Batting 1000

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,249 3/6 ⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜ SHONE 23 WL 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ GUARD 1 WL 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 GOING WordleBot Skill 99/99 Luck 79/99 Streak 1000 I did it! Today, my streak reached 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ days. Guess #1 provided the O (out of position) and the N (in position as Letter 4) — and reduced the possible solutions to 23 words (with only 7 solutions remaining, when adjusted for previous or unlikely solutions). In that scenario, The Bot’s favorite for Guess #2 is GUARD, which revealed G as the first letter. Information gleaned from Game #1207 on 10/8 showed that there was only one word left. I was GOING to extend my streak to 1000 days and watched happily as all the letters turned green. I tied The Bot (3 to 3) and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 4.2).

Hope everyone is having a great day. GO LIONS!!!

Take care and stay safe.

Not a FRAIL-ure

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,248 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ SHONE 376 WL ⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 TRAIL 2 WL 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 FRAIL WordleBot Skill 99/99 Luck 54/99 Streak 999 Since tomorrow is the Day Of Reckoning for my (incomprehensible) Wordle streak, I thought I should get back into the habit of posting a comment — since I’ve grown hopelessly lax in the last few months. I’m frankly shocked at my prioritization of tasks lately, devoting so much time to work. Hopefully, my plans to retire next year will come to fruition. Guess #1 today provided nothing — but eliminated 5 letters. On the other hand, Guess #2 (TRAIL, one of The Bot’s favorites in that scenario) gave me R, A, I & L — all in place. Meticulous record-keeping (from Game #863 on 10/30/2023) showed that there was only one word left. I typed in FRAIL and all the letters turned green. I tied The Bot (3 to 3) and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.7). Tomorrow, I try to extend my streak to 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ days. Hope you are having a good day.

Take care and stay safe.

If We Had But…

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,196 3/6
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜  SHONE  73 WL
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜   LAITY      1 WL
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩   FAITH

WordleBot
Skill 99/99
Luck 73/99
Streak 947

It seems incomprehensible to me — but I don’t think I’ve posted a comment since my winning streak had reached 800 games.  And that was 147 days ago.  I probably would have found some excuse not to post today either — if I hadn’t been seized by the urge to rewatch the Coen Brother’s “Hail Caesar” while imagining The Bot playing George Clooney’s role.

Guess #1 only provided the H (out of position) today.  But Guess #2 (LAITY, The Bot’s favorite in that scenario) gave me A, I & T, all in place as Letters 2, 3 & 4.  There was only one word left, I didn’t whiff, and all the letters turned green.  I beat both The Bot (3 vs 4) and the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.5).  

GO TIGERS!!!  The Magic Number is ONE!

Take care and stay safe.

Streak Update: Eight Hundred

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,049 2/6

⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨 SHONE  2 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 EBONY

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 86/99

Streak 800

I have been extremely lazy about post comments for the last month.  During that time, it’s been a steady mix of 3s and 4s — with no significant Under Par streaks.  I probably would have found some excuse not to post today either — if I hadn’t reached a significant milestone in my winning streak *AND* a Deuce on the same day.  Guess #1 provided lots of data today — showing me the O & N (in position) along with E (out of position).  Since E had to be either Letter 1 (EBONY was my first thought for that option) or Letter 2 (PEONY?), it looked like I had a coin flip for the Deuce.  I went with EBONY for Guess #2 and watched all the letters turn green.  I beat both The Bot (2 vs 3) and the (current) NYT avg (2 vs 3.8).  And my winning streak had reached 8️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ games. 

Take care and stay safe.

Throwing SHADE

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday. 

Wordle 1,006 3/6

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩 SHONE    8 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 PLEAD      1 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 SHADE

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 85/99

Streak 757

Today’s game is an excellent example of why I will *never* play in Hard mode.  Normally, I would think of matching three letters in their correct positions on Guess #1 as being a fantastic opportunity to solve quickly.  But when the letters are SH—E, it becomes a rather dangerous opportunity.  For me, this situation demands that discretion become the better part of valor — and playing in Hard mode would essentially eliminate Skill from the equation, turning play into a guessing game.

By holding back on my tendency toward aggressive play for Guess #2, I was able to give myself a shot at a Checkmate 3 — although ending up with a 5 was not out of the question.  I used PLEAD for Guess #2 (The Bot preferred ARMED — but said PLEAD was one of its “top picks”) and luck was with me.  I now knew A & D were included in the solution — and only one word remained.  I played SHADE and watched happily as all the letters turned green.  I beat The Bot (3 vs 4) and the (current) NYT avg (by more than a full guess, 3 vs 4.2). 

Take care and stay safe.

The Dreaded *INGO Trap

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1,005 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ SHONE    67 WL

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜ GATOR      6 WL

⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 BINGO       2 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 LINGO

WordleBot

Skill 99/99

Luck 42/99

Streak 756

I really wanted to shout out “BINGO!” this morning — but it was not to be.  Guess #1 revealed O & N (both out of position) and I went with The Bot’s favorite word in that scenario (GATOR) for Guess #2.  That showed me a third letter (G, out of position) but I still didn’t know where anything was placed.  The first word that came to mind that would place N, G & O in positions they hadn’t yet been tried was BINGO.  I had high hopes — but when the first letter didn’t change color, I knew the game was still afoot.  And I was faced with the DINGO / LINGO coin flip.  Surprisingly, I did win that flip (I suspect my win percentage on coin flips for Guess #4 is better than for Guess #3 — although I have no evidence) and LINGO turned all the letters green.  I lost to The Bot but bested the (current) NYT avg (4 vs 4.2). 

In non-Wordle news, after nearly a year of spending extensive amounts of time and cash at my dentist's office, my new front tooth (read: dental implant) is in place and looking fantastic.  It was a long road —but worth the effort, I think.  Kudos to all the folks at Jamestowne South Dental in Southfield, MI and especially my dentist, Dr. Peter Cracchiolo Jr.

Take care and stay safe.

"The Dude ABIDEs..."

Here's my post on the New York Time's Wordle Review comments for yesterday.

Wordle 1,004 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 SHONE   193 WL

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ TRAIL          3 WL

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ABIDE

WordleBot

Skill 85/99

Luck 61/99

Streak 755

The Coen Brothers served me well this morning.  Guess #1 revealed only E as the last letter and Guess #2 provided A & I (both out of position).  My first thought was to try moving those two letters to positions 2 & 3 — but the first words that came to mind either couldn’t be the solution based on eliminated letters (like RAISE) or were previously used (MAIZE).  Then I began to look at words starting with A — and ABIDE immediately leapt out at me.  I quickly played it as Guess #3 and watched all the letters turn green.  I didn’t know until later that it had been a coin flip between ABIDE and WAIVE.  I tied The Bot and bested the (current) NYT avg (3 vs 3.7).  My current Under Par streak is now 5 days.

I’ve still not received any feedback from the WordleBot Police regarding the theft of my correct data for Game #999 on March 14.  I solved in 2 guesses - but WordleBot now shows my score as 3.  It appears I will need to reach out via other means to The Powers That Be. 

Take care and stay safe.