I have a bingo here. Should I play it?

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I have a mix of good and bad tiles on my rack and a moderate lead. What is the approach to maximize my winning chances?

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I have the bingo SELVAGE but it is unplayable. What is the best play here?

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What is the best course of action here?

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Answer: D1 ENDERS and 10H SEND are tied for the right play, both winning 25%. At first glance, it may appear as though fishing is the right path. Fishing does not work out very well in this position for two main reasons.

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This position looks hopeless, but there is a way to win. Can you find it?

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The best play is definitely a parallel play on row 9, but which one?

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I’m at a bit of a crossroads here. Should I take the points with something like 2J WASTER or should I make a fishier play like 9M WE?

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Things are looking pretty good here, but I can’t completely fall asleep at the wheel. What is the best approach to winning the game?

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There is one way to win by one point. What is the sequence?

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What is the best play here?

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What is the best way to address the O column? Should I cash in my S now or should I fish?

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Things are looking pretty good here, but I do need to be a bit careful in order to win 100% of the time. What is the correct play here?

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Answer: I have 3 100% wins. I6 CUSP, I5 CUDS, and I5 CUPS.

The first thing to note is that in order to win 100% of the time, I have to at the minimum block OVERNEAT. This is why many of the 7/8 win plays lose with the I in the bag. The second order of business is to ensure a flexible enough second rack that I can win even if I draw the V. The first play I considered was H2 EXCUDIT, which gets me stuck with the V if I draw it.

CUSP, CUDS, and CUPS all succeed by leaving nice options for the V draw. CUDS leaves me with O7 EXPO, and CUSP and CUPS leave me with O8 EXO. Importantly, none of those plays actually use the V. What they do, however, is leave the V with another tile to prevent sticks. My play of I3 CUPIDS does not work, because if I draw the V I cannot threaten EXO without getting stuck. Without the threat of a V stick after the 8/8 wins, Brian has to go out in two, and none of them are quite enough to win.

For fun, here is the endgame sequence after my actual play of CUPIDS and a V draw.

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I have one win here, and it is by one point. Can you spot it?

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Answer: The correct play is UrVA or UlVA at 13L.

Yes, technically I have two wins, but they are the exact same thing except for blank choice, and it makes no significant difference, so I combined them into 1.

Ultimately the lesson here is that it’s okay to use the blank first or second in the endgame. Earlier in the game, you often want to keep the blank because of the possibility of drawing a bingo later. In this situation, we’re in the endgame and I have AEIOUU?. I am not going to bingo. My best bet is to make the best out in two possible, and whether I should use the blank first or second depends on other factors.

The most important things to look for in a winning out in two are blocking opponent outs/good plays and leaving yourself outplays. Regarding the first point, I have to block my opponent’s only out of L6 UNPURSE and my opponent’s 26 point plays like 12K PURIS. I also must be careful not to set up SPURNE, an issue that caused my chosen play of M8 EUOI to be a poor one.

Regarding the second point, it might feel weird to keep EIOU, but it’s perfectly fine. EUOI is a word and it plays in two different spots, so I will be ready to go out next turn no matter what. Ultimately, UrVA and UlVA are the only two plays that satisfy both conditions enough to win the game.

Remember: It’s okay to use the blank first or second in the endgame when planning an out in two. Often you choose to keep the blank because it allows you to make more threats in the future. However, when using the blank is the only viable way to block your opponent’s outplay, you will want to use the blank first.

I have a bad rack here. Do I need to exchange?

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Answer: There is no need to exchange. 5G FAZED is the best play. This position is a good example of positive synergy not meaning the same as a good leave. Objectively speaking, LUVV is an awful leave. It is still an awful leave even though it has some semblance of synergy. Note that on the whole, it probably has negative synergy, given that two Vs together are bad. However, the L significantly softens the blow of keeping UVV, meaning that there is some element of synergy there.

LUVV is one letter off from the words VULVA and LUVVY. It is also two letters off from a decent amount of 6 letter words, which is not a lot but is more than you would expect from such an awful leave. While it has an atrocious leave value of -19.2, this is significantly better than the -21.5 value of UVV, showing that the L is actually somewhat of a synergistic bailout for the UVV combo. In tandem with FAZED scoring 36 vs exchanging scoring 0, this is enough to make FAZED a better option than my choice of exchange LUVV.

Things are not looking very good for me in this position. What is the best way to try to give myself the most winning chances?

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The two main options here are 14J WINGER and 13K JEWIE. Which of the two is a better play?

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There are several bingo lane threats here, but I have the lead. What is the best play here?

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This will be the first position featured from the one day that I played in yesterday. Although I am winning by over 100 points, there is still a best endgame, and the spread achieved from the endgame could end up mattering. What is the best spread play here?

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What is the best play here?

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