The 3Blue1Brown video considers using the second list to be cheating, so that is probably the reason for a different optimal first guess. It takes a more genera

The 3Blue1Brown video considers using the second list to be cheating, so that is probably the reason for a different optimal first guess. It takes a more general approach to figuring out which words are probably on the list, using a sigma distribution on top of the list of most common english words. (Notably, Grant admits at 19:59 that the parameters for this sigma distribution are a shot in the dark.) This way, the bot can be used to play wordle against any adversary and not just the original game, since every valid word (1st list) can be guessed.