Subject: Never won winnables!
Date: Tue Aug 10 03:07:34 2021
User: Uberman
Message:Just testing out your ELO work on 6x3s, Mr G:-
6x3 #11349 - 5 - 67/1
Elapsed - 5:38
ELO - 4010
Date: Tue Aug 10 03:28:58 2021
User: Uberman
Message:Come on in folks, the water's lovely.....
6x3 #801 - 5 - 33/1
Elapsed - 4:45
ELO - 4013
Date: Tue Aug 10 04:12:49 2021
User: smelly_cootiefied_fence_post
Message:Ok........so I let you sucker me into trying, without checking my previous plays - and thu you 'caused' me to blow my long-standing streak of 3. Sooo stinky. LOL.
Date: Tue Aug 10 19:09:35 2021
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:This one showed up in the just finished AIO featuring 6x5's. It already had 74 losses after my (first and only) loss.
Game #: 6x5 3478
Game stats: 85/1/1.18%
Difficulty: 5
Elapsed: 4:23
Date: Wed Aug 11 00:09:15 2021
User: JackStraw
Message:10x1 W
#347547
diff. 6
11/0 0%
thought I had it the 3rd time
but my optimism was premature
Date: Sun Aug 15 10:41:14 2021
User: Gulbis
Message:You Win
Game #: 10x1 29141
Game stats: 28/1/3.57%
Difficulty: 7
Elapsed: 35:13
Streak: 29
I don't know how I pulled this one through. I stared at it for hours but couldn't see a way how to free up a column that would be useful. Eventually I decided "Oh well, apparently it's not meant to be" and starting making some moves carefully. I was pretty sure I would lose this one but I went slowly just in case and it paid off. Still can't believe it. Knowing it was winnable definitely helped.
Date: Sun Aug 15 11:29:59 2021
User: smelly_cootiefied_fence_post
Message:On the opposite side of that coin................................in yesterday's SSC, the one I lost ended up being previously 1/5. Not knowing whether it was winnable or not was a huge part of the challenge. I didn't spend anywhere near "hours" looking at it, but a while, before deciding there was maybe a 50/50 chance it was unwinnable, so plunged in - and lost it. Had I known it was winnable, I'd have spent a bit more time before that plunge looking at the plethora of possibilities. For me, it highlighted TNmountainman's (and others') argument about how much easier games are in the winnable format. I *think* he convinced a bunch of people some time back on this point, but that experience yesterday, combined with yours in this one, just makes it so clear.
Date: Fri Aug 20 06:32:14 2021
User: TitanicTony
Message:OF COURSE it is easier if you know in advance that it is winnable!!! No"argument" needed, imo!!
YEA, another good win. ... Game #: W10x1 11079-10; ... Game stats: 9/1/11.11%.
It was a fun game; I enjoyed it!
Using cards did not guarantee success, but it certainly helped!
I highly recommend using cards (and taking notes) on difficult games!!
Date: Fri Aug 20 07:31:45 2021
User: TitanicTonys_deckofcards
Message:"Fun"? "fun"?! I kinda take offense at what I just went through being referred to as "fun"!
Date: Fri Aug 20 08:23:26 2021
User: redberet
Message:I agree winnables can be just as hard as unwinnables.
Date: Fri Aug 20 12:32:04 2021
User: TitanicTony
Message:Take offense all you want!! Fun is why I'm here, plus a little cerebral exercise!!
If you're not "having fun" here, then please go someplace else! Like maybe the zoo, or a beach, somewhere!
Date: Fri Aug 20 13:33:58 2021
User: TitanicTonys_deckofcards
Message:Now wouldn't *THAT* be silly. What use could I possibly be at those places? My sole raison d'etre is, of course, helping my master out in this 'quest' he's on. While I may not term it "fun".....................I know no other existence. :(
Date: Fri Aug 20 16:46:35 2021
User: redberet
Message:You knew very well the sordid business your master had in store for you, so why beef now?
Date: Fri Aug 20 17:30:30 2021
User: TitanicTonys_deckofcards
Message:Oh.....not beefing about the job - as if I had a choice - my comment was about the "fun" characterization, as I think was clear. Just because an entity lives an existential existence doesn't mean said entity has to enjoy it. TitanicTonys_olddeckofcards should know that even moreso than myself. Not sure which of us has the worse lot in 'life' - myself for the hard labor, or olddeck just having to be kept in a dark drawer, only taken out on occasion to be lovingly caressed with memories of that 10x1 he and our master conquered back in '12. And yes..........I know my time will come, too. And then he and I will trade war stories in the drawer, of both victory and defeat. (Can't wait to tell him about all the sweet ones we've taken down.)
Date: Fri Aug 20 17:56:54 2021
User: TitanicTonys_olddeckofcards
Message:My friend, I'm not sure what Tony has been saying but, I am here on the Riviera playing Canasta tipping a glass of Dom Perignon. I will say He does give out a generous pension plan. Working conditions did leave something to be desired. All that's there in the NDA.
Date: Sun Aug 22 01:21:00 2021
User: TitanicTonys_deckofcards
Message:Dom Perignon? I've been lucky not to get yesterday's coffee spilled on parts of me! (And......btw........I'm well aware that there have been 'several' of us over the years. But the only other one I 'know' is the one in the drawer.)
Date: Sun Aug 22 15:06:56 2021
User: Isabella
Message:I'm on a continual losing streak. Challenging times @ home. (This was not a winnable).
Here's 1 for the win:
You Win
Game #: 7x4 19635
Game stats: 229/15/6.55%
Difficulty: 5
Elapsed: 46:07
Date: Sun Aug 22 17:19:53 2021
User: byronsmoot
Message:Congrats Isabella !!!
That was a tough game ... I was fortunate to win it on the first try ... mostly because of the initial layout ... (4) Diamonds stacked together screamed START HERE.
8/22 17:16 7x4 19635-5 Not scored 6:33 Won 7% 1975 16 230
Date: Wed Aug 25 01:59:31 2021
User: Uberman
Message:OK, so I don't really like posting these cos' it looks a little bit like immodesty, but this was my first game of the day and it didn't seem that difficult to start with, but then something happened later on that might've been a triple-reverse CubicSprock manouevre - not really sure.
Game #: 6x4 - 7817
Game Stats: 87/1 - 1.15%
Difficulty: 5
Elapsed: 7:57
Date: Wed Aug 25 10:54:12 2021
User: JackStraw
Message:87/1 - you're entitled
Date: Wed Aug 25 22:44:49 2021
User: Kaos
Message:Awesome Uberman. My best 6x4 was 82-1 so very well done. You must have been in “I’m not going to lose this game no matter what mode” because taking almost 8 minutes definitely meant you were being extremely cautious - and it paid off. Woo Hoo.
Date: Fri Aug 27 00:13:59 2021
User: redberet
Message:@Uberman, I would've thought that 6x4 would've rated higher than your personal best with your 10x0.
8/27 0:09 12x0 3748-11 Streak 7:29 Won 12.5% 3442 1 8
Date: Fri Aug 27 00:58:44 2021
User: Uberman
Message:Yeah, I'm not sure if that 10x0 was an anomaly ie. Mr. Guapo had just been tinkering with the ELO values for that variant and they did seem unusually high at the time. That said, the base level ELO for 10x0-5 is quite a bit higher than that of 6x4 so I guess it kind of makes sense. Even though 10x0s can obviously be tricky, I'd still fancy my chances at bagging one of those over the trickiest of 6x4s.
Date: Fri Aug 27 11:09:09 2021
User: ElGuapo
Message:Half of the 10x0-5s are unwinnable, and a tenth of the 6x4-5s are unwinnable.
Date: Fri Aug 27 11:37:11 2021
User: Uberman
Message:All I mean is that there is more scope for manoeuvre with 6x4s generally, hence more potential routes and blind alleys then 10x0s. So I still maintain that although there are more unwinnable 10x0s, the winnables in this variant are not (generally, again) as difficult to play than most of the winnable 6x4s.
Date: Fri Aug 27 11:44:33 2021
User: JackStraw
Message:yea with 10x0 you usually know where you stand fairly quickly - there are some where there are no moves or only 1 or 2
if 1/2 of 10x0 are unwinnable what were the odds of getting 8 winnables in a row
Date: Fri Aug 27 12:04:20 2021
User: redberet
Message:That's right ElGuapo, you're talking about luck of the draw, not complexity of the solution. The only reason I brought it up was his score for the 6x4 was 39xx for 1/87 tries and 4133 for his 10x0 for 1/29.
Date: Fri Aug 27 15:32:30 2021
User: jamesblackburn-lynch
Message:JackStraw,
That’s .5^8 which is about .004. So 4 in 1000 tries to have them be winnable.
James
Date: Fri Aug 27 15:57:36 2021
User: TNmountainman
Message:And...............as discussed in that 10x0 thread.......................roo was once dealt SEVENTEEN winnable 10x0 games in a row, but could only win 6 in a row, and Winsol was dealt 12 in a row, winning them all.
.5^17? Well, that's down around 0.00000763, or around 1 chance in 131,000. I think.
Date: Fri Aug 27 16:56:38 2021
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Game #: 7x3 23970
Game stats: 20/1/5.00%
Difficulty: 5
Elapsed: 4:18
Streak: 1
Today: 1
On the 6x4 vs. 10-0, it's no contest IMHO. Easy to not lose any winnable 10x0's but 6x4 is a minefield.
Date: Sat Aug 28 18:13:19 2021
User: JackStraw
Message:Doctor agree with your 6x4 diagnosis-but if half the 10x0 are winnable
the dealer has a lot of making up to do.
Date: Mon Aug 30 02:47:18 2021
User: redberet
Message:darn this, had to do it on 2nd try.
Game #: 12x0 1502
Game stats: 6/1/16.67%
Difficulty: 11
Elapsed: 3:03
Date: Mon Aug 30 06:50:02 2021
User: Gulbis
Message:You Win
Game #: 4x10 27357
Game stats: 24/1/4.17%
Difficulty: 8
Elapsed: 18:59
Streak: 32
Date: Mon Aug 30 11:36:29 2021
User: Uberman
Message:Well done, Gulbis, on keeping the streak alive with a real doozy, as roo might say. The dread I feel every time I try a 4x10, winnable or not, is palpable, so bagging a previously unwon like that must be nice.
Date: Mon Aug 30 13:41:15 2021
User: Gulbis
Message:Yes, it was definitely a tricky one and I also got a bit lucky. I can't imagine how wasjun has solved 189 of them in a row. Does he use cards as well?
Date: Mon Aug 30 15:04:20 2021
User: TNmountainman
Message:Not that it matters (what I think), but that has been my supposition all along. Note that he/she has only played 50 of the regular 4x10.
Date: Mon Aug 30 18:59:55 2021
User: jamesblackburn-lynch
Message:I gotta say, I don’t think 4x10’s should be that deadly. I don’t know the winnable percentage, but 4x8’s are vastly overrated on difficulty. 4x9’s are obviously easier. I haven’t played a 4x10 in many years (I actually don’t remember ever playing them but apparently I did long ago, with no success), but it’s safe to say they are “easier” still.
So, I don’t think winning that many of the ones that are guaranteed to be winnable is crazy or requires the use of cards. Hop doesn’t use cards, and while his streak isn’t as long as wasjun’s, he has only lost two lifetime.
Having said all that…all of them are miserable. I know Uberman’s dread. They just aren’t much fun. Oh and also…I’m not saying wasjun doesn’t use cards…might very well do it as proudly as TT….just that he/she/they don’t have to.
James
Date: Tue Aug 31 17:30:42 2021
User: TitanicTony
Message:Game #: 4x10 14437-8; .... Game stats: 2/1/50.00%.
Date: Tue Aug 31 19:02:55 2021
User: JackStraw
Message:6x4
diff. 5
#24063
150/1 0.67 %
I was not the 1
Date: Thu Sep 2 11:46:02 2021
User: redberet
Message:woohoo! This one breaks my high in elo rated game. takes a bit to crack this nut.
9/2 11:40 12x0 13972-11 Streak 8:11 Won 6.7% 3647 1 15
Date: Thu Sep 2 17:40:12 2021
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Game #: 7x3 842
Game stats: 26/1/3.85%
Difficulty: 5
Elapsed: 3:42
Streak: 1
Date: Thu Sep 2 18:09:31 2021
User: TitanicTony
Message:Congratulations! What a way to start a streak...
Maybe it's a good omen, and you will make a new all-time best!!!?
Date: Fri Sep 3 20:01:14 2021
User: Dr.Bombay
Message:Alas, not to be.
And more disappointment from today's Freakout. This one solved after the bell:
7x3 27974-10 Tournament 2:56 Won 4.8% 2166 1 21
Date: Sat Sep 4 16:47:44 2021
User: Klepp
Message:4088-5 8X2 37 hundred something ELO
Date: Sat Sep 4 22:21:00 2021
User: redberet
Message:That one took awhile to reel in. Sure is a keeper. ElGuapo has seen fit to reward previously lost 12x0.
I like it.
9/4 22:15 12x0 1882-11 Streak 2:18 Won 50% 2635 1 2
Date: Mon Sep 6 12:35:29 2021
User: Klepp
Message:18951-5 8X2 3711 ELO
Date: Mon Sep 6 14:40:02 2021
User: redberet
Message:Looks like you snagged 2 of those in a row. Now that's something.
Date: Mon Sep 6 17:19:31 2021
User: Klepp
Message:8 by 2 humbles me regularly, so I enjoy posting a conquered toughie.
Date: Tue Sep 7 14:39:15 2021
User: Klepp
Message:15846-5 8X2...took me two tries, though...
Post follow-up