Tips & Strategies

Tile counting provides many benefits beyond calculating the opponent’s last seven tiles.
It can tell you:
    •    if the bag is ‘vowel-heavy’
    •    if your opponent is likely to have a bonus word on his rack
    •    whether the odds favor a tile swap
Even in mid-game play, TileCounter tells you at a glance things like:
    •    how many S’s (or any other letter) is still in the bag
    •    Whether you have the last U (or any other letter)
    •    When you might want to conserve high-bonus tiles
   And it's especially useful in confirming your own assumptions: like when you fail to recognize the Q on the board for what it really is: a blank.

• What are the three worst letters in the bag according to former world champion Joel Sherman? Answer
   
• What is the proper consonant-to-vowel ratio you should strive to maintain in your 7 tile rack? Answer
   
• Before playing a blank, how many more points should using it net than any other word you can play without it?  Answer
   
• What's the best thing to do when you draw an 'S'? Answer
   
• There's 21 tiles left in the bag. You have  G-T-M-M-S-C-W in your rack and are thinking of swapping some tiles out. What TileCounter info would you use to decide not to swap? Answer
   
• Test Your Skill: Key Letter Alert
  What piece of critical information contained in this Count might impact the strategic decisions you make in your next move—and possibly several more after? Answer
  
   
• Have a Strategic tip to share related to Tile Counting and Tile Tracking? Submit it here.

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WORST LETTERS

According to Joel Sherman, the worst letters in the pool are the Q, J, W, in that order.  'If you have them, they are the first tiles you should be looking to use up, and the last you should consider holding.'

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VOWEL-TO-CONSONANT RATIO

Four consonants to three vowels. The more often you achieve this balance in your rack, the higher probability you have of maing a bingo.

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RULE OF THUMB ON USING BLANKS

As a rule of thumb, avoid using a blank unless you can net at least 20 more than any other word not using it. Don't spend an 'S' unless you can net at least 10 more points than any other play wihout using it.  Of course, this does not apply to bingo's: bingo's is why you hold onto those S's and blanks!

Always look for ways to break up duplicates -- letters that appear more than once in the same rack.  Each time a tile is duplicated in the rack, the number of possible letter orders that might be acceptable words is cut in half.

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WHAT TO DO WITH AN 'S'

Don't waste them.  The best tiles in the Scrabble set are the blanks and S's. S begins 50% more words than any other letter, in addition to all the
words it pluralizes.

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SWAP OR NOT

If your TileCounter Tracking Sheet indicates that UNPLAYED TILES (ie tiles that may be in your opponent's rack but also may still be in the bag and available to draw) is CONSONANT HEAVY, you may decide a swap isn't worth it, since you have a higher probability of having a consonant heavy rack after the swap. If, on the other hand, you can tell from studying the Tracking Sheet that the bag is 'vowel heavy' you may decide the swap is worth it. Hang onto the 'S' no matter what, tho! To understand how to use the rack management strategy of 'good synergy' check out the rack management advice here.

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Test Your Skill: Key Letter Alert

Taking account of letters left in the bag is a fundamental part of tile counting strategy, especially as the game nears the end. In this example, you may use the count data to decide not to play away the 'U' in your rack because the Q is still out. This makes it easier for YOU to get rid of the Q in case you draw it, and harder for your opponent to dump it in case he/she draws it. A rule of thumb for Q strategy is: don’t play away the last U, I or A-T combination if the Q is still out there.

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