Why does the rank go down after a lost game?

General Go Discussion
1

I’m curious why the rank can be lowered after a lost game? Lost games don’t make the player any weaker.

2
1 Like
3

But what if you don’t actually deserve the rank you have? A win or loss helps determine the rank you should have and the system will adjust it. Also, it takes more than one loss to make your rank go down.

4

Ranking systems are designed to find good matchups for your games. As a result, they represent your strength very accurately, but remember: that’s not the final goal of a ranking system. It’s just a plus. :wink:

2 Likes
5

A lost game does not make you weaker, just as a won game does not make you stronger.

However, winning and losing changes what the best guess of an observer is regarding your correct rank.

3 Likes
6

Is the change in ranking done by an algorithym (sp) or by a person?

7

@Pengyou it’s done by a computer / algorithm.

8

Somewhat related question. I’m a provisional. Need 5 games. Does playing one of the GNU boys count or is it only against homo sapiens?

9

It can also be against a lizard.

10

So, I’m curious. My profile says no wins no losses. Yet my history (correctly) says three losses by resignation and one by time-out Can I lose but not lose?

11

You played unranked. If you want games to count toward your stats, play ranked games. (There’s a check box in the challenge menu for it.)

1 Like
13

This thread is outdated since Jul 2017. At this point the OGS rating system changed to glicko2. The rating system changed in many aspects. All info in this thread about Elo on OGS is obsolete.

1 Like