Not sure how many of these I'll be doing, but... for Carnival of Death, I plan to do some commentaries on my own play, c_t style. Here's one I've done in the past, for a TexMaster Sudden 377 run. http://www.xanga.com/DDRKirbyISQ/687560615/texmaster-sudden-377-commentary.html Now, unlike c_t, I'm no GM rank player, so I won't always have the best viewpoint on my own actions. But I can still point out enough mistakes and other notable placement considerations that hopefully this will help somebody, particularly if you're just getting started with 20G play. I know i personally learned a ton from c_t's gm commentary, so think of this as my way of returning the favor . Of course, I won't be commentating EVERY game I play--that would be ridiculous. I'll just pick out some good ones when I feel like it.
Here's one to start things off. Feel free to chime in with any advice or questions! DDRKirby(ISQ) Game #1 - Manual Lock 321 This was game #1 of my official 2009 Carnival of Death experience. I'm commentating on this one because I screwed up pretty badly in the beginning, but still made it to 300 ; Video 2 - L Openings are not my strong suit...and it shows! I don't know what caused me to place the L here, but it would be much better in a symmetrical position across from the J. The placement I made here leaves an awkward hole in columns 6-7 and leaves no real good option for the upcoming T except for columns 4-5. 3 - T ...and I didn't make that placement. Instead I create an I well in column 6, which is terrible, especially with an I still in my history. 5 - S This might have been better on the right. Placing it here necessitates a J piece in column 1, and there's no (easy) way to do that now. On the other hand, I guess placing it on the right would cut off columns 9-10 completely, which would be really bad. So I guess this wasn't a bad move after all. 6 - Z On the other hand, this IS a bad move. This could easy have gone on the right. Placing it here instead creates -another- I well in column 1. Granted, an I well in column 1 isn't too bad, but I already have an I well in column 6! 7 - L I think this could have been better flat in columns 8-10. Doing so creates a hole, but it wouldn't have been a very bad hole. I think I tend to be overly afraid of making holes, so instead I make semi-bad placements to avoid that fear. Wait...on the other hand, this placement allows me to get an I into column 1. Which is good...except, that's not necessary because if I get an I it would go into column 6, not column 1. So that's a moot point. 8 - J I finally decide to clog the I well with a J. This creates a troublesome hole in column 6, but my stack is so low that it's not that big of a deal, and now look at how much more stable my stack is! Plus, now I'm still prepared to stick an I in column 1. I could have waited it out for the I, but I don't think that would have worked out at all. Plus, there was no real other good place to put this J, anyways. 10 - I D'oh! I guess I wasn't thinking straight, because I didn't put the I in my well over in column 1. I probably wouldn't have made this mistake if I was playing slower and not manual locking. 13 - S Ouch! This was me paying the price for hesitating on my placement (or maybe I just spaced out). I should have just placed this in columns 8-10, but I think I realized that it would have created a hole...then i decided to shove it left, but realized that wouldn't work either...anyways, I'm in quite a mess now! xD 16 - I ...and this is even worse ;. I didn't realize the S was blocking me from dropping the I in column 1 here--I just wanted to shove -something- into that huge hole. The S was placed really weirdly, so that's probably what caused this. On the plus side, after this mistake it became clear that I only needed to concentrate stacking on the right side now, so I can work up to clear this I. 17 - J I unnecessarily IRS here. This probably could have been better in columns 9-10, but in this case I was lucky and it worked out since I have a Z coming next. I really should just be focusing on stacking right. 19 - O This placement is debatable. Other options are in columns 7-8, creating an overhang (and probably a hole in column 10) or columns 4-5, but right now I'm really concentrating on the right. The placement I chose is the straightforward one. It creates an I well in column 10, but it's okay if I fill that with an L or something. 21 - S I could have avoided making a hole here by placing this in columns 8-9, but using a stick has been training me to avoid such intensive tap-tap moves (which is useful at higher speeds). So this is not the optimal placement, but it's the "best" one. 24 - L A better choice for this would have been in columns 8-10, creating a hole in column 10. But at the time I wasn't too keen on the overall structure of the stack, so I was worried that doing so might make me unable to clear the I that I've been working up to. The placement that I did here overstacks badly, but it felt "safer" as an impulse move. Actually, thinking on it again, doing IRS CW and putting it in columns 5-6 would probably be the best option here. Why didn't I think of that? -_- 29 - O Placing this here is better than in 8-9 because it makes the middle of the stack flat and stable. 33 - Z This would be better flat in columns 7-9. The placement here cuts off the right side. It works out here, but it's not ideal. 38 - J Would you have made this placement? This sets us up very nicely for a double that will open up the left side. 39 - O I place the O here instead of all the way on the right because I just got a J, so an L is more likely. Is, Ls, and Js are the pieces which I think are most important to remember, history-wise. 43 - T This was definitely not optimal, but I just wanted to jam something into the left, to fill it in a little. If you're not sure about the structure of the stack, especially after clearing lines, it might be better to just go with impulse rather than try to think and wait too long. I think it would have worked out nicely if I had left the T in its letter orientation and gone for the single, but at the time I didn't have time to think of that. 44 - S Learning to fill these kinds of staircase structures on the edges of the field with Ss and Zs is a very practical application of skimming. I have a J piece coming up next and I immediately know that it should go all the way on the left, IRSed CCW. 46 - J I have a bad habit of doing unnecessary triple-rotates, as I tend to always IRS Js CW and always IRS Ls CCW. 48 - Z This would have been better in columns 7-9, but only because of the hole in column 10. When I saw the J-shaped hole, I thought that a Z would work nicely. This wasn't the ideal move, but I don't regret it. 50 - I Oof! Really bad overstacking here, although in this case it's not too terrible because I've got an I well that will be unearthed in column 1 too. This would be much better horizontally, though. Horizontal I placements are hard to get used to! 56 - L Another unnecessary triple-rotate. 60 - J Putting a J in columns 1-2 like this is generally not a great move. The reason I did it here was because I didn't want to overstack over column 10. Whenever I make this placement I plan for my next I piece to go into column 1, since it's very unlikely I'll get a J anytime soon. 63 - I And here's that I piece! 66 - L I'm not sure why I didn't place this to the right instead. I guess I thought that the ditch in column 4 was too pressing to let it go unfilled, which is a valid reason. 67 - O This placement is great for stability, but I think I should have gone for the double instead. I think at this point I was playing "stack high on the left, clear on the right", when I really should be trying to avoid overstacking too much on the left and doing the opposite. 73 - O This placement is better than in 2-3 because I already need a J on the right. 74 - L Another unnecessary triple-rotate. 75 - T The overstacking is getting ridiculous here. This could have gone flat in 2-4 instead. 79 - S This placement is okay, but putting it flat in 2-4 would be better. 81 - J This placement is rather obvious (watch out for mihara's conspiracy!!!) but I could have also done no IRS and left it all the way to the right. Doing so would mean I have to clear column 8 before column 10, but that's not too hard to do. With an L piece coming up, it makes a neat little combo that I use sometimes. 82 - L The triple-rotate is unnecessary here too! Though I don't feel so bad about this one. 84 - T Would be better flat in 8-10. I tend to clog holes the wrong way sometimes. 94 - S This creates ugliness over on the left, but I'd rather do this than create a hole on the right over in column 6. This placement lets me localize my messiness, which always makes things easier. 99 - L I need to learn to avoid these kinds of placements that create two L/J holes. This would be much better over on the left, even though it would overstack. 104 - Z Would you have made this placement? I think this is a great use of an overhang, as it's easy to fix with an O or J, and there's no other good place to put this. At high speeds though, this placement would be troublesome because getting an O in there would be too hard (a J is okay). Hmm...so possibly standing this up in columns 7-8 would be better. 109 - J Note the movement finesse here. You don't want to press left until after, or at the same time as, the rotation. 110 - O Usually I would have moved this one to the left. I'm not sure why I didn't, but in this case it worked out since I have a Z coming. 112 - L This would have been better flat in columns 4-6. 113 - S I could have instead placed this in 5-6 and created an overhang, but I think this option, though it creates a hole, is better for stability. Right now I'm just concentrating on this huge well on the left, so it doesn't really matter too much if I make some small garbage on the right. 119 - Z I should have just taken the lines here. I think I was hesitant because of that hole in column 10, but at higher speeds I can't afford to hesistate like that. 126 - I whenever I place an L that needs another L, or a J that needs another J, I try to fill it with an I instead if it comes up first. 127 - S Another instance where I don't do the optimal placement to avoid tap-tapping. 131 - J Note the triple-rotation finesse here. I can actually do this under higher speeds as well, but it'd be best to wean off the habit because once I get into death 500 this kind of movement will be impossible. 132 - L This triple-rotate is necessary too... 134 - I At first glance, this might be better in column 7 because my most recent piece is an L. But, my second most recent piece is a J, and if I place this in column 7, it totally screws me over if I get a Z, S, or T. 138 - Z This is better flat on the left. This is my "default" move for Z since it leaves column 5 high, so I resort to it often. In this case it's not the best, though. 140 - J Even though I'm forcing a hole with the upcoming Z, I don't feel comfortable clogging the I well with a J because it's somewhat near the middle. If the I well had been there a little longer, I might have given up and filled it with the J, but here I'm keeping faith in an I piece showing up. 146 - L This is a good single to take, but I think laying this flat on 3-5 would have been better. 150 - I Resisting the temptation to jam this in column 10. Doing so would lead to a horrible structure. 151 - J Okay, I place my Ls and Js like this WAY too often. I need to learn to just rotate them 180 instead, when possible. 152 - Z I feel like this might have been better on the left. 177 - L Here I had to decide which spot was more worthy of the L. Usually the hole toward the center is more dangerous, but in this case they were both equally distanced, basically. so it was a toss-up. 180 - Z Putting this in 7-9 would be better. 195 - L Not sure why I didn't lay this flat instead. 198 - J Here it would have been better to just IRS CCW and go for the double. To me the placement I made is the more obvious placement, but it's not ideal. 199 - L Likewise, I could have IRSed this CW and made a single. 199 - O Man, I'm missing line clear opportunities everywhere! 199 - I And then I go and do this XD. This isn't desirable at all, but I had finally gotten fed up with the hole on the left and wanted to stick -something- in it. 203 - L The hole on the right is screaming for an L piece, but right now I'm concentrating on the left. I just recently had an I piece, so clogging this with an L is fine. 206 - O This would have been better in 2-3, since I just had an L, and because I already have a slot for an L on the right. 216 - Z Another option would be laying it flat on the right, then working to unearth column 10 with a single, but this placement localizes the garbage. 221 - S Why did I put this here instead of making more mess on the left? It's because the L that I just laid down made a hole on the right. Even though that hole is lower than the hole in column 2, when I clogged the I well with the L on the right, that mentally signifies to me that my "dirty side" is the right side. In this case it wasn't a correct assumption to make, but my garbage-analyzing skills aren't good enough to figure out which hole is deeper this quickly. Another option here would be to put it in 6-7 and make an overhang, but that would be a tricky overhang to fix. 223 - J Baaad placement. The obvious placement in 7-9 is better, even though it overstacks. 235 - T This placement isn't -that- terrible, but I honestly didn't know where to put this. Putting it in 3-4 cuts off 1-2 too much, and putting it in 8-9 cuts off 10 and makes an I well in 10. Putting it in 6-7 isn't very stable, and putting it in 7-8 overstacks by 3 rows. So there really isn't anything good to do with this piece! Perhaps just jamming it to the right in letter orientation would have been okay. 236 - J This placement isn't that great, but I don't think there's a better one. At least it provides some stability on the left. 254 - L Note my "anti-finesse" here that resets lock delay and helps rhythm. 262 - Z This move is very dangeouns because it creates a 2-deep well in column 5 from both sides, meaning getting a T is disasterous. I didn't realize I could have put this in 9-10. I got lucky this time and got an L to fix the problem right away, though. 265 - J I could have also taken a single here. 266 - O Or a double here...I guess I need to look for line clear opportunities a bit more. 268 - L And again, I choose this over the more ideal placement in 1-2 because I want to stick -something- in the right here. I guess I also could have instead rotated 180 and gotten a clever single. 282 - S Regret! This is a misdrop. 295 - L I had expected my I to clear a single and allowed me to stick this L in here, but the hole on the left prevented that from happening. Oops! This would have been better in columns 6-7. 299 - S This is baaad because it makes an I well in column 1 and blocks off column 1 at the same time. Even though clogging the hole over on the right would be bad too, I think it would have been the lesser of two evils in this case. 299 - T I'm proud of this move, though. Would you have done it? Your first instinct might have been to fill in the space in 2-4 that is screaming for a T piece, but this placement is much better because it lets me put an I in column 1. Note that if the well in column 1 had been 2 deep and not 3 deep, this still would have been a better move, because it would have eventually let a J piece fill the hole instead of necessitating an I piece in column 1. 303 - S Why didn't I place this on the left? That's because it creates a jagged structure that I try to avoid when possible, as it generally requires either a T or an I to fix (though in this case a J would have worked too). Instead I resort to my "default" placement, which creates a relatively harmless overhang while keeping column 5 high. 304 - L I shouldn't have DASed here. 306 - I I'm happy I got this placement right because I always screw it up by doing an accidental auto-synchro and then I end up with the I in column 2. NOT fun. 310 - S My hesistation here led to me not being prepared for the next piece, and then things spiraled downward until my death.
