Score: 358-398
Pool: BEEIILRSTU?
Opponent’s options: Bingos on row 14, columns l-o
Candidate plays: JUPE/JUT/JUS/JUST n7, JET 1j, JEEP 1i, JIMP o6, JISM o5
Potential plays on next turn: Bingos
Subgoal: Maximize your chances of playing a bingo while minimizing your opponent’s chances of playing a bingo
Resolution: The only chance for you to win this game is if you play a bingo and your opponent does not. Given this pool, this requires that you achieve two things: you maximize your odds of drawing the blank, and you make it impossible for your opponent to block all the bingo lines.
Your opponent will probably try to block the board by playing along column 14. Given that, you need to make a play that counteracts this. JUST n7 is best, drawing three tiles in hopes of getting the blank and creating another parallel lane, making it difficult to block most of the bingo possibilities in the bottom right corner. While this does block some bingo possibilities, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, since you need to prevent an opponent’s bingo if they have a good, balanced bingo rack without the blank.