Game Details
Player 1
#player1 Jim_Burlant Jim Burlant
#player2 Sid_Murrali Sid Murrali
>Jim_Burlant: CEEEIIP 8D PIECE +24 24
#note I don't like giving up the easy front hook but this is my only viable choice. Q agrees - it's best.
>Sid_Murrali: BNOO 7C BOON +17 17
>Jim_Burlant: EEEIITV 9B VIE +12 36
#note Again, not a whole lot to choose from. Next best option is G8 CIVIE (uh...no thanks), and after that it's an exchange. This is best.
>Sid_Murrali: ADEHTT E2 ATHET..D +32 49
#note Nice play!
>Jim_Burlant: ADEEIQT A6 QADI +51 87
#note I chose this placement over the A7 placement because I didn't want to give back the easy S hook; my thinking was that 5's or 6's ending in I were less likely than 5-letter rack dumps starting in S. The duck disagrees, saying that even with SSSS unseen, I should give that up instead of the B6 QI backhook. The A7 placement wins a sim by 0.2% and 0.4 equity over this.
>Sid_Murrali: KRTU I6 TURK +24 73
>Jim_Burlant: EEHIMTW F1 WHIM +42 129
#note Without HEW as a viable option, I debated between WHIM F1 and WHEE D1. With 4 E's already played and 2 more in my rack, I felt that, at least for a few turns, I might have to treat my E's as a semi-endangered species and protect them a little more. So I chose WHIM. The duck says this is a very strong play, but that I should have played WHEE. WHEE wins 70.7%, this wins 67.7 at an equity deficit just under 6-1/2 pts. I'm fine with this; YMMV.
>Sid_Murrali: AEGNNOR G8 .RANNOGE +63 136
>Jim_Burlant: EENOSTT H13 NOT +20 149
#note With no playable 8's in this rack, this was another position where I struggled. Should I finally balance my rack for the first time with WET 1F leaving an incredibly potent ENOST? Or should I defend against the E sitting wide-open at 15G? I ddn't like the potential to clog the board while I was still not ahead by a bit, but I thought that I still had the S for TURK back hooks, and that there was a good chance he'd extend the W into something that would create another line. So I opted for defense. It takes a while for the sim to sort itself out, but I did make the correct call. This is best. 52.8% to win.
>Sid_Murrali: BDGIOY 11B BODYI.G +28 164
>Jim_Burlant: EEIOSTW 12C WOE +28 177
#note I wasn't entirely sure about WOWEE (it's one of the new words that hasn't taken yet) and was more than thrilled to balance my rack for the first time this game. It takes a few hundred iterations for the 2-ply sim to sort out, but this is best. For reference, WOWEE wins 0.8% less often and sims slightly more than 1 point down at 1100+ iterations.
>Sid_Murrali: AX 1F .AX +39 203
>Jim_Burlant: EEIRSTU B2 UTERI +27 204
#note Someday, these new words are going to take. The operative word being, "someday." That's because I only saw 8's in this rack and never recognized the new 7, SUETIER. The amusing thing about this mistake is that, if I had to pick a turn to whiff, this was where I needed to do that:
>Sid_Murrali: ?AEFGOR J1 FORAGEs +69 272
#note Had I played SUETIER on the last turn, Sid would have slapped down FO(R)AGERs for 167 before I'd finished drawing my tiles. Quackle says that in that situation my winning chances would be 3%, as I'd be trailing by 123 points with a blank already played and no triple lines available. Sid is still in the driver's seat but the sim says I still have a roughly 1-in-6 chance to win. This is Sid's only bingo.
>Jim_Burlant: DEFIPSS 4I F.DS +16 220
#note Now I'm rattled, but it's bleak no matter how you slice it. Having burned through too many E's earilier i was overprotecting mine, which severely limited my options. Best play appears to be 13B FES for 28.
>Sid_Murrali: IJLL 13A JILL +38 310
>Jim_Burlant: AEEINPS A12 A.EE +36 256
#note Now, after trying to protect my E's, I have no choice but to unload them. This is best.
>Sid_Murrali: AEEMR J9 AMEER +19 329
>Jim_Burlant: AILNPSU 12I P.LAU +14 270
#note Screwed - he just blocked a face-saving SPINULA at 10J, which would have still given him a wide-open O column to run through. As for what to do, I figured I needed to try and open up an S hook and hope he somehow couldn't block it. Best play here is ostensibly 14J SPINAL, going for turnover to chase the blank, but even that only wins 12%. From this point on I shuffle tiles to end the game.
>Sid_Murrali: AISSV N10 VISAS +40 369
>Jim_Burlant: ILNNRSU L8 URIN.L +7 277
>Sid_Murrali: ?COTYZ 3L OYeZ +32 401
>Jim_Burlant: NS 14A .NS +17 294
>Jim_Burlant: (CT) +8 302
Player 2
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