEsT +86 215
#note Best bingo for Rafi.
>Jim_Burlant: AILSVYZ 3C ZA.Y +32 304
#note I kinda suspected I missed something here. I had spent a couple of minutes trying unsuccessfully to figure out a way to defined the Q/X spot at 10J. Having struggled with time in some previous games I just told myself to move on once I saw this. Best looks to be VAINLY 3B. ZANILY 3C also looks good. This isn't awful, but it does have defensive liabilities as Rafi's next play illustrates:
>Rafi_Stern: ABDE 4B BAD.E +40 255
>Jim_Burlant: EIJLSUV 14B JIVES +50 354
>Jim_Burlant: EIJLSUV -- -50 304
#note And I now do my best to throw the game away. Like my mom is fond of saying, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. I mistakenly thought FOREPAST took the S and that I should take that out so as to eliminate bingo possibilities on row 14. Well, as found out the hard way, FOREPAST does NOT take the S. If only I hadn't gotten carried away with excitement...
>Rafi_Stern: IQ 10J QI +64 319
>Jim_Burlant: EIJLSUV 12A JUVIE. +50 354
#note With threats all over the board and Rafi just as likely to take out at least one if not both of them, putting the J in the triple line would be equally good insurance and that row 14 wasn't the main threat I had to address. If only I had thought of this on the previous turn. I'm still in good shape, but I've cost myself. I should have been at 90-some percent winning chances. Instead I'm down under 70 now. This is clearly best.
>Rafi_Stern: BEFOR H10 B.FORE +45 364
>Jim_Burlant: AEHLLNS A12 .ELL +33 387
#note This rack looks like it should bingo, but there are no bingoes in it; it does not make an 8 with any letter in the alphabet. This is best.
>Rafi_Stern: ACIO 8J CO..IA +27 391
>Jim_Burlant: AGHHINS C10 HA.ING +26 413
#note You gotta recognize it to play it. SHANGHAI (p > 25000, which means I've never studied it) plays down the O column for 66. Not knowing that, I still failed here. This felt like a mistake and it really was; after I clocked it, I realized that I should have played HAH G13 to prevent cheap X bombs at I 13. This mistake *should* have cost me the game.
>Rafi_Stern: OR M2 .OR +16 407
>Jim_Burlant: AHNSSTW N11 SHAWS +30 443
#note End game. For a change, I haven't burned my time to the nub and I have enough time to double check the tracking and see what he's up to. My obvious best play prior to his play of NOR would have been TH(r)AWS/(TROY)S for 30, and he's just blocked that as I expected him to. I had been planning to play HAW to atone for my HAVING misfire. But correct tracking showed he's set himself up to go out in 1 with ADIEUX N10, so blocking that was the first priority while setting myself up to go out in two. The best play here is slick and I never saw it: SNASH 12J blocks ADIEU just the same and wins by 12 more.
>Rafi_Stern: ADEIUX I13 XED +41 448
>Jim_Burlant: NT G7 N.T +11 454
>Jim_Burlant: (AIU) +6 460
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