Dayton, Day 3
Sunday night was fire alarm night. I have some trouble with getting anxious about a few things, and fire is top of the list. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much between 5 and 7am.
vs Kay: I get greedy after she plays POEtISE and I hold ?AEINRT. I want a juicier spot, I'm not 100% on her bingo, so I challenge. Of course, she doesn't open anything valuable, so I take ANEsTRI for 78. My intuition serves me well when I play LACONA* cleaning my rack and scoring 27 -- she has a bingo coming back, and feels she can't challenge. My draw to her bingo gives me QAT for 42. I trail throughout, but set up a hard-to-block S hook to the triple lane, she chooses not to mess with it, and I draw into JAKES for 55, making it 385-366 on her turn. She has set up her own cute Z play, and it's 385-396 going into last racks. I have the better draw, and totally botch my endgame by playing my plays backwards. I could've V-stuck her, and instead give her a potential win. She plays it out as if ROMEN* is my outplay, and thus doesn't take her win, and instead tries the phony BAHS*, which will win over ROMEN*. I challenge, go out, and she's frustrated. We kept trying to give this game to each other. It was a little pathetic. W 432-411.
vs Cynthia: Before the game, someone (I think it was John Leubkemann) says "you better watch out for each other -- you both phony all the time." This apparently messed with my head. I bingo, she challenges, it's good, I trade, she plays, I bingo; 164-50. Couple plays later, I phony accidentally with JUSTY*, she bingos a turn after that, followed by BOPEEP, which I challenge, and it's good; 213-163 (note the speed with which I lose my lead). I trade again, and suddenly she's up. Had I just gone with more defensive play at the start, this would've been a much different game. She goes on to draw most everything that scores, while I draw almost-bingos and suffer. Hail Mary play of NOBELIST* comes off. Boo. L 325-454.
vs Dan: This was the game of sixes for me. I play EPILOG, WAFTED and ANNULI. I botch the endgame (it was hard!) again assuming I'll draw a vowel when there are 10 in the pool, ?AEEOU HLNR, and I'm drawing three tiles. I draw three consonants and lose. Perhaps I'll post this position later. L 387-357.
vs goldfishbw: I get an early lead off of his play with ORIFICE(S) to the triple, 101. He plays small and trades a lot, I keep scoring, and a up as much as 110ish. The board is too open to shut down completely, he's playing slowly, so I go with the strategy of play fast, play through lots of tiles, and score. He bingoes late with QUEriST for 109, bringing it to a close game, but he's running out of time, and missed some bigger bingos in that rack. He goes over by a minute, and I squeak it out, despite having drawn the J as the sole power tile amongst the 57 tiles I play. (see game here, remembering that Brad's racks are just what Quackle made up, and not what he had). W 381-355.
vs James: RITARDS, STABBED, ROQUE for 54 for me; OHM, DECORATE and HOUNDERS for him in the first three turns, and it's already 231-173. I bingo again with InFLUX(E)S which he needs to challenge to stay in the game. It's good and I just keep scoring. By turn 10 I have 492, and then it's over. James is fun. I want to go to Philly club so we can get in some more games. W 510-378.
vs Laura: Gross board, I'm down by 90 for much of it, inch up, bingo in the only lane, and had she played out slowly, she would've had me. Her 11-point play burning 6 tiles and my S at the end give me the game. W 371-364.
vs Tim: Start with NONDUAL on my first turn, he challenges and gives me the T for NONADUL(T). I have ?CEGHOS and play the less common CHEGOES. He knows CHIGOES, thinks I'm confused, and challenges. It's good. My early phony might've helped me out here. I keep scoring, and stay ahead. Tim's really nice, though, and we chat a bit about his endgame. W 512-327.
I'm 13-8, and my big wins have helped my spread a little, putting me in 19th. I'm happy with this position going into the last full day. Any closer to the lead and I probably would've freaked out a little more.
vs Kay: I get greedy after she plays POEtISE and I hold ?AEINRT. I want a juicier spot, I'm not 100% on her bingo, so I challenge. Of course, she doesn't open anything valuable, so I take ANEsTRI for 78. My intuition serves me well when I play LACONA* cleaning my rack and scoring 27 -- she has a bingo coming back, and feels she can't challenge. My draw to her bingo gives me QAT for 42. I trail throughout, but set up a hard-to-block S hook to the triple lane, she chooses not to mess with it, and I draw into JAKES for 55, making it 385-366 on her turn. She has set up her own cute Z play, and it's 385-396 going into last racks. I have the better draw, and totally botch my endgame by playing my plays backwards. I could've V-stuck her, and instead give her a potential win. She plays it out as if ROMEN* is my outplay, and thus doesn't take her win, and instead tries the phony BAHS*, which will win over ROMEN*. I challenge, go out, and she's frustrated. We kept trying to give this game to each other. It was a little pathetic. W 432-411.
vs Cynthia: Before the game, someone (I think it was John Leubkemann) says "you better watch out for each other -- you both phony all the time." This apparently messed with my head. I bingo, she challenges, it's good, I trade, she plays, I bingo; 164-50. Couple plays later, I phony accidentally with JUSTY*, she bingos a turn after that, followed by BOPEEP, which I challenge, and it's good; 213-163 (note the speed with which I lose my lead). I trade again, and suddenly she's up. Had I just gone with more defensive play at the start, this would've been a much different game. She goes on to draw most everything that scores, while I draw almost-bingos and suffer. Hail Mary play of NOBELIST* comes off. Boo. L 325-454.
vs Dan: This was the game of sixes for me. I play EPILOG, WAFTED and ANNULI. I botch the endgame (it was hard!) again assuming I'll draw a vowel when there are 10 in the pool, ?AEEOU HLNR, and I'm drawing three tiles. I draw three consonants and lose. Perhaps I'll post this position later. L 387-357.
vs goldfishbw: I get an early lead off of his play with ORIFICE(S) to the triple, 101. He plays small and trades a lot, I keep scoring, and a up as much as 110ish. The board is too open to shut down completely, he's playing slowly, so I go with the strategy of play fast, play through lots of tiles, and score. He bingoes late with QUEriST for 109, bringing it to a close game, but he's running out of time, and missed some bigger bingos in that rack. He goes over by a minute, and I squeak it out, despite having drawn the J as the sole power tile amongst the 57 tiles I play. (see game here, remembering that Brad's racks are just what Quackle made up, and not what he had). W 381-355.
vs James: RITARDS, STABBED, ROQUE for 54 for me; OHM, DECORATE and HOUNDERS for him in the first three turns, and it's already 231-173. I bingo again with InFLUX(E)S which he needs to challenge to stay in the game. It's good and I just keep scoring. By turn 10 I have 492, and then it's over. James is fun. I want to go to Philly club so we can get in some more games. W 510-378.
vs Laura: Gross board, I'm down by 90 for much of it, inch up, bingo in the only lane, and had she played out slowly, she would've had me. Her 11-point play burning 6 tiles and my S at the end give me the game. W 371-364.
vs Tim: Start with NONDUAL on my first turn, he challenges and gives me the T for NONADUL(T). I have ?CEGHOS and play the less common CHEGOES. He knows CHIGOES, thinks I'm confused, and challenges. It's good. My early phony might've helped me out here. I keep scoring, and stay ahead. Tim's really nice, though, and we chat a bit about his endgame. W 512-327.
I'm 13-8, and my big wins have helped my spread a little, putting me in 19th. I'm happy with this position going into the last full day. Any closer to the lead and I probably would've freaked out a little more.