| Player 1 |
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#player1 Team_Koltonicus Team Koltonicus
#player2 dacrON dacrON
>Team_Koltonicus: BEIJLMN 8G MILNEB +26 26
#note I would take JIB here.
>dacrON: AEGORSW J4 WAGO.ERS +68 68
>Team_Koltonicus: IIJNOPV G6 JI.P +19 45
#note A number of options here - I think I like (S)PIV the most.
>dacrON: AACKRRT 4J .RACK +28 96
#note I don't usually like much volatility against Kolton, but nothing else stood out to me. I suppose (W)ARK in the same spot is also quite viable.
>Team_Koltonicus: IIINOTV 11H VI.ION +18 63
>dacrON: AIOOORT -IOOO +0 96
#note Oddly enough, I now decide to go to my usual game plan against Kolton, being unwilling to make plays like N1 IRO(K)O. I still like this exchangel however, I missed O(R)ATOR, which, given WRACK, is just fine. A rare board vision mistake.
>Team_Koltonicus: HIIQTUX K1 QUI.T +32 95
>dacrON: AORTTWZ 2J O.TWAR +22 118
#note A lot of people pointed to this game as being surprised with how I played. Yes, I opted to adjust my game to my opponent, who is extremely good at open boards, but seems to not enjoy the closed ones as much. 12K TWAT or 12L WATT are perfectly normal plays, which I would usually make, but I opted for this to go for ZA up above it next turn, and also begin closing this board off - if I can keep a lead on this board, it will be tough to come back. I just don't think I agree with Quackle's stats of averaging 50+ pts next turn off of WATT or TWAT.
>Team_Koltonicus: AGHITVX L10 V.X +26 121
>dacrON: ?BEMTUZ 10L .UM +16 134
#note This play is pretty much the moment of truth - I can take (N)UMB for 25, and bring volatility to new heights, burn the blank for 57, or commit to the closed board. I opt for this because I love how the board looks now, but in hindsight, I'm wondering if my mindset was now too biased in trying to take an advantage on a closed board - remember, I'm still a bit on edge after the rules incident earlier in the morning during round 8, and anxiety can bias me in favor of shutting off the board. In hindsight, I do think I would rather play (N)UMB, although there is a part of me that still clings to wanting to say this play is right. If nothing else, it continues a line of play that I'm pretty committed to at this point.
>Team_Koltonicus: AGHINTU H11 .AUNT +27 148
#note I like some other plays here, maybe 1N HA or 9M HUG.
>dacrON: ?BCDETZ 13G C.BED +16 150
#note I knew this play was pretty poor, but I didn't want to give up the setup with B(A)C(K)ED. But yet, 9M BED is a really neat idea. Giving him that triple isn't going to allow him to score much more on average. I knew things were headed for trouble if I wasn't able to capitalize on my ?Z soon - BED increases my ability to do that, I THINK...really not sure on this play.
>Team_Koltonicus: ?EGHINO 14J HOEING +52 200
>dacrON: ?AAELTZ 1N ZA +50 200
#note I finally accomplish my goal, way later than I'd have liked, and now it's just an even game.
>Team_Koltonicus: ?EFFIRS 15B FoRFEI.S +64 264
#note To be fair, you can see why VUM has a lot of merit, despite the sacrifices it makes. Longterm, it really bails me out of a lot of situations (which begs the question of why I played WRACK in the first place...) It also may be a god idea for Kolton to just play FI(G)S here.
>dacrON: ?ADELOT D8 LODEsTA. +68 268
#note Yes, I missed DEFLATO(R).
>Team_Koltonicus: EELRSUY O4 SURELY +46 310
>dacrON: ADEHLPS C3 PLASHED +95 363
#note Yep, that happened. You need some nice draws to win Nationals.
>Team_Koltonicus: AEEGIRY O12 YE.G +39 349
>dacrON: AEINOTT D2 TAIN +18 381
#note I spent 15 minutes here going over as many scenarios as I could, and thought this won every game - however, I missed a couple of potential disasters for me. If I draw OE, he can play ODEA and set up another overlap of RIN, which I then have to block to tie. Also, if I draw OO, he can win outrighed with NEARED, and then QI. So perhaps there is a better play than this, but it seems silly not to block RE(L)OANED and ANEROID.
>Team_Koltonicus: AEEINOR E1 RANEE +26 375
>dacrON: DEOOT F2 TED +22 403
>Team_Koltonicus: IO 14A OI +14 389
>Team_Koltonicus: (OO) +4 393
#note And thus ends my rough session of the tournament. I didn't play well three games in a row, partially due to extenuating circumstances, but also partially due to my own inability to put stuff aside and focus. I was fortunate to escape this session with a 3-1 record, and vowed to calm down at lunch, and put up a better fight that afternoon.
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