What makes a good starter
A strong opening word uses common letters and at least two or three vowels, with no repeated letters. Every unique, common letter you test gives you more information per guess.
The goal of guess one isn't to win — it's to eliminate as many words as possible so guesses two and three can close in.
Reliable opening words
CRANE, SLATE, and CRATE are perennial favorites because they combine high-frequency consonants (R, S, T, N) with two common vowels.
ADIEU and AUDIO are popular for testing four vowels at once, though they spend two letters on less-common consonants. Pairing a vowel-heavy opener with a consonant-heavy second guess is a strong two-word system.
Build a two-word system
Many top solvers fix their first two guesses to cover ten different common letters before they start reasoning — for example, SLATE then CORNI or DOUBT. By guess three you've tested most of the alphabet's useful letters.