Hi all. I need some guidance…I"m 18 k and keep getting my challenges met by much better players. I think ive had games with players as low as 3k. No handicap asked for or given. I try and learn something from these players so its not all bad,
When I put up a challenge I try and restrict rank from 20 to 12 but I still get low k answering a lot.
While I appreciate the learning opportunity getting crushed time and again gets a little old. Also, on a regular basis one of these better players resigns while clearly ahead leaving me wonder if I’ve given offence and im left with the nuisance of contacting the moderator to have the games annulled as it affects my handicap. Am I doing something wrong? What can I do better? Or, is it just the nature of the beast. I look forward to your wise counsel. Thanks
I stand corrected. I just noticed that I entered a low max on the last game.
User error.
Question, When offering a challenge without k restriction can any player accept?
I understood that acceptance was limited to so many k above or below.
25k can have ranked game with 9 dan now Draws, handicap & komi changes, and ranking limits lifted
Ahh. The recent changes. So, if I continue to properly limit the max k I should be limited to that group? no
No need to reply if yes…
Thanks for your help
Yes, should be so — and I’ll answer nevertheless 
I’d think that for your games (and losses!) to be “meaningful” to you, i.e. so that you understand why you lost, it would be best to restrict your opponents to, say, three or five stones stronger and weaker than your current rank.
As you get stronger, you might want to extend that range (in both directions, as you might also enjoy giving back to the community by playing weaker players who will learn from you).
But playing players who are nine (or more 
) stones stronger, and worse: without appropriate Handicap, would probably be quite useless, as it will be difficult to understand some of the more advanced strategies and tactics.
Another idea would be sometimes to play stronger players who’d agree to give you a review of your game.
Also, I’d suggest to play on smaller boards for the moment, like 9x9, to learn the basic concepts of life and death, of killing and surviving, etc., and then, after some victories (especially if you begin to understand the mistakes of your opponents), move on to 13x13, etc.
I agree with all of this except the last paragraph. The 3 standard board sizes each have their own distinct feel to them and are interesting games in their own right, so if you’re interested in the 19x19 game (as most primarily are), and you’re not intimidated by it, play it 
.
If you like the big board, no problem with that too.
You may have more fun like @trohde suggested to play players around your level as you’ll understand better what’s at stake, may win games too, experiment things with common interest…
for progressing you may ask a stronger to review a bit your own game, that’s best.
Well, playing 9x9 at first definitely makes it easier to “Lose your first fifty games as quickly as possible” 
True, i just consider fun, i know bunch of beginners less enjoying playing on small boards.
I quite like the saying that 9x9 is like a “knife fight”. It definitely doesn’t feel like there is any room for mistakes, major groups die almost every game, there are spectacularly stupid capturing races and bad trades all the time. Not so much strategy
In any case, just here to +1 @Samraku - keep playing the small board sizes or whatever sizes you enjoy, it’s definitely quite OK to not follow any kind of progression through the board sizes (though that is also an OK thing to do, for sure).
I’ve heard people suggest slow time control 9x9 games (and reviewing after, of course) as an alternative to tsumego for people who find tsumego too boring, since tsumego will naturally arise in 9x9 if you’re looking for them.
I would characterize 9x9 as feeling like chess. You can learn different opening lines, it’s highly tactical, game-losing blunders are at every turn, and games last a similar number of ply to chess.
13x13 feels like a tight struggle over territory. Like 19x19, the game starts not with one big fight, but by claiming areas at first loosely and then more tightly. Unlike 19x19, however, the smaller board accelerates the opening and midgame, heightening the value of each extra point you can squeeze out of a position.
19x19 is the most common form for a reason: at this size influence becomes genuinely valuable, which opens up the gate for much more complex opening and middlegame decisions.