Tips from the Champions – Allan Simmons

Allan Simmons, four-time British Champion and winner of other national titles, tells us his top tips.

1. Make yourself look for seven-letter words (or eight-letter words using a letter on the board) no matter how unlikely your rack is. Even very unlikely-looking racks may be hiding a common word that you know.

2. Be aware that the vowel/consonant distribution is roughly 3/4 which will give you an idea of whether the unseen pool of letters is vowel-heavy or consonant-heavy or about right at any stage of the game

3. Learn some vowel-heavy words that you are unfamiliar with (three-vowel fours and four-vowel fives). They will pay dividends in sorting out vowel heavy racks in one move.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

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