mechamind
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Aspiring recappers just need a little spark.
Posts: 5,216 
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Post by mechamind on Oct 29, 2015 10:14:38 GMT -5
It's already in my head to knock out RSTLNE from the puzzle, but I sometimes forget about the three-and-a-vowel.
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jmdarrall
Made It and Played It 
Waited 30 years for this moment! Thanks, Wheel!
Posts: 446
Airdate: 04/25/13
Winnings: $17,250
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Post by jmdarrall on Oct 30, 2015 16:23:20 GMT -5
I was faced with a difficult puzzle myself, and really no idea what to call. As a reminder, here's what I faced...
- - - - -
- - - - E T
THING
I went in with no real set idea of what to choose. I generally thought that C and M would've helped, and wound up choosing those. I chose K because most of the words that I see ending with ET usually have CK in front of them (like JACKET, POCKET, or BUCKET). I chose A as a vowel because the puzzle provided me with no real clues. Here's what happened next.
- - M M -
- - - - E T
And the nervous look of "Uh-oh...I'm screwed!" appeared on my face. My strategy was to try to get at least one extra letter on each word, but that didn't help. In all honesty, a Y would have helped, as THING nowadays pretty much translates to "random adjective (which usually ends with Y anyway) noun combo," as in my puzzle, YUMMY BUFFET. The case can be made to pick letters based on what you see in the puzzle.
On the other hand, even the best-laid plans on what to call can get you absolutely nowhere. I would argue that you want to see where the puzzle takes you, then call letters from there, but make sure they are not too common, but not too uncommon (letters like G, P, M, H, D, and W fit the bill here).
I definitely agree with Flerb when he says don't call obvious letters, as they are usually traps. Josh Woo's episode highlighted this oh-so-well. As for people saying to analyze the other episodes that are taped that day...I don't think that has anything to with it. The bonus puzzle can literally be anything. I just examined the five bonus puzzles from the episodes that taped before mine (TRICK PLAY, FIREHOUSE, HANG IT UP, WHISKED AWAY, and VIOLIN BOW). If I had chosen the most common consonants from those (besides RSTLN), I would have chosen W, H, and either P, K, or Y. Of those, only Y would've helped. If I had chosen the most common vowel from those (other than E), I would've chosen I and gotten bubkus. Previous episodes, especially recent ones, tend to tell you what the letters are NOT, rather than what they ARE.
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WayoshiM
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Wheel Statistican
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SPIN ID: GM5193544
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Post by WayoshiM on Nov 1, 2015 0:09:55 GMT -5
Hey, people using my data! Thank you. I actually am fairly well caught up and should post S32 at some point.  Interesting use of my list of multiples to "flatten" it into a score by Zach, or the expected multiple. That's a couple ways to try to consider "how useful is this letter when it's called" instead of just "whether it's there or not", but one thing that's just going to be impossible to quantify is how often a single is "impactful", e.g. W in a key spot, etc. I think Scott's advice is best... we have two common sets, CDMA and BGHO. P has been shown to be fairly useful also and can substitute one of the consonants, probably M. But hey, M just showed up four times in Sheri's huge game, so it occasionally has a use. Look at the puzzle and try to judge what might be there, and also what traps they might want you to waste picks on (like Josh correctly did on his). The most recent episode, with YOUNG ADULT FICTION, was a good example of going for broke on a rare letter without considering context. I also briefly thought of the potential evil QUILT, but how likely was it going to be the middle word out of three? I couldn't make up anything reasonable with QUILT as a descriptor - it would be the LAST word. The contestant ended up wasting Q, when D actually would have given the biggest help. |
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Post by atrocalypse on Dec 1, 2015 23:28:58 GMT -5
I'd go with GDV and A.
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