| Player 1 |
|
#character-encoding UTF-8
#player1 JR Joe Roberdeau
#player2 JJB John J. Bulten
>JR: EGHIIIT -GHIII +0 0
#note ~0:30 [~24:30] (eight 8f 18 +3.9) While JJB can secure first place with a win, both JR and Paul Mulik are one game behind and anxious to claim first or second too (JR would need over 200 spread this game to take first place). JR yields up his first-move advantage upon seeing three Is, though Quackle's first-move calculations favor playing eight for 18 without a premium (trading to EHT and playing at 8d come next).
>JJB: CEEIJXY H6 EXEC +26 26
#note 1:21 [23:39] JJB remembers to play vertically and finds the straightforward clearance of this power rack.
>JR: EELTUUW I5 ULU +16 16
#note ~0:30 [24:00] JR takes the best of several options that preclude trading again; among them, the extension execute 17.
>JJB: HIIJKMY J5 HM +29 55
#note 1:06 [22:33] (kimchi 9e 24 +1.7) JJB would surely have preferred kimchi if he had seen it, but grabs the points with a severely blocky move.
>JR: EEFITTW -EFITW +0 16
#note 1:13 [22:47] (twice 9e 12 +10.3) The blockage has an effect as the only plays better than trading are the non-premium rows 8 and 9. Twice 12 has a nice positive balance and turnover and clearly leads the pack over alternatives like twee and etwee.
>JJB: EIIJKQY 9G I.K +15 70
#note 1:25 [21:08] (icky 9g 19 +3.5) JJB reasons that the Y might still have retroactive value, but with this much imbalanced power it doesn't: cash it now. Oddly, EJKY has enough synergy that trading to that is rated better than ick too.
>JR: EEELTTU F6 ELUTE +19 35
#note 0:36 [22:11] With either ick or icky, JR has an easy hook decision; tutee and execute are also good.
>JJB: EIJQSWY 11D QIS +30 100
#note 1:25 [19:43] JJB continues padding his lead and finally can use the S to dispose of the Q optimally.
>JR: AAEFINT D11 .AT +24 59
#note 0:19 [21:52] (naif 12b 41 +19.0) Holding the I, JR has the opportunity to go parallel to JJB's opening and cash his F with naif 41, fain, if, neif, or fin, all top plays. While he is intentionally playing faster, it's important also to take enough time to see hotspots like this.
>JJB: EEGJLWY 4E JEWEL +20 120
#note 1:16 [18:27] (yew c12 27 +6.4) JJB also neglects a parallel that would allow good clearance even without playing the J. He is desirous for turnover though (also available with elegy/ye 23) and cashes the J cheaply. With power draws like this he is not in need of a bingo, so he starts closing down and trying to burn up the bag.
>JR: AAEFOOP 5C APO +28 87
#note 0:37 [21:15] (pooja e1 28 +5.5) This hotspot is too obviously directed for JR to pass up. Working with the 5-6-letter JQXZ words would allow one to spot pooja as well and clear one more vowel off.
>JJB: GIIMTWY 13B WI.TY +22 142
#note 1:18 [17:09] (wite 6c 26 +3.4) Again seeking turnover, JJB neglects two hotspots, the row 6 underlap and wyte on the column H triple.
>JR: AEFIOOR 3F FOO +20 107
#note 0:43 [20:32] (oof 14a 27 +7) Another right idea without complete development: the leave is excellent but the points at 14a are more to be sought.
>JJB: GGIMOSY K6 YOGISM +33 175
#note 0:48 [16:21] (smoggy j9 38 +5.8; isogamy c1 34 +1) Trying to conserve time, JJB idly considers isogamy but doesn't realize it's one point ahead of his preference with the same tiles; nor does he see the two triples well-covered by smoggy/ticks.
>JR: AAEHILR 10I AH. +20 127
#note 1:39 [18:53] (halwa b10 38 +9.7) While the triple-letter does give JR his desired leave, there's one available that connects to a double-word in a standard high-score combo, making 38 for spotting halwa.
>JJB: AEGGNTT A8 TAGGET +39 214
#note 1:05 [15:16] Regarding JR's last few plays as weak, JJB goes for a big risk with two questionable sixes that both turn out to be phony. (But where better than a Branson tourney to honor Conway Twitty?) The word he was thinking of was taggant, which actually plays at c1 for 20. The safe play would be gate 6c 22 with triple underlap hitting the J, but that is 12.8 behind a successful phony. Pushing himself past the bingo recovery zone seems more important than the risk of getting stuck with this rack against a challenge and a strong bingo in response.
>JR: AELRSSU J10 .ULAS +14 141
#note 3:20 [15:33] (challenge +39, us 12j 15 +9.9) JR has his own non-bingo rack to worry about. Right now pluralizing yogisms is the best play on the board, but he uses more synergy tiles to get almost the same score. It shouldn't matter much as long as he draws a bingo soon!
>JJB: ADNNORT 8K .RAND +24 238
#note 1:15 [14:01] (donate 6a 25 +3.0) Row 6 is still better for dumping middling near-bingo tiles.
>JR: ADEORRS N2 READOR.S +72 213
#note 1:50 [13:43] (drosera 2h 74 +2) JR finally draws the bingo, playing the second-best option, and is now ready to dig in to overtake the rest of the lead with both blanks unseen.
>JJB: BFINORT 13I B.RFI +26 264
#note 1:24 [12:37] (fob m1 26 +6.8) JJB makes a half-hearted attempt to shut down further bingo lines and keep an arm's-length lead. Better balancers are fob or forb in various places, or orbit m2 29!
>JR: ?DINNPV 4M N.V +10 223
#note 2:15 [11:28] (viand c3 22 +8.9) Playing off four tiles is better for upfront score (viand, divan, vined, pavin).
>JJB: EEINNOT O2 EN.OI +17 281
#note 1:45 [10:52] (eon 12l 18 +4.1) JJB now is tempted once again to turn over tiles to a good rack rather than shutting down the board with eon 12l (also better score and leave). There's also the perverse R hook with two Rs in the bag, which he is hoping will not occur to JR.
>JR: ?DIINPZ E10 P.N. +12 235
#note 3:33 [7:55] (diazin c3 34 +22.5) Now it should be time to score the Z, which can be done for 24-34 points many ways. Even though column O remains open, diazin 34 claims the points early, but is only around 20% win chances in simulation due to blocking columns B and C. Directing a hook like zip c12 25 rates over 35%.
>JJB: ?AEEINT 14H mI.EATEN +77 358
#note 0:33 [10:19] JJB pulls the other blank, is able to review the lists, and finds an impressive underlap. Yet he should be wise to the fact that despite the 133-point gap, the Z and other blank remain unseen! The bingo is the only play that scores 100% in simulation, but its margin of victory is by no means high as it has strong negative valuation against power racks. It's one case where guaranteeing the win is actually opposed to seeking the highest spread even if it means risking the game; and different tourney results might dictate different approaches in this case (bingo or not bingo)!
>JR: ?DDEIIZ 15B DIaZIDE +104 339
#note 3:10 [4:45] (dizzied 15c 113 +9) JR thinks extensively and runs with a bamdinger of a bingo, but one which happens to be phony. Dizzied and iodized are the good plays. Meanwhile, a phony is dependent on one's opponent's response!
>JJB: ABCNORV C2 VOC.B +24 382
#note 1:58 [8:21] (challenge, corban 15d 47, dizens o10 75, arvo 9a 11+6 +86) And JR has presented his opponent with a can't-challenge situation. JJB holds and shortly sees iodized was available, but if there's any risk at all of JR's play actually being valid then JJB could lose the game with a challenge. So it's a bold play to take back spread and perhaps the game (though a win was not available in simulation). JJB's proper path is to be very sure of his Z sevens, to challenge, and then to use his knowledge of the bag to play nine tiles in two turns, presumably with carbon/corban (opponent would rather play dizens/dezinc than block further) and then arvo 9a/c5; this loses only 11 on the whole sequence. If he does not challenge (allowing the whole 104), he can only do something like bravo 29, with opponent preferring renvoi 27 rather than going out, resulting in can 5+2, net loss of 95. With the choice of vocab 24 here (2h is preferable!), the net loss with renvoi 27, ran 8+2 is 97. JJB has had such a lead, and has not lost much due to JR's superior blank placement, that he's not in doubt of losing; but his big spread has evaporated.
>JR: OR 6A RO. +7 346
#note 1:32 [3:13] (renvoi o1 27, ran 2h 8+2 +4) JR admitted that renvoi did not occur to him, but this is one of those cases where going out is not the best play. In general if you can get 10-15 more for not going out than any outplay, it's best to do the math and see if all other plays, including opponent's, are minor enough that the big strike is worth letting opponent go out.
>JR: (ANR) +6 352
#note So JJB clinches the tournament with a final-game spread of only 30 after hopes that it would be over 100. Both players get away with phonies, but JR to superior effect. While JJB played strongly during the main game to secure and hold his lead, and while giving back a spot for a 100-point bingo was not a problem, allowing a phony in the end was the biggest issue of the whole game. Known points available: JR 61, JJB 87. Overall points available: JJB 120.7, JR 150.7.
|
