I’ve won 4 games in a row, mostly against weeker players, and my rating has remained unchanged at 8.1. Does the system not allow you to go to the next level unless you beat someone higher ranked than you? Is that why I seem stuck at 8.1?
pchubbard
Hello pchubbard, and welcome to the forums 
It is not impossible to progress in ranks by reliably beating weaker opponents, but yes, it would take a long time.
By beating a stronger player, you get much more rating points then by beating a weaker one (as obviously you are expected to usually beat players that are rated lower than you).
It also works vice versa - if a stronger opponents beats you, you do not lose too many rating points as it was the expected result of your current rank estimates.
Looking back my explanation seems needlessly complicated, but hopefully you understand 
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