Archive for December, 2009
Scrabble Players’ Top 10 Lame Excuses For Losing in 2009
10. There are only 9 ‘I’s in your tile bag.
9. I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was tossin’ and turnin’, turnin’ and tossin’, tossin’ and turnin’ all the night.
8. You play too fast; I felt rushed.
7. Those aren’t real words; we play open dictionary at my house.
6. You were coffee-housing and all that interesting gossip was distracting.
5. I took advice from that guy over there; how was I to know that he is a newbie?
4. When you were studying your stems I thought that you were developing a sideline in horticulture.
3. With all those yiddish words in the OWL2, and you being Jewish, I feel like a ‘KLUTZ’; I don’t have chance against you. What do you think I am? Chopped Liver?
2. You shake the tiles so loudly that you give me a headache.
1. I’m moral and all the winners are all HOOKERS.
Scrabble: Mix Things Up By Anagramming
Did you know that there is more than one way to use your ‘EARS’?
When playing scrabble we frequently find a word on our rack that doesn’t fit to play on the board. Times like that illustrate the value of anagrams.
An anagram is merely taking the letters in a word and rearranging them to create a different word.
EARS = ARES; ARSE; ERAS; RASE; SEAR; and SERA
Did you know all the words above?
The top competitive players in the game study the anagrams in the shorter words, but when they study the anagrams in a ‘bingo stem’, like ’satine’, they master 69 bingos on as few as 26 cards. If you don’t know about ’stems’ you need to CLICK HERE.
Here’s a sample: NASTIER
NASTIER = ANESTRI; ANTSIER; RATINES; RETAINS; RETINAS; RETSINA; STAINER; and STEARIN
Here’s an exercise that you can do today. (Avoid doing this while drive or working with machinery.)
Notice the items around you, like a STOP sign. Write down STOP. Now write down the anagrams.
STOP = OPTS; POST; POTS; SPOT; TOPS
Have fun with it. Look for the anagrams of words that may produce high score for you while playing scrabble.
SCRABBLE: words including ‘dog’
Many people enjoy learning words by using category lists. This can be fun and even interesting, but it is not efficient in the scheme of learning lots of high probability words (words that appear frequently on your tile rack).
In spite of this flaw, I am like those who enjoy reading and creating category word lists. There are many different ways to sort and categorize.
Some people will automatically think that my ‘dog’ list is made up kinds of dogs like poodle and spitz. As far as I know, there isn’t yet a computer program that search a dictionary and identify words that fit that kind of category. Years ago, when I did a category list of ‘monetary units’ I slid my finger down each page in the dictionary, scanning the definitions, then selecting and copying the words that fit the category onto a list. Do that kind of a search takes a very long time, but can be more fun than doing a 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
The category list that I offer you today includes words that include the letters d, o, and g in that order.
CLICK HERE
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When you finish reviewing my list you may be inspired to create a category list of your own.
SCRABBLE: 3 Letter Words
So you think you know all the ‘legal’ 3 Letter Words in the scrabble dictionary?
I’m sure that you’ll agree that we have to know the words in order to be a frequent winner at the scrabble board.
When families gather at this time of year, one of the most popular games that comes out of the closet is scrabble. Take as little or as much information from this page and its links with you to the competition with your family and you will be more prepared to raise some eyebrows, and win the game. (WARNING! If you become too good no one will want to play with you and you’ll have to seek out a scrabble club.)
Some of the less known 3 letter words that will usually earn a challenge for you are CWM, CRU, EDH, HMM, JUS, QAT, QIS, XIS, and ZAS.
If you are using the official scrabble dictionary, there will be 1,015 Three Letter Words.
Right now you are probably sighing and thinking to yourself that you don’t have the time to learn all those words before the big family game. But I’d be willing to bet you that you already know 30% – 60% of the 3 Letter Words. That reduces your task considerably.
Now you’re asking yourself where you can obtain the list of the 3 letter words? That’s why I’m here. If you go to my link by CLICKING HERE, I will supply them to you ‘FOR FREE’ Read the rest of this entry »
Nostalgia
Every year, during the last week on the calendar, we are bombarded by programs that remember for us. These programs choose their versions of the highlights within the package of 365 days, coming to a close at week’s end. The shows can be entertaining. They can touch our hearts as we remember those who passed away this year. They can stir our anger and outrage as we relive the images of disasters and scenes of the inhumanity of man to his fellow man. Other snippets can fill us with hope and inspiration when we witness the advances of science and the individuals who raised themselves up despite adversities.
Nostalgia can be a comfortable place. We’ve all been there. We all survived it. We have a specific knowing of how ‘good’ or ‘bad’ those times and events were.
And nostalgia distracts us.
Nostalgia should be used in the same way that drivers use a rear-view-mirror. We look back from time to time to make certain that we are not in any danger. But we can never drive forward by holding on to the rear view mirror.
The real focus that will make the biggest difference for each of us is the road ahead. To achieve control we should keep our hands on the steering wheel.
This week, while the programmers will be attempting to hook us with nostalgia, millions of us will be writing new years resolutions. This can be a good thing. But again, many of the millions who write resolutions will squander the opportunity by writing a list without much self-introspection. A huge percentage of folks will write a resolution about losing weight; these same people will go on to eat and drink to access during the rest of the holiday. Some will write a resolution about being a nicer person in 2010. That sounds nice; but did they every think it through? What specific actions will they do or not do that will measure that they are being nicer?
Right now, 2010 is an unknown. 2010 has the potential to be wonderful or dreadful. We each have the opportunity to contribute our best, be at our worst, or merely sit on the sidelines as an observer.
Scrabble players can just show up and play, like treading water in the ocean, not going anywhere. Scrabble players can learn a few new words each week in order to be more competitive, offering a greater challenge. Scrabble players can become scrabble ambassadors, recruiting new players into the community.
The future can unfold passively, or we can take actions and make a difference.
There Never Is An End To Learning
One of the most exciting things that I experience over and over again is the thrill of learning something new (new to me). Most ‘new’ things are not new at all; they are only thing that we never knew until we learned or discovered them.
I imagine that there are so many pieces and parts to our own world that it would literally be impossible for any one person to know everything.
It was when I was in the 8th Grade at Post Junior High School that I discovered that I like green beans. It was lunch time, going through the cafeteria line, when I allowed myself to try some. I was pleasantly surprised.
It was mid 1970s when the name of someone, unknown to me, appeared on my season ticket for a summer concert at Pine Knob in Ortonville, Michigan. Not knowing the singer, it meant nothing to me; I wasn’t even certain that I wanted to spend a valuable evening attending the concert. I went. That night turned out to be magical. The amphitheater was filled with his groupies, holding lit candles, singing his songs right along with him. He was Harry Chapin.
This singer/poet/storyteller blew me away. I looked all around me at the sea of fans and wondered how could it be that I had never even heard the name of Harry Chapin before this evening. I became an instant fan, purchased every one of his ‘tapes’, and listened to his music again and again: ‘Mr. Tanner,’ ‘Cat In The Cradle,’ ‘50,000 lbs. of Bananas’.
In 1987 and I had been single again for a few years when I saw an announcement for a scrabble activity, listed in the SINGLES column of a local newspaper. At the time I was a casual, kitchen-table type of player, and knew nothing at all about the competitive scene. (The editor of the article misplaced the notice in the SINGLES column, lucky for me.) It was really a playoff of players competing for spaces to attend the upcoming National Scrabble Tournament. I remember the awkwardness that I felt when I discovered what I had walked into. I glanced at the boards out of the side of my eye and wondered what language they were using. I had thought that I was a scrabble ‘hot-shot’. On this day I learned mostly that I knew very little when it came to words-in-the-dictionary or playing scrabble. But I was instantly mesmerized and hooked.
Today I live in a senior community in Orange County, California. I am a babe here, compared to the average resident. They tell me that the average age here is 80-something and there are more than 100 residents who are over 100 years of age. One thing that stands out here is the willingness of many of the folks to continue to learn. The ones who do not pursue learning tend to shrivel up and decay.
Learning Keeps People Young At Heart.
SCRABBLE provides us all the opportunity to continue to learn. Every game is different and challenges us to learn one more word, one more strategy. If you want to know how to learn how to become a better player CLICK HERE.
We All Have To Begin Somewhere
Some look at the enormity of the task and say, “I Can’t”.
Behaviorists know that when you say I Can’t, you have sabotaged yourself.
Some look at the enormity of the task and whisper, “I’ll Try.”
Psychologists know that when people say I’ll Try they are not fully committed, and are planning a convenient escape clause for themselves.
Some look at the enormity of the task and say, “I Will”.
The ‘I Will’ person is the person that I like to be. The ‘I Will’ people are the ones that I want on my team.
It was a cold winter day in December 1968. I was standing over the grave of my first child, my infant daughter, who had succumbed to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). I was numb. Life was not fair. Getting out of bed in the morning was an overwhelming task.
When I meet scrabble enthusiasts who settle to play words like ‘dog’ and ‘cat’ and ’smile’ during their game, when these same people tell me that ‘gox’ and ‘etui’ and ‘ngwee’ are not ‘REAL WORDS‘, I become very annoyed.
Standing at that graveside, if I had given in to the notion of ‘That’s All There Is’, I should have jumped into the grave along with the coffin.
But there’s always more East to go.
At times we may become overwhelmed and discouraged; it may seem that there are no answers. But I have learned that the human spirit is resilient. We are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit.
One trick is, breaking the challenge down in size. There are 155,000+ words in the OWL2, the Official Word List, and bible for scrabble players. The average person on the street knows about 5% of the words in the dictionary (7750 words). That means that the average person DOES NOT KNOW
- 147,250 words in the OWL2. What percentage do you think that you know?
Which of these are words in the OWL2?
___ crwth
___ gjetost
___ healings
___ myc
___ nonidea
Once you learn the answer to my question, will you be able to learn and remember the words that are new to you? If you had a chance to use them in a scrabble game, would you play them?
I have used my teaching and organizational skills to break down the task of learning the dictionary into bite size pieces. It doesn’t reduce the size of the whole job. But when you see how easy it becomes to master one piece, it will motivate you to go ahead to another piece.
When you get to the point that you know 10% of the words in the dictionary, you’ll know twice as much as the person on the street. You Can Do It.
CLICK HERE and challenge yourself.
P.S. My life evolved. I founded a school in the memory of my daughter. I went forward and have 5 children and 3 grandchildren. I spend a part of every day engaging other, teaching life’s lessons, encouraging people like you to be all that you can be.
Having Gotten To Today . . .
Remember that every single thing that you’ve gone through has helped bring you to where you are today. That includes all the good days and the bad days, and the ugly ones too.
Scrabble players know what I mean. There isn’t a game that I play that doesn’t teach me a lesson or two. And every time, after a winning session, when I indulge myself by feeling the joy of a ‘mister smartie pants’, I fall back to earth the next session learning that I still don’t know what I don’t know.
New parents, who watch their children grow and develop can see this process at its most basic level. Try to stand; fall down. Try to stand; fall down. Try to stand; fall down. Try to stand; waddle and fall down. Try to stand; waddle and fall down. Finally stand, holding on to a table for dear life.
I watch newbies develop their scrabble skills at club and listen closely to what they say.
Session 1: “Are those really words?” “There are how many 2 Letter Words?”
Session 2: “Did you know za means pizza?” “I’ll never learn all those words.”
Session 3: (Those players who can’t handle the initial losing were hit by the streetcar on the Freeway.)
Session 3*: “How did you do that?” “That’s a great hook.”
Session 4: “Look, I scored 46 points.”
Session 5: “I played my first bingo.” “I beat Amanda.”
Session 6: “What word lists should I study first?”
And so it goes.
Whether it is a baby’s first step or playing scrabble with the sharks, there is some process that we go through to achieve. It begins with desire, passion, and an action. Even though a rare few find success on their first try, most of us go through some trial and error, advancing incrementally.
If you consider yourself a novice and want to begin now, CLICK HERE.
If you are driven to succeed and an over-achiever, CLICK HERE.
If scrabble is not your passion, thank for looking in and checking this out. Enjoy whatever it is that you choose to do.
If At First You Don’t Succeed
Some scrabble players moan and quit after drawing a rack with all vowels.
Imagine being this man:
At age 31 the man failed in business.
At age 32 the man attempted to run for a legislative office and was defeated.
At age 34 the man again tried a business venture and failed.
When the man was 35 he experienced the death of a loved one.
At age 36 the man suffered a nervous breakdown.
Eight years later, at 43, he ran for congress and was defeated.
At age 46 he was again defeated in a congressional race.
At age 48 he was defeated in a congressional race.
Then at age 55 he was again defeated in a congressional race.
Not being discouraged, at 56 the man made an unsuccessful try at becoming vice-president.
At age 58 the man ran for senator and was defeated.
And then at the age of 60 the man was elected
The President of The United States.
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I’m Dreaming Of A ‘Hot Spot’ Christmas
Have you played much scrabble at the sites online?
Have you played much scrabble face-to-face at NASPA sanctioned clubs?
One of the big differences in the levels of play that you will observe is the difference in scores, due to the proper and efficient use of the ‘hot spots’.
‘Hot Spots’ are the colored squares on the scrabble board that offer premium score for letters and words that play on top of them. The word played can be something as common as ‘personal’ or as rare as ‘ossetras’ (played as a triple/triple by Donna Dwaileebe on 12/13 at Club #350).
In order to use the ‘hot spots’ effectively you must be aware of them and do a little planning. You must also beat out your opponent by using the ‘hot spots’ before they are used.
(On the left, a player played ’slouches’ through the ‘E’ for 136 points.)
Even the most novice of players quickly learns to appreciate the TLS (Triple-Letter-Score).
Players need to know that the person who plays ‘HINT’ as pictured here is asking for big trouble, especially if the ‘Q’ and ‘X’ are still alive in the game.
If you don’t get it, don’t feel bad; it is a learned skill. I’d be happy to provide you some coaching on this topic or enroll you into SCRABBLE 101, which is full of tips and lessons on all the finer points of the game of scrabble.
No need to just dream about a significant improvement by Christmas.
Take action!
Let’s you and I begin today. Call me: (949) 510-1673.