Maybe we should start with that word, <tt>ABSTRUSE</tt>. Looks like a good word to know, and one that most expert players wouldn’t easily see in their rack of <tt>AEUBRST</tt> as they fixate on finding a place for <tt>ARBUTES</tt> or <tt>BURSATE</tt> (or <tt>SURBATE#</tt>, if they play the International English lexicon). Zyzzyva tells us that <tt>ABSTRUSE</tt> is middlingly probable as eight-letter words go, #12184 12247 out of 3152331736, but, with its two <tt>S</tt>’s and its familiar meaning, it seems more worth knowing than, say, <tt>FROMENTY</tt> (#1212612189). So, we have to make a decision: Do we populate our cardbox by raw probability or by pattern, and how big do we go?

We recommend that you start by pattern, using defined groups of words that many word players have come to recognize as worth studying. (You definitely won’t enjoy the result if you populate your cardbox with the 12184 12247 most probable eight-letter words.) You may have heard people talk about “stem” groups like <tt>TISANE?</tt> and <tt>SATIRE?</tt>, and these are definitely the ones to go with if you want to cardbox with seven-letter words and don’t know where to start. Or, maybe you’re not so concerned with long words and just want to know the “high fives” (words beginning or ending with four- or five-point letters) that can easily score 30 or 40 points when played in the right spot. Either way, a pattern search is where you should start.