Filling in Doubles: Suppose the player next to you has the classic 11 against a dealer's face-card with a $20 bet up. He pauses, tinkers with his chips, thinks some more and finally shoves out just two more red chips, doubling for less. This is not an unusual play -- a poor one, but not all that unusual. Apparently, his fear of that old fable, "The dealer always has a 10 in the hole" has warped his judgment. Actually, the player is a 6-to-5 favorite to win here, even when being limited to one hit. That's a 9% edge! So what can you do about it?

Most tournament directors will mandate a total chip count for each player at the table before the final hand in order to let the other players know how much their opponents have in front of them. What sometimes makes the last hand diffi¬cult is, if you're dealt, you're forced to set the initial bet on the table, allowing others to scrutinize your bankroll and adjust their bet accordingly.