Scrabble club blues
Tuesday night didn't turn out quite like I would have wanted it. I was running just a little bit late heading out the door, and then Ed and I ran into very heavy traffic getting over to Lake Oswego from the west side. We got to club a couple of minutes after the games had started, but someone else was waiting around to play, so Ed got to play him and I sat out the first game.
In the second game, I was paired up with Becky again. I started with a rack of AEEEENT, and Quackle said I was right to -EEE, followed by her playing JIB. I was rewarded with AEENOTT, which I played NOTATE out of, and then she bingoed with mUDDIER. Bleah. I made a few more middling plays (5-10 pts equity loss), then got down ELEV(A)TOR (should have played OVERLET elsewhere). Not long after, she plays VRo(O)MING, and I totally can't balance my rack again. I get the Z, then the Q, then the K, then the X, but can't do quite enough with them to close the gap. I end up down 339-423, but only lost 82 points of equity in the game, which isn't *so* bad.
The third game of the night finds me playing Alan Meyer again. I open with QAT, and he drops down UNFAITH. I held, then challenged, even though I was almost certain it was good. I hate it when I do that. I could have played YES(H)IVA through his H for 60 points. I *REALLY* shouldn't do that. I lost 67 equity points on that one play, well over half the points I ended up losing over the course of the whole game. I make a few more piddling plays, then get down ACINOSE. It was in the wrong spot, though, and he played a 50 point FIZ to reply. A couple of turns later he played pEBBLEs, and I'm down by 150. I make a few decent balancing plays, then find a spot for my T(R)EPHINE with only 3 left in the bag. He makes his tile-dump play, and I play out with SEG. The final score was 403-428, and I lost a total of 128 equity points.
The final game of the night finds me and my 0-2 record playing Chris Mazzuca, who was feeling pretty beat down, too. I balance my rack after her opening, then play ETAMINS the next turn. I get a 46 point J(I)VES play, then find SHORTED on my rack, then on the board. A couple of turns later she plays HALtERS, but by now the board is pretty shut down. I score pretty well down the stretch, then find myself drawing the second blank (my only one of the night) on my very last draw. Cute. I play out and end up with a score of 452-323, only losing 67 equity points on the game.
In the second game, I was paired up with Becky again. I started with a rack of AEEEENT, and Quackle said I was right to -EEE, followed by her playing JIB. I was rewarded with AEENOTT, which I played NOTATE out of, and then she bingoed with mUDDIER. Bleah. I made a few more middling plays (5-10 pts equity loss), then got down ELEV(A)TOR (should have played OVERLET elsewhere). Not long after, she plays VRo(O)MING, and I totally can't balance my rack again. I get the Z, then the Q, then the K, then the X, but can't do quite enough with them to close the gap. I end up down 339-423, but only lost 82 points of equity in the game, which isn't *so* bad.
The third game of the night finds me playing Alan Meyer again. I open with QAT, and he drops down UNFAITH. I held, then challenged, even though I was almost certain it was good. I hate it when I do that. I could have played YES(H)IVA through his H for 60 points. I *REALLY* shouldn't do that. I lost 67 equity points on that one play, well over half the points I ended up losing over the course of the whole game. I make a few more piddling plays, then get down ACINOSE. It was in the wrong spot, though, and he played a 50 point FIZ to reply. A couple of turns later he played pEBBLEs, and I'm down by 150. I make a few decent balancing plays, then find a spot for my T(R)EPHINE with only 3 left in the bag. He makes his tile-dump play, and I play out with SEG. The final score was 403-428, and I lost a total of 128 equity points.
The final game of the night finds me and my 0-2 record playing Chris Mazzuca, who was feeling pretty beat down, too. I balance my rack after her opening, then play ETAMINS the next turn. I get a 46 point J(I)VES play, then find SHORTED on my rack, then on the board. A couple of turns later she plays HALtERS, but by now the board is pretty shut down. I score pretty well down the stretch, then find myself drawing the second blank (my only one of the night) on my very last draw. Cute. I play out and end up with a score of 452-323, only losing 67 equity points on the game.