Dallas Open, Day 1
Day One of the Dallas Open is in the books. The short version: could've been worse, could've been better, but no matter how you look at it, very frustrating.
On the bright side, for the first time in four attempts at this tournament, I actually finished with a 0.500 win/loss record at the end of day 1. The other 3 years I'd done this tournament, I'd finished with 2, 3, and 3 wins, so this was a victory of sorts. But there was still much to be frustrated about.
Ever since I've gotten back from Salado, it seems like I cannot draw to save my life. Over the last month in club, I've been 4-8, and have only had maybe 1 win over anybody rated over 1000. My last club session, I played 4 games and drew a total off 2 S's in those 4 games. Otherwise, it's been a continuation of the first day of Salado.
Today, the trend continued. While I haven't been shut out on powers, the drawing has still been terrible. I've only had 14 possible bingos in 8 games and have converted on 12 of them, missing low-prob 8's like SEMINUDE and POLLINIA. Through 8 games, I had drawn the Q SIX times, and EVERY ONE OF THEM was u-less. In 8 games, I had 7 blanks that yielded a total of 4 bingos. Admittedly, a fifth gave me what I needed to make a crucial 39-point play late in a nail-biter that I pulled out against Sam Dick-Onuoha in round 7, but the blanks I saw in rounds 1 (a 70-point win over 1077-rated Josephine Flowers, who played like she rated 1300 or 1400) and a round 8 loss to Fran Silver came too late to give me any chance to win those games. Only in round 7 did I beat my opponent to the first blank bingo (admittedly, that was my fault in round 2 as I was too busy admiring Judy Newhouse's FAKEOUTS* instead of looking at this word more closely).
In round 3 against Stephen Sneed, my last 7 racks yielded a total of six consonants, during which time he broke open a more or less even game with the one-two punch of a double-blank (B)EaDIESt followed by a 36-point X play, and I lost by roughly 60, as my racks during the crucial stretch were AAEEEKL, AAEEELS, AEEEELS, AAEEELO, AAEEHSW, AEEIRSS (no 8's anywhere), and ABEIRSU. . In round 4 against Paul Holser, early on the game was even...until he followed up his 6-tile play of a non-bingo 2x2 TOLU(E)NE with blank bingoes on consecutive turns. I did bingo a couple of turns later to get back within 20 or so, and I then drew a post-bingo rack of GGIIIMU and whatever I did to stay in the game, the draw made sure I couldn't play on any of the hot spots that were available while he never had a rack that he couldn't score 30 points with.
And just like the last one-day tournament, my opponents can lose turns challenging my good words, make major mistakes, and not have it matter, while I am I not afforded any such luxury. Orry Swift's first words to me after he beat me by 81 points was that he didn't deserve the win, having lost a turn mid-game challenging my 98-point back-hook to SOrBENT to make SOrBENTS/ReSTACK which put me up 60. Unfortunately for me, while i was able to score reasonably or at least clear out my subsequent racks of GILNOPU (no C available), DGIIIOT (played off DIGIT) for 16, DEGIIIV (put down VIED for 37), GIINOOV (VIG for 25), INNOOOW, and EINOQWX while he hit JEEZ for 40, REFRIES for 64, and REGALIA For 66 during that same stretch. By the time I saw the Q and the X, the only plays available were routine plays in the low 30's or high 20's, so they came too late to be any real factor. Then again, drawing more than 2 E's for the whole game might have helped, you know?
Through round 7, I knew I wasn't drawing especially well and that given all this, I was doing pretty well to be 4-3 -28. Yes, with more focused late play iI probably could have recouped another 50 or 60 spread points. But by and large I knew it wasn't my fault I lost the three games I lost. The game that turned my mood seroiusly south was Round 8 against Fran Silver, as for the 4th time today the tile gods showed me no mercy at all. After she opened HELVE for 30, I opted to exchange 6 from my opening rack of AAIOOUV since I didn't think the AAU leave with OVOLI for 15 was worth it. After I had bingo'd with DAPSONE to take a 7-point lead, she replied with OUTCHIdE for 95, and I made the mistake of challenging this unsuccessfully having drawn to a post-bingo rack of CBOQRTW. While I was grinding through this bullshit, she drew AAILNOT out of the bag and played it through a V for 67. I did claw my way back, and even if I'd dumped the J off when I should have, the late blank bingo I denied myself by holding the J too long wouldn't have been enough to win the game given the pool and board. Even if I hadn't lost the turn on the challenge, the reality is that this game may not have been winnable.
I had had a goal coming in that I wanted to earn the chance to play drbing and/or scrabblek8, as they're the only two of the top 20 seeds who I have never played. And the frustration is that the tile gods made damned sure that had no chance of happening. Yes, I know there are still two more days and 12 games left. But Kate's already 3 games up on me, and Bing is already 2 games up. Unless I stop drawing post-bingo racks of GGIIIMU and BCOQRTW while opponents hit 2 bingos in 3 or 4 turns...there's no chance of this happening. And given how this black cloud seems to ahve settled over me ever since Salado, I'm just not confident about this happening. I had my one really good tournament in New Orleans, and I certainly don't expect a repeat here.
Frustrating.
On the bright side, for the first time in four attempts at this tournament, I actually finished with a 0.500 win/loss record at the end of day 1. The other 3 years I'd done this tournament, I'd finished with 2, 3, and 3 wins, so this was a victory of sorts. But there was still much to be frustrated about.
Ever since I've gotten back from Salado, it seems like I cannot draw to save my life. Over the last month in club, I've been 4-8, and have only had maybe 1 win over anybody rated over 1000. My last club session, I played 4 games and drew a total off 2 S's in those 4 games. Otherwise, it's been a continuation of the first day of Salado.
Today, the trend continued. While I haven't been shut out on powers, the drawing has still been terrible. I've only had 14 possible bingos in 8 games and have converted on 12 of them, missing low-prob 8's like SEMINUDE and POLLINIA. Through 8 games, I had drawn the Q SIX times, and EVERY ONE OF THEM was u-less. In 8 games, I had 7 blanks that yielded a total of 4 bingos. Admittedly, a fifth gave me what I needed to make a crucial 39-point play late in a nail-biter that I pulled out against Sam Dick-Onuoha in round 7, but the blanks I saw in rounds 1 (a 70-point win over 1077-rated Josephine Flowers, who played like she rated 1300 or 1400) and a round 8 loss to Fran Silver came too late to give me any chance to win those games. Only in round 7 did I beat my opponent to the first blank bingo (admittedly, that was my fault in round 2 as I was too busy admiring Judy Newhouse's FAKEOUTS* instead of looking at this word more closely).
In round 3 against Stephen Sneed, my last 7 racks yielded a total of six consonants, during which time he broke open a more or less even game with the one-two punch of a double-blank (B)EaDIESt followed by a 36-point X play, and I lost by roughly 60, as my racks during the crucial stretch were AAEEEKL, AAEEELS, AEEEELS, AAEEELO, AAEEHSW, AEEIRSS (no 8's anywhere), and ABEIRSU. . In round 4 against Paul Holser, early on the game was even...until he followed up his 6-tile play of a non-bingo 2x2 TOLU(E)NE with blank bingoes on consecutive turns. I did bingo a couple of turns later to get back within 20 or so, and I then drew a post-bingo rack of GGIIIMU and whatever I did to stay in the game, the draw made sure I couldn't play on any of the hot spots that were available while he never had a rack that he couldn't score 30 points with.
And just like the last one-day tournament, my opponents can lose turns challenging my good words, make major mistakes, and not have it matter, while I am I not afforded any such luxury. Orry Swift's first words to me after he beat me by 81 points was that he didn't deserve the win, having lost a turn mid-game challenging my 98-point back-hook to SOrBENT to make SOrBENTS/ReSTACK which put me up 60. Unfortunately for me, while i was able to score reasonably or at least clear out my subsequent racks of GILNOPU (no C available), DGIIIOT (played off DIGIT) for 16, DEGIIIV (put down VIED for 37), GIINOOV (VIG for 25), INNOOOW, and EINOQWX while he hit JEEZ for 40, REFRIES for 64, and REGALIA For 66 during that same stretch. By the time I saw the Q and the X, the only plays available were routine plays in the low 30's or high 20's, so they came too late to be any real factor. Then again, drawing more than 2 E's for the whole game might have helped, you know?
Through round 7, I knew I wasn't drawing especially well and that given all this, I was doing pretty well to be 4-3 -28. Yes, with more focused late play iI probably could have recouped another 50 or 60 spread points. But by and large I knew it wasn't my fault I lost the three games I lost. The game that turned my mood seroiusly south was Round 8 against Fran Silver, as for the 4th time today the tile gods showed me no mercy at all. After she opened HELVE for 30, I opted to exchange 6 from my opening rack of AAIOOUV since I didn't think the AAU leave with OVOLI for 15 was worth it. After I had bingo'd with DAPSONE to take a 7-point lead, she replied with OUTCHIdE for 95, and I made the mistake of challenging this unsuccessfully having drawn to a post-bingo rack of CBOQRTW. While I was grinding through this bullshit, she drew AAILNOT out of the bag and played it through a V for 67. I did claw my way back, and even if I'd dumped the J off when I should have, the late blank bingo I denied myself by holding the J too long wouldn't have been enough to win the game given the pool and board. Even if I hadn't lost the turn on the challenge, the reality is that this game may not have been winnable.
I had had a goal coming in that I wanted to earn the chance to play drbing and/or scrabblek8, as they're the only two of the top 20 seeds who I have never played. And the frustration is that the tile gods made damned sure that had no chance of happening. Yes, I know there are still two more days and 12 games left. But Kate's already 3 games up on me, and Bing is already 2 games up. Unless I stop drawing post-bingo racks of GGIIIMU and BCOQRTW while opponents hit 2 bingos in 3 or 4 turns...there's no chance of this happening. And given how this black cloud seems to ahve settled over me ever since Salado, I'm just not confident about this happening. I had my one really good tournament in New Orleans, and I certainly don't expect a repeat here.
Frustrating.