1st game... came in sorta late, so took the next arrival. A VERY novice player. It was pretty uninteresting... a 453-174 win... but an interesting choice came up between bingoing TELEXES for 92, or playing TELEX elsewhere for 87. Not too often a 92-point bingo comes off as a second choice... but certainly an -ES leave is far more valuable than 5 points.
Bingoed later with LEiSURE.
2nd game... Will V, a relatively solid player. This turned up an interesting position right away.
I opened with DIWAN, with the N on the star. He uses the D for AVOID. On top of DIWAN, I dump FAIN(FA/AN), and find myself with a rack like ABDINR?.
Great, I see unplayable stuff like BRIgAND etc... but I'm looking at the best lanes first. 2x2 beginning from V... saw nothing (Lexpert says no 8's with a V in ANY position). RIBANDs would play cheaply. On a whim, I looked at 9's to either top or bottom triple. AN- ??? ANtIBRAND? Nah. Saw nothing in that direction. In the other direction... tricky... would need to play 6 on top of -AN, and one tile at the end, to bingo. Would you believe I saw it?? tRAINBAND. The only reason I even knew this word was seeing Maven play RAINBAND, then hook it with the T. (Lexpert says the only playable 9's were tRAINBAND and RAINBANDs). I almost fainted... what a word!!! But this was Will I was playing... I knew he would mess this spot up, and he did, paralleling with BLED (BAN/LI/EN). Well, tRAINBAND would still play for 36, costing the blank and leaving B. Forget it. I actually considered playing RAINBAND for 12, leaving B?, and a vicious intersecting hook on the triple... no T's had even been played yet, and there's no way in hell he'd know TRAINBAND. An instant 36 point hook added onto whatever T word I used. Hmm. I decided not to get too cute... if I set that up, he could dump CURVE thru that top R, and render the hook useless (even inadvertently).
But RAINBAND/TRAINBAND is TOO NICE!!! I threw down RAInBAND for 60 something thru the A of his AVOID, hanging a T hook that was not likely to be blocked anytime soon.
He exchanges. I dump... he bingos (where RIBANDs would have played, if I had taken it) with TiNGLES. A classic Will style bingo. That opens a triple that he takes for 53 (HEWN or something). He now has a 19 point lead, and is averaging 32 points a turn so far. I basically dump KOP for 32, jump on EX for 38... I have the Q now... and with QUOTHAC rack, it's time to hook good ol' RAINBAND. But QUOTH for 45, or QUOTHA for 51??? The -A is needed to balance the C leave, I figured. I stuck to QUOTH. He didn't challenge anything, but exchanged again.
I now have OUTACTS/OH for 85 (I didn't even think of OUTCAST). Ends up 483-301.
3rd game... Dave, the soon to be highest ranked Manitoban.
After 5 turns of jockeying, I'm up 120-143.
I've just had the rack DHINSY?...which has one bingo in it that I don't remember ever seeing: SHINDYS. The only 8 would be thru either D or A: DANDYISH. Both were available, I think, but I dumped HAY for 28, seeing nothing more likely than HYENoIDS* (only HYENOID is good... and Dave would have challenged it). This drew the other blank... and I took DENSIty for 75. The best play was probably bENDwISE to an E for 77. There were no 2x2 lanes.
He exchanges, then misplays BOUy. I'm mean and challenge it off.
A couple turns later, I have DOPANTS for 75.
Didn't look for the 8's (NOTEPADS with E, PINTADOS or SATINPOD with I... I know of them, but would probably miss seeing them).
He comes up with REPULSE.
Ends up 348-457 for me.
4th game... 1400 level player. Opening rack WEIRDOE. I take WEIRD, he has MONITORs thru the I.
I'm dumping madly, but get a reprieve with AZANS for 75. Two turns later, with AEGGMOR rack... he tosses out a T for me. MORTGAGE squeezes in nicely.
He has REPTILES for 83. Another 48 point turn for him... all U's are gone, and he exchanges one tile. Hm... wonder what that could be. I draw it, dump QAT for 40.
He has last blank, obviously. Triples are open here and there, and one particularly easy bingo lane. I hold SEGYBNX. Two in the bag. 348-338 for me. I figure I have to dump INBY for 15 to block 3 of the easiest lanes. I draw SD. Great. He has easy INCHEd for 39. I get one point less for DEX/INBYE than DEXY. I take DEXY, he plays his unblockable 12 point out play, I lose 393-397.
5th game... squeezed it in... Harold, the strong non-tourney player.
I bingo second turn with LURCHES. I remember wondering about HERCULES (HERCULEAN is obviously good, but that means nothing)... and HERCULES is ok. Other 8's... BLUCHERS, LUNCHERS, LURCHERS, SLOUCHER.
I follow that with 52 for something. He takes 32 for ZOO, and a turn later he finds RHUBARbS, thru the R I think.
7's with that rack: kURBASH, RHUmBAS/SAmBHUR, and tARBUSH. Most interesting of 12 potential 8's might be BAHADURS/SUBAHDAR (geez, a medal to anyone who knows THAT anagram pair).
I hold orphan DILUTER. Only 3 possible 8's... DILUTERS/STUDLIER, UNDERLIT.
I dump DUI, hoping to monopolize the T hook to the triple, but he had SKITED for 50.
After 10, he's up 270-261.
He takes the X for 38, I bingo with ALMONER, and pick up MILTERS... and play it for 90. He challenges that, figuring it's good, but he's banking on the slim chance it's not.
Ends 489-345.