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Not all Scrabble players are nerds and wordsmiths. A lot of them are ordinary people who just happen to love the challenge that the game presents and have a love affair with words. And ever since the game became playable online, more and more people are joining the fun and playing Scrabble. Unfortunately, loving the game and playing it often does not mean you’ll eventually become a Scrabble expert. Possibly, most of us who are into the game are labeled “enthusiasts” simply because most of us play the game with self-taught strategies and are lucky enough to win a game or two. Scrabble experts, on the other hand, employ carefully researched strategies that have been tried and tested by others before. All of them also happen to possess an extensive collection of words committed to memory. And, these experts never feel troubled should they be “lucky” enough to draw one or two of the most uncommon letters in the English language. For those Scrabble enthusiasts who are looking to step up their game, you’ll need to start upping your vocabulary level. That means learning a large number of words that start with X, more than you can ever possibly use in any real conversation. The same goes for other high scoring letters such as Z, Q, and J. Undoubtedly, many of us already know a handful of words starting with X, Z, Q, and J such as XRAY, XYLOPHONE, XANADU, ZOO, ZIPPER, ZEBRA, QUEEN, QUAIL, QUACK, JEST, JUMP, and JOKE. Unfortunately, drawing letters in Scrabble or any Scrabble-like game is all about luck. And the best strategy in playing the game is to build words out of what you have, not what you are waiting to have. This means that if you happen to draw the letter X or any of the other high value letters, you’ll have to be able to create words that start with X or whichever letter you did get to draw based on the random tiles on your rack. A limited vocabulary severely limits your options. It also limits the amount of points you can score from such a great opportunity. Words that start with X, Z, Q, or J have a bigger chance of boosting your score than any other Scrabble words out there simply because of the high value that these letters bring to the word. For example, words starting with X already have an 8 point lead over others (except for Z and Q) simply because that one letter already provides a large number of points. When these letters are used and placed correctly (i.e. premium squares), you will more than likely score big. One other reason for studying words starting with X, Z, J, and Q is because of the endgame penalty. Should you be unlucky enough to still have any of those letters in your hands when the game ends, you will receive a deduction to your score based on the points of the letters remaining on your rack. Thus, high value letters should be disposed of quickly. Knowing words that start with X and other high value letters coupled with great strategies will undoubtedly boost your score and make you a better Scrabble player. You’ll also be one of the few who know that words like XI and XU actually exist. Thus, a Scrabble X-pert (pardon the spelling) is born.