Tips to Transform Your Scrabble Game
Alright, so your mother-in-law, a PhD in English Literature, has challenged you, a lowly salesclerk at the local bookstore, to a “friendly” game of Scrabble. Sound like a hopeless case? Certainly not! More than just a rivalry of vocabularies, Scrabble is a game of strategy. Equipped with the right tricks, even a child could give your mother-in-law a run for her money! This article will give you five proven tips guaranteed to transform your Scrabble game. Whether you are a novice to the game, or looking to increase your skill in order to compete in clubs or tournaments, a little practice with these techniques will bring instant results! Tip #1: Two-by-Twos Experienced Scrabble players agree that the first key to success is memorizing the list of acceptable two-letter word combinations. This sounds harder than it really is. There are only 96 two letter words, and you undoubtedly know 23 of them. (Some lists include 120 two-letter words, depending on which dictionary you refer to. The 1998 Chambers Dictionary, as well as the Chambers Official Scrabble Words qualifies 120 words, while the Merriam Webster Official Scrabble Players Dictionary includes only 96. A good word of thumb would be to decide at the outset of a game which dictionary you will be using. I’d focus on the list of 96 words, as they are universally accepted in almost all dictionaries.) Why is this word list so valuable, considering you only use two tiles? Knowing the two letter words helps you to build parallel words, enabling you to count your letters twice for each word you form. This dramatically increases your score! This skill is absolutely essential when the board is “closed,” (meaning that there are no wide open spaces to build new words in), as well as at the end of the game, when you must empty out your rack. Memorizing this list only takes minutes if you associate each letter with the number of words it forms, (for example, there are 16 “A” words, 5 “B” words, etc.). Going through the lists and becoming familiar with the lesser known words is usually all it takes to commit the list to memory. It’s nice to know there are a few words that don’t require vowels! The 96 words are: aa, ab, ad, ae, ag, ah, ai, al, am, an, ar, as, at, aw, ax, ay, ba, be, bi, bo, by, de, do, ed, ef, eh, el, em, en, er, es, et, ex, fa, go, ha, he hi, ho, id, if, in, is, it, jo, ka, la, li, lo, ma, me, mi, mm, mo, mu, my, na, ne, no, nu, od, oe, of, oh, om, on, op, or, os, ow, ox, oy, pa, pe, pi, re, sh, si, so, ta, ti, to, uh, um, un, up, us, ut, we, wo, xi, xu, ya, ye, yo. Tip #2: “Racking” up Points by Anagramming The difference between an average and an advanced Scrabble player has to do with the number of options a player can find in a given rack. Don’t just find one word and give up—keep moving those tiles around. There may very well be a better option than the one you find initially. Even if you end up using the same tiles, one word may score a higher value than another based on the location of the bonus squares. In addition, you may opt for one word over another because it is harder for your opponent to build on. For instance, if you have a hunch that your opponent has an S you should avoid laying down a noun, as this would allow him/her to “hook” on, scoring points for both words! Tip #3: Keep it Hot This hint may seem obvious at first, although there’s a bit more to it than first meets the eye. As you formulate your options on the board, focus on the “hot spots,” or the squares which award you double and triple the value of your tile and/or word. Use these squares to even better advantage by building parallel words, allowing you to use the bonus square two times (once for the horizontal word, and again for the vertical.) This is where that list of two-letter words comes in handy, particularly the words that contain high-scoring letters like J, Q, X, and Z. For example, the word “ex” used in a parallel position where the X lands on a triple would score at least 26 points. The other side of this equation is that you must be careful not to make these hot spots available for your opponent! However, if you have a great word that opens up a triple, don’t throw it out the window. Weigh up your score against what your opponent may likely get. You may still come out ahead. Who knows? Your opponent may even pass up the triple, giving you a shot! Tip #4: The Q—boon or bane? No doubt about it, the Q is one of the most difficult tiles to play; therefore, it demands attention. There are a few tricks that can help you turn the Q to your advantage. First of all, it’s advisable to commit to memory a few Q words that don’t require a U. Yes, they exist, and they are worth a lot of points, besides! So, here is your second (and final, for now) list of words to memorize: qaid, qanat, qat, qindar, qintar, sheqel, tranq, qoph, qwerty, faqir. The words “aid” and “at” are particularly helpful for those looking to dump a Q, and this goes for your opponent too! Take care not to lay down either word if you suspect your opponent of having the Q on his/her rack, particularly at the end of the game! (I know this from sad experience; this oversight cost me an important match!) Whatever you do, don’t hold on to Qs for more than a turn or two, hoping to draw a U. (This also goes for holding onto Us in case of drawing a Q.) Try to get it off your rack as soon as possible, as you lessen your chance of playing a good move when you’re only using six of your tiles. And if the game is close to the end you may want to consider trading it if there aren’t any options on the board. You certainly DO NOT want to get stuck with an unplayed Q at the end of the game, as it automatically adds 20 points to your opponent’s score. Tip #5: Plan for BINGOs Our last tip can be quite satisfying once it is mastered. It has to do with creating BINGO words (words which use all seven tiles) and is remarkably easy, once you know how to do it. Start by sorting your rack according to common word endings and save these letter combinations. One of the most valuable sets is “ING.” This takes care of three of your letters, and it’s much easier to form a four or five letter verb that works with “ING.” Voila! You have a BINGO! Some other common endings you want to watch for are -ed, -er, -ier, -iest, and -ies. I’ve even used -ation to good advantage. Un- and re- are good letters to set aside for word beginnings. Laying down your first BINGO is almost a rite of passage in the Scrabble world. Now you are prepared to take on that grandiloquent mother-in-law; put that palaverous brother in his place. With practice, you may soon be able to join the ranks of the real Scrabble champions. Copyright 2006 Emma Snow
Other Trading Tips Articles
Forex Trading – The Six Major Reasons Traders Lose Money In FOREX trading, there are six major reasons traders lose money. If you can avoid these pitfalls then you can join the minority of winners that pile up the big profits consistently.Here are the trading traps that will cause you to lose money:1. The Contrarian’s DiseaseYou should have a contrary opinion to the other Forex tr ...Get Noticed - Change Your MySpace Name! When you first sign up for a MySpace profile you’ll see that the name you requested during sign up is shown at the top of your profile. As your profile matures or your interests change, you may want to redefine the direction of your profile and change its name.Your name is practically your MySpace headline and what you select will have an ...Learn to Invest Money: Three Tips for Finding a Superior Financial Consultant Have you ever been frustrated by the seemingly endless supply of cookie cutter financial consultants that work for the biggest investment firms on Wall Street? Ever wonder how to really know if Jane, who was assigned to be your new financial consultant, is any better than Peter, your ex-financial consultant that just left your firm? I’ll give yo ...Your Guide to Learning a Forex Trading System There are a great number of people in America that are interested in investing in order to make a tidy profit. There are many ways to invest and many ways to make profits by investing. One method that has been gaining in popularity is that of the Forex trading system. If you are unsure of what this is, let me explain. Forex stands for foreig ...Futures Trading Systems - How to Build Huge Long Term Gains Futures trading systems allow anyone to build long-term capital gains – quickly, and without incurring high asset manager fees. Systems and can yield annual profits of 50% to 100% - sometimes even more.You should consider using a futures trading system for the following reasons.1. Diversification – a number of asset classes are cov ...Day Trading Securities - How To Make Money Day Trading Online What is day trading?Day trading is an extremely risky way of investing in the stock market. Day trading is carried out by day traders who rapidly purchase and sell stocks over a single day period in the hope that for the very short period over which they hold the stocks (ranging from just a few seconds to a couple of hours) the value will ...Investing Tips - How to Make Time Work for You Almost everyone has heard about compounding interest in one conversation or another over the years. Some of you may even have a pretty good understanding of compounding interest, but I doubt it many of you truly grasp the enormous power that compounding interest has to offer over time. To demonstrate, I am going to give you an example of two inv ...Ten Ways to Manage a Rapidly Growing Business While some new business owners face the issue of not enough customers, others face the issue of too many customers/clients. Both are serious issues and must be dealt with carefully. There are many lists on how to find new customers/clients. Here is a list of 10 ways to deal with a rapid influx of new customers. The goal is a steady flow of j ...Business Banking Basics One of the most important features of large and small business is to have good business banking. Good business banking will allow the money within your company to flow, and will greatly save you time and money. If you are a small business owner and are unsure about where to begin with business banking, then here are some basic tips to get you st ...Seecrets on Investment: Tired of Making Huge Losses in the Stock Market - Part 2 Fundamental analysis.Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the future trends of a stock is to understand the financial figures of the underlying company. The fundamental analyst would calculate a theoretical value of the company using cash flow analysis, recent dividends and earnings, future dividends and earnings projections ...Brokerage Firms Brokerage firms facilitate the trading of stocks, commodities and currencies by providing opportunities to the interested sellers and buyers for a specified fee. These firms also provide borrowing facilities against an underlying asset to enhance liquidity in the markets and to spur trading.Brokerages are required to register with a recog ...Don't Get Caught By This Stock Tips Spam Scam Spam emails have been the scourge of the Internet for a number of years now and the problem is still growing despite legislation, zealous spam filters and all sorts of clever techniques to prevent it.I'm sure that most of us have been subject to unsolicited email messages (spam) promoting medications, virility enhancers, impotence cures, ...Should You Sell Your Car Or Trade It In? Many people rush into selling their car or trading their car before taking the time to really make sure that they do it right and get the most money out of the transaction. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when selling or trading your car.Before you put your car up for sale:* Be sure to do some research first. Prospective bu ...Preserve Equity, Build for the Future Using a 1031 Tax Exchange Thinking of trading up on an investment resort property? If so, look into 1031 Tax Exchanges (based on IRS Code Section 1031), which allow taxpayers to defer taxes on capital gains resulting from the sale of investment real estate, often a sizable sum since combined Federal and State taxes can run as high as 38 percent.With an exchange, o ...Build Your Own Profitable FOREX Trading System in Five Simple Steps If you want to make big profits, then you should know that the best way is do it for yourself - and not rely on others.Any trader (even a novice) can build a successful FOREX trading system - and this article shows you how to build a profitable system in five simple steps.What Makes a Successful FOREX Trading System?Successf ...Holy Grail Investments Every year I go to the Money Show in Orlando, Florida. Thousands attend. It is mostly an older crowd with the youngsters about 40 years of age. I have been saying for years that until you have lost enough money trying to make a fortune you will not become serious about investing. The under 40’s are shooting for the moon and it has finally dawned ...The Best Link Building Strategies The best link building strategies all have to do with common sense for the most part. People are always on the lookout for web pages that feature far more information and a lot of external links that will lead them to other like minded pages to air in their search for information. Barring any kind of unforeseen circumstances the best link buildi ...Make Money Fast - Trade For The Weekend With Fantastic Profit Potential! If you read our other articles on this site, you will see we are bullish of crude oil and unleaded gas on pullbacks.Here is a trade that could return 100% or more, see if you agree with our view, it looks an outstanding opportunity.Crude and unleaded gas have fallen over the last few days, but this will change between Friday and Mo ...Trading Glory for Dollars: The Art of Leading from the Back of the Room There is probably not another profession on the face of the earth more tailor-made for the "average person" to develop into a stage seeker than MLM. From the time you take your distributors to their first major event on (and perhaps even from the time you take them to their first business meeting), many of them begin to long for the moment when ...The Top 10 Hiring Mistakes Hiring a new employee is something that professionals often postpone as long as possible. It is important to find the right person to fill the vacancy. The hiring process takes time and effort. There is a big temptation to add someone who is available at that moment and looks like they have the skills to do it. This is often a mistake. Here ...Online Currency Trading – Why It's Harder Today than Ever Before There are many who believe that the markets today, require the same skills as 30 years ago - but today’s markets are actually much harder to trade.It may surprise you, but markets have changed and are now harder to trade - but if you know why, you can increase your profits dramatically.If you don’t already understand why online cur ...Spot Uranium Price Creeps Up to $61/Pound as Buyers Begin to Worry About Supply TradeTech published the weekly spot uranium price indicator of $61/pound, for the week ending November 10th in Friday’s edition of “Nuclear Market Review.” It is posted on the Trade Tech website. But, judging from the number of utilities seeking U3O8 equivalent, it is unlikely spot price increases will stall or stabilize at this level. Nor will ...The One Hidden Mistake Most Investors Make Most investors concentrate the majority of their time and effort into researching and picking the right stocks or commodities to invest in. The assumption is that this is the only step required to achieve investment success. That just seems like common sense. There are other steps, however, which must be followed or your account will be decimate ...Currency Technical Analysis Part 3: Dow Theory – Bull and Bear Markets In previous articles, we’ve looked at the history of Dow Theory, and why it's the best theory ever, for currency technical analysis.The logic for spotting the big trends follows - and it’s these trends that we want to catch - as they yield the big profits!Hamilton identified three specific phases, in both primary bull markets, and ...Short Term Stock Picks Short term in the stock market scenario is defined as the immediate 1 or 2 trading days. Short term stock picks are securities that will trade well in the immediate future. The easiest way to reap maximum profits in the stock market is to identify stocks with momentum and invest in them wisely. The best short term stock picks have been seen to r ...
|
