The Score, Issue #19: Knocking Down Test Prep's House of Cards
Why Betting Your SAT or ACT Score on 'Vegas Tactics' Is a Dangerous Game
With over a decade of experience as a private test prep tutor, I’ve debunked more test prep myths than I can count. Yet some simply refuse to die. Today, I’m going to expose one of the most stubborn and misleading of these misconceptions: the notion that you can game the ACT and SAT through a bogus set of supposed short cuts that I call “Vegas Tactics.”
What Are Vegas Tactics?
The term “Vegas Tactics” refers to the practice of relying on superficial traits of an answer choice—such as containing “strong” language—to estimate its probability of being correct. Such tactics are often promoted as heuristics: shortcuts or rules-of-thumb designed to simplify complex problems.
Unfortunately, this approach poses significant risks. Vegas Tactics may offer the illusion of a clever shortcut, but in reality, they transform the ACT and SAT from tests of skill into games of chance. Remember: in Vegas, the house always wins. You may occasionally luck out with Vegas Tactics. But overall, you're more likely to see a decrease in your scores.
Vegas Tactics stand in contrast to proven methods that yield significant and stable score gains. Effective strategies include mastering a rigorous approach to reading that I call Hyper-Literal Textual Analysis (HLTA), identifying question types, and applying tactics and rules specifically tailored to those question types.
Learn to Prep Smarter and turbo-charge your ACT / SAT verbal scores! Subscribe today!
The Downside of Playing the Percentages
Faulty Focus
One glaring issue with Vegas Tactics is that test takers waste time and mental energy focusing on supposed “tells” within the answer choices themselves. It’s important to understand that this is more than just a momentary distraction. It shifts your entire mindset from skills-based problem-solving to one more akin to a pool hustler or card shark.
This approach is fundamentally misguided, distorting your conception of the exam and diverting your focus from the actual task at hand: mastering HLTA, identifying question types, and applying relevant and effective rules and tactics.
Second-Guessing
Another issue with using Vegas Tactics is that they frequently lead to second-guessing. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been reviewing a student's misses, and the student points out that they initially chose the correct answer but then switched to an incorrect one. When I ask why, I often hear a familiar explanation: “I felt that it was strongly worded, and someone told me that strongly worded answers are usually wrong.”
It's a shame to identify the correct answer through sound techniques such as HLTA, only to discard that answer because you’re paranoid that its "strong language" or some other “tell” is a trap. This kind of superstition can be catastrophic for your score. Don't let this happen to you! Don’t let your score become a casualty of Vegas Tactics!
Common Vegas Tactics To Avoid
Let's review some of the most pernicious and pervasive “heuristics” that have misled SAT and ACT test preppers:
Eliminating the First and Last Options: This is the false idea that correct answers are most often to be found in the middle. In truth, answer choice placement is random.
Shying Away from "No Change": Students often feel something must be incorrect, thereby overlooking a potentially correct option.
The Outlier: The answer that looks different isn't necessarily right or wrong. Being an outlier isn't a reliable clue.
Picking by Length: Some favor long answers for their supposed detail. Others prefer short answers, assuming concision. Both biases are flawed. What matters is whether the answer aligns with the passage, the tactics, and/or the rules.
The "It’s Been a While" Fallacy: If you haven't picked “C” for a while, it must be due for a turn, right? Nope. Thinking this way wastes precious time and mental energy. Remember: answer sequences are randomized.
Avoiding the “Trick” Answer: That "obvious" answer might not be a trick after all—especially if you can’t make sense of the only remaining alternative!
Eliminating "Extreme" Words: Don’t get suckered by hucksters hawking test prep snake oil—words like "always" or "never" can be correct if warranted by the text.
Are Vegas Tactics Ever Okay?
I'm hesitant to even discuss scenarios where Vegas Tactics might be justified. These tactics can have a damaging impact on test scores, and unfortunately people have a natural tendency to gravitate toward them as seemingly easy shortcuts. It’s important to understand that I am not endorsing their use.
The reason I broach this topic at all is the ubiquity of Vegas Tactics; many test-takers already rely on them for the ACT and SAT. However, if you haven’t incorporated them into your test prep, that's likely for the best. Here's why:
Overblown Promises: Any benefits of Vegas Tactics are often far less significant than their proponents claim.
Limited Probabilistic Advantage: These tactics may not improve your chances of choosing the correct answer and could even reduce them.
Potentially Time-Consuming: If you do resort to these tactics, don't dwell on them—be quick and decisive.
When the Chips Are Down
With these considerations in mind, let's take a look at some potential scenarios where the use of Vegas Tactics might be justifiable as a last resort:
Running Out of Time: When the clock is against you and you don't have time to thoroughly consider each question, making a guess using a Vegas Tactic could be better than a completely random guess.
Overwhelming Complexity: If a question is well beyond your skill level, using a heuristic might be a better option than spending an excessive amount of time struggling fruitlessly to find the answer.
Stress Overload: Test anxiety can significantly impair cognitive functions. In moments of acute stress, a Vegas Tactic might serve as a mental "life raft" to keep you moving through the test.
Mental Exhaustion: Near the end of the exam, extreme mental fatigue can impact decision-making. If you realize that you are not able to think clearly enough to make a rational choice, a Vegas Tactic might be an appropriate fallback option.
Indecision: If you've eliminated the obvious wrong answers and still can't decide, first try revisiting the question and passage for overlooked details, applying HLTA. If that doesn’t work, a Vegas Tactic could be used as a tiebreaker.
A Last Resort, Not an Ace in the Hole
At best, Vegas Tactics are your Hail Mary, never your game plan. If you’re using them regularly, you’re selling yourself short by misunderstanding the test. It’s not a game of chance. Approaching the test this way sets you up for frustration and disappointment.
Effective test preparation engages with the actual content and design of the test. On the SAT and ACT verbal sections, this means developing your textual analysis skills and understanding the specific grammatical rules, question type tactics, and reasoning methods that the tests reward. Cultivating these abilities is crucial for reaching your highest score.
If you’re interested in gaining test prep knowledge and skills that actually work, I recommend investing in your future with a paid subscription to Walker Prep. You’ll get access to all of the exact same proven strategies and tactics I teach my private students, for a tiny fraction of the price: currently just $7/month!
This special rate is a limited-time offer, exclusively for those who get in on the ground-floor of my Substack launch. The price for new subscribers will be increasing soon. Don’t miss out! Take advantage of this incredible bargain and lock in your low monthly rate by subscribing today!
Until next time, remember to Prep Smarter!
~ Dave