Tips and Tricks for Games and Tournaments | Logical Reasoning (LR) and Data Interpretation (DI) - CAT PDF Download

• Games and tournaments questions in the CAT LRDI section can feel tricky, but they’re a great chance to score big! 
•  These problems are like puzzles about sports or competitions, like the IPL or a chess tournament. 
•  They test how well you can think logically, understand data, and solve problems fast. 
•  With the right tricks, you can solve them quickly and get more marks. 
•  Let’s break it down with simple, useful tips that really work. 

Tip 1: Always Draw to See the Big Picture

What to Do: Don’t just read—draw! For knockout tournaments, sketch a bracket (like a tree) to see who gets eliminated. For round-robin, make a table with teams on the top and sides to mark wins or points.

Why It Helps: Drawing makes it easier to see what’s happening, so you don’t miss anything. This is a must because CAT questions often have lots of info, and drawing keeps you from getting confused.

How to Do It:

• Knockout Example: If 8 teams are in a knockout, draw pairs (Team 1 vs. Team 8, Team 2 vs. Team 7, etc.). After each match, cross out the loser and move the winner to the next round.
• Round-Robin Example: For 4 teams (A, B, C, D), make a 4x4 table. Put an “X” where a team plays itself (like A vs. A), then fill in wins or points for the rest.

Tip 2: Start with What You Know for Sure

What to Do: Look for teams or players with fixed info—like “Team A lost all matches” or “Player X has 10 points.” Use that to fill in other details.

Why It Helps: Starting with sure facts helps you build the puzzle step-by-step without guessing. It’s like solving a jigsaw by finding the corner pieces first.

How to Do It:

• Example: In a round-robin with 6 teams, the problem says Team F lost 4 matches and has 2 points (2 points for a win, 1 for a draw). Since F lost 4 out of 5 matches, they played 1 other match. With 2 points, they must have won that match (not a draw, because 1 point wouldn’t match). So, F has 1 win, 4 losses.
• Use this to figure out who beat F and who F beat, filling in the table.

Tip 3: Use Shortcuts for Counting Matches

What to Do: Don’t count matches one by one—use simple math shortcuts to save time.

Why It Helps: The CAT loves asking about total matches, and doing it fast gives you more time for harder parts.

How to Do It:

• Round-Robin: For ( n ) teams, total matches = ( \frac{n \times (n-1)}{2} ). So, 5 teams = ( \frac{5 \times 4}{2} = 10 ) matches.
• Knockout: For ( n ) teams, total matches = ( n - 1 ). So, 8 teams = ( 8 - 1 = 7 ) matches.
• Quick Check: If there are “byes” (some teams skip a round), subtract the number of byes from the first round’s matches.

Tip 4: Watch Out for Draws and Ties

What to Do: Check if the problem allows draws (ties). If yes, they change how you calculate points and wins.

Why It Helps: Ignoring draws can mess up your answers, especially in round-robin problems where points are given (like 2 for a win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss).

How to Do It:

• Example: In a 4-team round-robin, total matches = 6. The problem says there’s 1 draw, and Team A has 5 points. A draw means both teams get 1 point, so total points from the draw = 2. Total wins = 5 (since 1 match is a draw). A could have 2 wins (4 points) and 1 draw (1 point) to make 5 points.
• Formula: Total wins + (total draws / 2) = total matches. Here, 5 wins + (1/2) = 5.5, which matches the 6 matches (adjusting for draws).

Tip 5: Solve for Extremes Using Top-Down or Bottom-Up

What to Do: For questions like “What’s the least points to qualify?” or “What’s the most points but still lose?”, use a smart method:

• Least Points: Give the top teams the most points, then see what’s left for the last qualifying spot.
• Most Points to Lose: Give the bottom teams the least points, then see what’s left for the team that just misses out.

Why It Helps: This method helps you find extreme cases quickly, which is common in CAT questions.

How to Do It:

• Least Points Example: 6 teams, top 3 qualify, 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw. Total matches = 15, total points = 30. Give Team 1: 5 wins (10 points), Team 2: 4 wins (8 points), Team 3: 3 wins (6 points). That’s 18 points. The remaining 12 points split among Teams 4, 5, and 6 = 4 points each. So, the least to qualify is 4 points (Team 3).
• Most Points to Lose Example: Same setup, but for the team that doesn’t qualify. Give Teams 4, 5, 6: 1 win each (6 points total). The remaining 24 points split among Teams 1, 2, 3 = 8 points each. Team 4 with 8 points might miss out due to a tie-breaker.

Tip 6: Practice with Real CAT-Like Problems

What to Do: Solve problems that look like CAT questions to get used to their style and tricks.

Why It Helps: Practising with realistic examples helps you spot patterns and get faster, especially since CAT often repeats question types.

How to Do It:

• Sample Problem: In a knockout with 16 teams, the top seed (Rank 1) plays the bottom seed (Rank 16), Rank 2 plays Rank 15, and so on. If there are upsets (lower seed wins) in matches 2, 3, and 4 of the first round, who does Rank 5 face in the quarterfinals?
• Solution: First round: Match 2 (Rank 2 vs. 15) → 15 wins, Match 3 (Rank 3 vs. 14) → 14 wins, Match 4 (Rank 4 vs. 13) → 13 wins. Quarterfinals pair winners: Rank 5 beats Rank 12, then faces the winner of Match 4 (Rank 13). So, Rank 5 faces Rank 13.

Keep These in Mind

• Don’t Guess: Always base your answers on the given info—random guesses lead to mistakes.
• Double-Check: After solving, quickly check if your totals match (e.g., total wins = total matches if no draws).
• Stay Calm: These sets take time. If you’re stuck after 2 minutes, move on and come back if you can.