Vegas report (Day 3)
See Day 1 here.
See Day 2 here.
Day 3
Due to the time constraint of an 8:45 start on day 3, in addition to my not being able to rise until 7:30, I decided to take advantage of the $6 Club Palms breakfast buffet. (That price was only available if I paid with cash, so due to my dwindling cash reserves I had not wanted to take advantage of the buffet too much.) There was a lot of food available, but it wasn't spectacular, and I thought it prudent to leave my plate half-full before the tournament. I had eggs, sausage and some cheese crepes with strawberry, the last of which was better in theory than in practice, although quite acceptable.
At this point I was still vaguely in contention for something - probably not the top prize, but perhaps the second-place prize of… some equipment. Unfortunately my chances were quickly scuppered.
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Morning
Game 17: Chris Lipe (N: 1812 W: 1913)
I start out missing an overlap - ZEST making ST. I mess up the next turn a bit too - apparently KEST is a better leave than I thought, especially compared to SUET. I play the next several turns almost perfectly, but it’s not enough, as Chris goes on a scoring rampage. My only major mistake is in the pre-endgame, where Quackle wants me to take a flier on NEINEI#, opening the triple, rather than fish as it isn’t enough.
Equity lost: 39
Record: 9-8
Game 18: Marty Gabriel (N: 1898 W: 1881)
Apparently OPE is wrong from EEILNOP. Okay then. (LOIPE# is right.) I make the right choice to sacrifice a few points placing STERNLY for defensive purposes. Marty bingos back with LORDl(I)NG to retake the lead. No more bingos, and I play the entire game pretty well until the pre-endgame, when I cash in a (H)EXACTS spot with LaH for 34, hoping to outscore. This blocks many bingos, but is a 39-point mistake. The correct play is EH, retaining LION?; even if Marty bingos with something like DOGEARS, I will usually bingo back and win because the unseen pool is so good. As it is, he finds SARG(E)/(LORDlING)S/(YA)R/(U)G after missing it the first time to beat me by a few. I recapture a bit of equity by getting away with FUZEED* in the endgame, again because an unsuccessful +10 would have stolen the game.
Equity lost: 46
Record: 9-9
Game 19: Nathan Benedict (N: 2033 W: 1979)
I played well in my first few turns (although I could have played LEVERAGE instead of GRAVELED for 4 more.) Quackle thinks opening with FROG was a mistake compared to a more defensive OF, and it did give him the space for A(G)ENESIA. I fish to LINER instead of OILER, sacrificing nine points, which I apparently shouldn’t have done. Later on I missed UNILI(N)E(A)R. That is where most of this equity loss comes from. I don’t feel too bad about that miss, though.
Equity lost: 109
Record: 9-10
Game 20: Michael Quao (N: n/a W: 1847)
Maybe Michael hadn’t been studying the new words, as he challenged my first move, GREX. (Erm, actually, it's not new... never mind.) That left GS? And I binged the next turn for fOG(G)IEST before drawing TOURIST out of the bag, and finding the 3-overlap spot to play it in. Then he lost a turn with ENDO(S)INE* and I went up 249-67. I saw THIBLE# 38 but passed it up for HILT and better leave/defense; Quackle mildly disagrees. Michael plays a nice BLINNED# opening a dangerous spot; I bingo on the other side of the board with BOURREE. He can’t really take advantage and I go up by so much that I start sacrificing serious points to shut the board down, which Quackle hates, but which works. I end up Q-sticking him and winning.
Equity lost: 73
Record: 10-10
Session total: 267 (67/game)
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Afternoon
Game 21: Jenny Brysha (N: 1187 W: 1246)
On my second turn I chicken out on GALLOPE(R). Bad. This is another game where I shut down the board late despite Quackle’s dictates, but unlike against Michael it doesn’t lead to lost spread, as Jenny gets quite frustrated and does little after her early bingo. Among my notable late misses are (OI)L(BI)RD.
Equity lost: 110
Record: 11-10
Game 22: Bye
I didn’t lose any equity in this game. Phew.
Game 23: Sanmi Odelana (N: 1319 W: 1559)
I open with VEILIER#, which Sanmi challenges, but responds to with ANAlYS(E)D. Soon he tries NUCLEA(R)S*, but I fail to find the blocks for all the bingos, instead going with ROLL(E)R hoping he misses CENSUAL. He does miss it, and I bingo with OVAtIONS, eschewing an inferior AVOISION#. Later he gives some equity back by challenging PEL# -- he must not have reviewed the new words either. I miss PUNA, and, uh, (A)W(L)WORT. I set up a huge O(BANG) spot holding the O, but he blocks it - perhaps unintentionally. My attempts to block late are foiled as he bingos with MOISTED# hooking in three places, but it’s not enough.
Equity lost: 57
Record: 12-10
In session: 167 (83/game)
Cumulative: 1432 (65/game)
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Chris mentions that a group is supposed to go out for sushi in the evening and promises to call me, but they end up leaving both of us in the lurch. I suggest an Italian place near Thai Spice called Pasta Mia West (apparently the East version is a few miles down the road, in a more suburban area.) The food is a bit expensive given that I've been scrimping a bit on the trip -- my share was about $28. But it was really good, and worth it.
The next day I took a taxi to the airport, played some mediocre ISC games and left, flying through Midway. I still don't understand why Midway lacks free wifi. Such BS, its a great airport otherwise (and I got to eat at Potbelly again! Yay Potbelly.) And then I flew home. Not much to say about the process.
---
Overall, I'm... not unsatisfied with this tournament. Given my skill level and the amount of preparation I put in, I finished as expected. A few games I could have stolen with slightly better play; a few others I could have blown but didn't. I missed few bingos, but made many strategic, pre-endgame and endgame errors. I could fix this by playing Quackle a lot, but I don't know if I have the patience. Or I could play human beings in longer games who are willing to analyze, but I haven't found many of those outside of tournaments. If anyone does want to play some CSW, though, I'm volucris on ISC. And I'll try to be on, if I'm not on apterous or jumbletime or aerolith or... Well, I'll try to be on, at any rate. Cheers.
See Day 2 here.
Day 3
Due to the time constraint of an 8:45 start on day 3, in addition to my not being able to rise until 7:30, I decided to take advantage of the $6 Club Palms breakfast buffet. (That price was only available if I paid with cash, so due to my dwindling cash reserves I had not wanted to take advantage of the buffet too much.) There was a lot of food available, but it wasn't spectacular, and I thought it prudent to leave my plate half-full before the tournament. I had eggs, sausage and some cheese crepes with strawberry, the last of which was better in theory than in practice, although quite acceptable.
At this point I was still vaguely in contention for something - probably not the top prize, but perhaps the second-place prize of… some equipment. Unfortunately my chances were quickly scuppered.
---
Morning
Game 17: Chris Lipe (N: 1812 W: 1913)
I start out missing an overlap - ZEST making ST. I mess up the next turn a bit too - apparently KEST is a better leave than I thought, especially compared to SUET. I play the next several turns almost perfectly, but it’s not enough, as Chris goes on a scoring rampage. My only major mistake is in the pre-endgame, where Quackle wants me to take a flier on NEINEI#, opening the triple, rather than fish as it isn’t enough.
Equity lost: 39
Record: 9-8
Game 18: Marty Gabriel (N: 1898 W: 1881)
Apparently OPE is wrong from EEILNOP. Okay then. (LOIPE# is right.) I make the right choice to sacrifice a few points placing STERNLY for defensive purposes. Marty bingos back with LORDl(I)NG to retake the lead. No more bingos, and I play the entire game pretty well until the pre-endgame, when I cash in a (H)EXACTS spot with LaH for 34, hoping to outscore. This blocks many bingos, but is a 39-point mistake. The correct play is EH, retaining LION?; even if Marty bingos with something like DOGEARS, I will usually bingo back and win because the unseen pool is so good. As it is, he finds SARG(E)/(LORDlING)S/(YA)R/(U)G after missing it the first time to beat me by a few. I recapture a bit of equity by getting away with FUZEED* in the endgame, again because an unsuccessful +10 would have stolen the game.
Equity lost: 46
Record: 9-9
Game 19: Nathan Benedict (N: 2033 W: 1979)
I played well in my first few turns (although I could have played LEVERAGE instead of GRAVELED for 4 more.) Quackle thinks opening with FROG was a mistake compared to a more defensive OF, and it did give him the space for A(G)ENESIA. I fish to LINER instead of OILER, sacrificing nine points, which I apparently shouldn’t have done. Later on I missed UNILI(N)E(A)R. That is where most of this equity loss comes from. I don’t feel too bad about that miss, though.
Equity lost: 109
Record: 9-10
Game 20: Michael Quao (N: n/a W: 1847)
Maybe Michael hadn’t been studying the new words, as he challenged my first move, GREX. (Erm, actually, it's not new... never mind.) That left GS? And I binged the next turn for fOG(G)IEST before drawing TOURIST out of the bag, and finding the 3-overlap spot to play it in. Then he lost a turn with ENDO(S)INE* and I went up 249-67. I saw THIBLE# 38 but passed it up for HILT and better leave/defense; Quackle mildly disagrees. Michael plays a nice BLINNED# opening a dangerous spot; I bingo on the other side of the board with BOURREE. He can’t really take advantage and I go up by so much that I start sacrificing serious points to shut the board down, which Quackle hates, but which works. I end up Q-sticking him and winning.
Equity lost: 73
Record: 10-10
Session total: 267 (67/game)
---
Afternoon
Game 21: Jenny Brysha (N: 1187 W: 1246)
On my second turn I chicken out on GALLOPE(R). Bad. This is another game where I shut down the board late despite Quackle’s dictates, but unlike against Michael it doesn’t lead to lost spread, as Jenny gets quite frustrated and does little after her early bingo. Among my notable late misses are (OI)L(BI)RD.
Equity lost: 110
Record: 11-10
Game 22: Bye
I didn’t lose any equity in this game. Phew.
Game 23: Sanmi Odelana (N: 1319 W: 1559)
I open with VEILIER#, which Sanmi challenges, but responds to with ANAlYS(E)D. Soon he tries NUCLEA(R)S*, but I fail to find the blocks for all the bingos, instead going with ROLL(E)R hoping he misses CENSUAL. He does miss it, and I bingo with OVAtIONS, eschewing an inferior AVOISION#. Later he gives some equity back by challenging PEL# -- he must not have reviewed the new words either. I miss PUNA, and, uh, (A)W(L)WORT. I set up a huge O(BANG) spot holding the O, but he blocks it - perhaps unintentionally. My attempts to block late are foiled as he bingos with MOISTED# hooking in three places, but it’s not enough.
Equity lost: 57
Record: 12-10
In session: 167 (83/game)
Cumulative: 1432 (65/game)
---
Chris mentions that a group is supposed to go out for sushi in the evening and promises to call me, but they end up leaving both of us in the lurch. I suggest an Italian place near Thai Spice called Pasta Mia West (apparently the East version is a few miles down the road, in a more suburban area.) The food is a bit expensive given that I've been scrimping a bit on the trip -- my share was about $28. But it was really good, and worth it.
The next day I took a taxi to the airport, played some mediocre ISC games and left, flying through Midway. I still don't understand why Midway lacks free wifi. Such BS, its a great airport otherwise (and I got to eat at Potbelly again! Yay Potbelly.) And then I flew home. Not much to say about the process.
---
Overall, I'm... not unsatisfied with this tournament. Given my skill level and the amount of preparation I put in, I finished as expected. A few games I could have stolen with slightly better play; a few others I could have blown but didn't. I missed few bingos, but made many strategic, pre-endgame and endgame errors. I could fix this by playing Quackle a lot, but I don't know if I have the patience. Or I could play human beings in longer games who are willing to analyze, but I haven't found many of those outside of tournaments. If anyone does want to play some CSW, though, I'm volucris on ISC. And I'll try to be on, if I'm not on apterous or jumbletime or aerolith or... Well, I'll try to be on, at any rate. Cheers.