- opening <a> tags close the previous <a> tag... but without an href they do nothing. Use them as if they were closing <a>s to save on slashes
- <select>...<select> is completely equivalent in html to <select>...</select>. Save more slashes this way
- formatting elements won't be closed automatically, they rear their head again like so many hydras until your burn the wounds with end tags. But! there's a way around this: consider '<div><b><b><b><b></div></b></b></b>X'; that's funny... why isn't the X bold? it turns out that only three identical (down to attributes) formatting tags are remembered. Use this to your advantage when nesting identical formatting tags inside themselves.
- since we're saving on slashes: <table> (while in a row, ie <tr><table>) closes the last table, and opens a new one. You might think: "I don't want to start another table so soon!" fear not! the browser will move anything you put in a table, above the start of the table, right up until you start putting cells in it. This also avoids having to open the table later, you can start <tr>ing right away.
- you saved characters by dropping the doctype... but was it worth it? only with a valid doctype declaration will you <p> tags be closed automatically when you open tables. Just 4 closing </p> tags will make you wish you included that doctype. still think it's worth it?