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#character-encoding UTF-8
#player1 JJB John J. Bulten
#player2 JB Julia Bogle
>JJB: CGJORSX 8G JOG +22 22
#note 1:00 [24:00] (jogs 8g 24 +.7) In round 2, JB (Julia Bogle) brings an extra-fast New York style to the game as a natural weapon against JJB's time trouble history, while JJB (John J. Bulten) brings a fast-and-loose approach to bingos that is countereffective against JB's voluble temperament. It results in a game of fireworks, even as the two later are found repeatedly in friendly discussions of life beyond Scrabble; the game is also very instructive for balancing one's opportunities and one's attitude. JJB draws L, JB draws R, and then JJB draws exactly one vowel. He hates to let it go, but even more so hates to let go of the S even though it would improve Quackle's initial-play valuation by .7. (S doesn't improve this 3-consonant leave by even 2 points.)
>JB: BFGKLMO 9H FOLK +21 21
#note 0:50 [24:10] (glom 9e 22 +1.7) Of the two best plays, glom gets an extra point by using the J, and has a slightly better leave. The neologism moblog also ranks highly. But these are not quibbled over in East Coast blitz.
>JJB: CLRSTWX H6 CR..T +10 32
#note ~1:20 [~22:40] (exchange CLWX 0 +7.2) JJB gets a vowel-free rack but detests trading, even though it's the 19 best plays. The vowelless RST, CRST, and CRS are worth over 12 points on their own. He finds the best nontrade on an already closed board. Might want to look up extensions for that.
>JB: ABCGIIM -ABCGIIM +0 21
#note 0:02 [24:08] (iambic 10j 26 +23.1) JB shows him how the trade is done, in 2 seconds, having already decided the move in advance ... without taking time to recognize that a hook was opened for iambic (which would get 6/7 of the turnover she desires). She plays for fun anyway, and this isn't yet a fun board.
>JJB: DLPSUWX L9 SPUD +26 58
#note ~3:03 [19:37] More valuable time is spent, but Quackle agrees that ditching the S (hoping to draw xi for 39) is the best of the basically two hotspots.
>JB: AEINORT 6A ANORETI. +64 85
#note 0:48 [23:20] No doubt here, without much more time taken than to verify that all the C plays are best and score the same. Openness is welcomed by both here. A newer mnemonic for "air tone" is "clap hands at bazar". JB wastes no time placing tiles and starting clock when the decision is reached.
>JJB: FIILVWX A5 F.LX +42 100
#note 1:43 [17:54] (fix 5e 47 +10.3) JJB is proud to cash the X here, but a little tinkering would show that fix 5e scores more and greatly improves the rack optics (eliminating the crossed Is).
>JB: BEHIMOZ 5C HOM +31 116
#note 0:43 [22:17] (rhizome d6 44 +3.6) Technically this is a fun rack! Though this is a very capable leave using the classic 3-tile overlap, there are three different playful turnovers that outdo it: rhizome, zombie, and bioherm!
>JJB: ?IIRTVW 12H VIRI. +13 113
#note 2:03 [15:51] (wit 10f 14 +6.3) It's not always necessary to show off the I dump, and this play also gives opponent first crack at a simple triple. A single I has enough synergy with the blank for the plain cashing of a triple W to rise to the top evaluation: IRTV? is +28.8. If one wants to show off, play worrit 20.
>JB: BEIOTVZ 10F ZI. +32 148
#note 0:43 [21:34] (bortz d4 52 +17.5) JB promptly takes the spot. Had she seen JJB's first game, she might have noticed the opportunity to play bortz for the same score that he did. Zibet/home is a nice 45; vizor and borzoi also extend. But more extensions are to come.
>JJB: ?DLNRTW D4 W..LD +22 135
#note 0:41 [15:10] For the second time, JJB makes a 3-tile extension from a vowelless rack, but this time he was right and trading was not indicated.
>JB: ABEHOTU B8 UH +14 162
#note 0:45 [20:49] (bohea 11b 31 +11.3) JJB later suggested bohea, which pairs nicely with za here. The fun play, also comparable on points, is a further extension, worldbeat 30. JB opts for a risky balancer and board opener (-0.7 leave value) instead.
>JJB: ?ANORRT C9 ORNATeR +70 205
#note 2:39 [12:31] There was and is no bingo, but JJB is tired of that and convinces himself that ornate should compare. His system should instead remind him that antrorse has no comparable singular word without the S, but it doesn't deter him from the phony. Compared to roan 11d 21, the risk is 28.0 and the reward is 16.4, and despite JB's extensive knowledge the morning has progressed well enough that JJB rationalizes the risk.
>JB: AABCEOT 15A CA.B +33 195
#note 1:48 [19:01] (challenge, oba 11d 21 +70.7; challenge, crab j11 14 +51) JJB's largesse has opened up big scores for JB, including greatly enhancing worldbeat to an amazing 46, and offering the enlargement of carb to carbo 36. However, these are invalid temptations, and JB correctly holds immediately. After a struggle she gives in to the temptation of not challenging, on the assumption that an expert like JJB should know better; but, as we have seen, expert systems sometimes fail. The "correct" move is to challenge and follow with oba/za for best leave, net value +70.7; if evaluating play of the same tiles only, we would compare carb 33 to crab 14 (-19) plus the challenge (+70) for a net of only +51. The showy move is of course worldbeat 46, which has enough value to disorient the opponent that it transcends static evaluation.
>JJB: AAEISYY 12A AY.YA +24 229
#note 2:13 [10:18] (ayaya b11 39 +15) After a recount at 12:25, JJB has difficulty awhile, until he remembers a key rack-balancer. Alas, he too misses a wondrous 4-tile overlap for that very word, in column 2.
>JB: AENNOTU - +0 195
#note 0:23 [18:38] (carbonate 15a 39 +38.7) Still suffering from the effects of doubting her decision not to challenge, JB holds the next play and succumbs to a reflexive challenge after 23 seconds. She is also disappointed that tonneau does not play. But powerful extensions are following her around today: this time the best play is carbonate 39!
>JJB: ?EEIOSS H12 .OES +21 250
#note 2:55 [7:23] With a power draw, it's time to open up the board and peel off an S. Throwing off the O is generally preferred over the I, this time by 1.5.
>JB: AENNOTU 4B NO. +12 207
#note 1:24 [17:14] (nona 11c 28 +15.2) Quackle is constantly keeping an eye on that powerful Z while the players hold As. Though JB keeps a positive leave with good hopes from the row 15 opening, she is sacrificing points and flexibility.
>JJB: ?EEGINS 15H .EEdINGS +77 327
#note 1:13 [6:10] JJB draws what should be an obvious bingo, but he has difficulty with the blank designation in this embarrassment of fictitious options. He incorrectly reasons that the D is best (rather than using Funk & Wagnalls logic to select the M), inadvertently playing a second phony bingo.
>JB: AEINTUV O8 VAUNTIE. +86 293
#note ~0:14 [~17:00] (challenge, vatu f4 16 +15.6) Almost always, and certainly with opponent score of 77, it's never preferable to bingo off a phony bingo; the correct play is to challenge and go for vatu/homa for a real bingo leave. But JB knows vauntie, and yet she still neglects that as an adjective it takes no S hook, making it her turn to get a common list wrong. If her own phony stands, she is only 15.6 behind challenging and balancing.
>JJB: ABGIIIU 3A GIB +32 359
#note 1:12 [4:58] (challenge +86) JJB obligingly is oblivious to the prospect of adding 86 to his spread, returning the favor of phony blindness. He busies himself with the imbalanced cold draw, correctly spotting the high-value hook this time, better than trading all by only 5.5. Honorable mention: beau 14b 22.
>JB: AEOPTTW 14J POT +24 317
#note ~1:39 [15:21] (wot 14j 30 +12.8) Correct spot, but P is such a better tile to hold than W.
>JJB: ADEEIIU B11 A.E +10 369
#note 1:54 [3:04] (exchange ADEEIIU 0 +17.5; eta 13b 13 +3) JJB thinks he can defend this lead with a horrid rack, but he misses an important trick: with a near-empty bag, exchanging all is so much more informational than fishing, and becomes the most powerful move! If one is perverse enough not to exchange, one should seek ideate/homa or rediae/ego instead, or even see ate/eta 13b for more points than the time-pressured choice given.
>JB: AEEENTW 11E TA +19 336
#note 2:08 [13:13] (tweak k5 24 +16.8) JB makes another yeoman attempt at points, and finally uses the za connection, but retaining a triplicate. Here tweak 24 is an easy, fun, and hopeful play.
>JJB: DEEIIQU 11K Q.EE. +50 419
#note 0:15 [2:49] (quiet f2 43 +15.1) JJB gets the tiles he needs to quadruple the Q, but with a continuing horrid leave. Are the points and drama really worth it in the endgame? He probably idly noticed that tripling the Q was not far behind (7); it also has a leave that is preferable by 22.1 in all, which got discounted in his overrash analysis. Quiet has 98% win ratio, topping all choices, but queen only about 86% due to risking another bad draw. Given the players' phony tendencies and contrasting clock idiosyncrasies, the drama is not over yet!
>JB: DEEENUW 13E WE +11 347
#note ~0:13 [~13:00] (weet f3 16 +7.1) Generally playing off one tile is recommended with two in the bag, such as home/et 11. In static value, dumping two Es for the endgame, with 5 points more, rates a hair higher. But given the actual bag contents, simulation suggests re/ego with a 5% win chance on the hope of playing unmewed/red, although opponent might be wise to this possibility. JB instead empties the bag for the same score as home/et.
>JJB: ADEIIMS A1 MI. +18 437
#note 2:38 [0:11] (aides i2 18, denuder 4i 20, mi 3l 18+2 +32) If either of them had known the word, they might realize that JB has walked into a third amazing extension, undercroft 51, and JJB's first order of business ought to be to block it! But he cannot allow the seeable bingos unreeled or underlie either. Though he spotted mig, he was time-blind to anoretics and its admission of aides 18, allowing mig and other plays in reserve, also blocking all powerful replies by opponent and netting +18. Because of the extension reply, mig played first nets only -14.
>JB: DEELNRU A11 D.L +11 358
#note ~0:15 [~12:45] (undercroft h1 51, resaid 7h 15+4 +50) And who can blame JB for not studying this obscure extension? Yet since JJB does have outs, even though he has not spotted them yet, her play leaves too much on the rack. Even the obvious drunk 20 claims much better endgame results. But JB is also wisely desirous of putting maximum time pressure on JJB, counting on his further errors (as well as getting the game over with).
>JJB: ADEIS 1A .EADS +10 447
#note 0:08 [0:03] (ideas i2 19+10 +22) JJB now simply needs to play any of the 6 available outplays, but he had not found them in the last two minutes he allotted, and he was hoping JB would allow him more seconds to seek them on her time. Under pressure it's necessary to plunk down instead, and risk yet another turn.
>JB: EENRU K6 RUN. +8 366
#note ~0:14 [12:31] (rerun 7h 11, ripe j12 6+2 +5) JB's best reply is rerun/ego or rete/home, but she has one more trick up her sleeve. Playing while JJB is catching up notation, she throws out a phony (rather than reek or neuk) and calls out 8 points while immediately clocking. There is not a strategic benefit, but there's a final opponent embarrassment benefit to it.
>JJB: I J9 .I +4 451
#note 0:02 [0:01] (challenge, ripe j12 6+10 +16) JJB must mentally note the 8-point announcement and plunk his tile and score and clock in 3 seconds. He does so, but then asks what the previous play was and is informed it was runk*!! Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Challenging and then finding ripe was worth 16 more spread: 2 on score, and 14 on opponent's "passing via phony".
>JJB: (EE) +4 455
#note What a comedy of errors, and it still takes some time for the last several plays to be correctly accounted and agreed. When the smoke clears, both players have passed off two phonies to effective benefit, while JB also challenged ayaya unsuccessfully. JB's New York style disagreed with Quackle every time except for her valid bingo; this is often discountable, but in this case Quackle spotted three premium extensions for her: worldbeat (double with quadruple overlap), carbonate, and undercroft (both triples). In the end she made more weak hasty decisions than the ridiculous hasty decisions JJB was compelled to make in the down-to-the-wire endgame. Known points available: JB 106, JJB 174. Overall points available: JJB 228.1, JB 289.1.
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