Apparently the Border Patrol confiscated my A-Game (Vancouver tournament report)
Let's get the important stuff out of the way first: The people and the experiences were, as always, the most enjoyable part of the trip for me. A few quotes to summarize, although they don't do it all justice.
#1: (Saturday morning, walking to the tourney site with
verbophage and
xpmorgan. I had just mentioned a story about Lester Schonbrun and Joan Mocine being spotted watching "Big Brother" during the Portland tournament.)
Me (with bad Russian accent): In Soviet Russia, you watch Big Brother! Wait...In Soviet Russia, Big Brother watches you!...Dang it, they both work!
Dan (slightly better accent): In Soviet Russia, you are Big Brother and you watch yourself!
Chris: That would be boring.
#2: (Saturday evening, after a rough day of play. Talking with
nagekinoki about the games.)
Me: I've been fighting and scrapping, yet seem to come up short. I just don't know what to do about it...
James: ...Be one turn faster?
Me: Thanks for the sage advice, James!
#3: (Sunday afternoon, lunch break. It's me, Chris, James,
cesarsalad,
magratheazaphod,
shirrach, and
frayed_yak. After a lot of dithering and indecision (James: "Just pick a continent, for heaven's sake!"), we end up at a sushi place. As we're scrambling to finish our food and get back, Gabe notices that James is already done with his food.)
Me: He plays fast, he eats fast...
Gabe: He does a lot of things fast.
Me: (after a beat) Selecting a restaurant, however...
(Seriously, that lunch was a blast. What other than Scrabble could bring a Vancouver law student, a Seattle accountant, a Jersey violinist, a LA computer guy, a Yale student, and a graphic designer from the Bay Area to the same sushi table?)
#4: Awards ceremony.
squeegman. The Saldanha's dog. Need I say more?
May as well get the bingo list up, though as you'll soon see, it doesn't tell the whole story.
Conventions I use: Lowercase letters are blanks, letters in parentheses are through-letters.
Mine/opponents, by game:
(U)bIETIES, STOOLED/UP(S)TATER, iNSNARE(R), DEVILED (101)
GRUNGES (opening bingo), POUNCES (bango), LIMBER(E)D (bongo), ASuNDER (two turns later; the intervening turn was a 60-point X play)/CHO(R)INES (2x2)
-----/TE(N)ORITe, BUS(T)LINE (bingo), REdOL(E)NT (bango)
TENSILE/SEdATI(O)N
RESTATE, NEPHrIT(E) (104)/CURE(T)TES
RESLA(T)ES/(T)EARABLE, NUtANTS*
REcOLOR, ASSIGNE(R), CAESIUM/WARTIER, OI(L)STONE
WAI(T)RONS, cARIOLE/(B)RATTIER, INMATES, TUbAIST
WAFTERS/FACETt(E)S*
TEQUILA/RAVE(L)INS, LENSMaN
GRIST(L)ED* (3x3), (L)ISTENER/PARTIES, MALIsON, COsETED*
SCOTT(I)NG*/DeMOTES, QUINTES
GEmOTES, RELIgI(O)N, OUTEARN/SEJANTS*
LofTIES(T), (G)ONDOLAS/LIGNANS
Total: 25-25
Those bingos, however, don't tell the whole story. Quackle does. For the first time in a long while, I actually simulated every move from every game.
Good heavens.
1699 is my new rating. Frankly, that's absolutely right and proper. I don't deserve to be a 1700.
A 1700 player doesn't miss, over the course of 14 games, the following: OUA(B)AINS (just didn't look), (LO)NELIEST (didn't think to look for it; took TENSILE instead), ApPELLO(R) (tried a phony), ANTHERA(L) (saw it, convinced myself it was only ANTHERID), SECRETI(N) (just flat-out missed), ROsEOL(A)R (didn't see it; took REcOLOR instead), InDIGOE(S) (looked forever, missed it), RUD(E)RALS (didn't know), BEIGNEt (looked forever, just didn't see it), RE(D)LINER (saw it, chickened out), (D)IELdRIN (didn't know it; took RELIgI(O)N instead), and (G)OLIARDS (didn't know). That's twelve misses in 14 games. Not good.
A 1700 player doesn't attempt all of the following (thinking they were good), even though some of them got through: CHEDA* (let stand), PALLOR(E)d* (challenged off), GRIST(L)ED* (let stand), SCOTT(I)NG* (let stand), THROP* (challenged), DAPPERS* (challenged). Six phonies, half of which stood. Still not good.
A 1700 player doesn't let the following through: NUtANTS*, FACETt(E)S*, COsETED*, SEJANTS*. Four phonies let through, all game-turning bingos, without a single successful challenge all weekend. Very not good.
A 1700 player doesn't turn four bingos in the first five turns into only a 557. And doesn't let the opponent get 402 along the way.
A 1700 player doesn't average 75 points of equity lost per game, and have only one game (out of 14) where they find the best play more than half the time.
A 1700 player doesn't blow the game (that is, make a decision that directly leads to loss of game) five separate times over the course of the weekend. (It's rare to be able to say this about a tournament where I only saw 42% of the power tiles, but this was a 6-8 that should have been at least 10-4, maybe better.) Attempting PALLORED*, not challenging NUTANTS* and immediately missing SECRETIN, missing INDIGOES, letting COSETED* through, and missing BEIGNET all lost me games I could easily have won.
In short, I'm not a 1700 player.
But I'm going to be.
Everything happens for a reason. This tournament happened to serve as a wake-up call. I'm answering.
Certainly, it's a matter of knowing more words, which is why the Zyzzyva window is open at all times. More importantly, it's a matter of finding and being more confident in the words I do know. It's about taking the extra 15 seconds after seeing a good play to find a better one. It's about being more willing to take chances when the situation warrants, about cashing the points when the situation warrants, about simply being more aware of the situation. It's about focus, consistency, and nerve. In short, to paraphrase
wisemonkey,it's about going from knowing how to play like an expert to actually being one.
It's time to live up to my potential.
I'll let the words of Eminem carry me out:
Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity
to seize everything you ever wanted in one moment
would you capture it, or just let it slip?
Snap back to reality; oh, there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked, he's so mad
but he won't give up that easily, nope; it's home,
back to these ropes; it don't matter, he's dope;
he knows that, but he's broke; he's so stacked that he knows
when he goes back, that's when it's back to the lab again;
yo, this old rhapsody; better go capture this moment
and hope it don't pass.
[...]
No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this m------------' roof off like two dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
I've been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhyming and step-writin' the next cipher
Best believe somebody's paying' the Pied Piper
[...]
...Another day of monotony's gotten me
to the point I'm like a snail; I've got
to formulate a plot...
Success is my only m-----------' option, failure's not
[...]
So here I go, it's my shot; feet fail me not;
This may be the only opportunity that I've got
Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it
You better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime...
You can do anything you set your mind to, man.
I sure hope so.
Mike