Ratings FAQ

The official information page provided by Goldtoken about ratings is here: Ratings.
This FAQ page presents the same information in a different form which hopefully may be a little more easy for some people to understand if they have a specific question about the ratings, how they are displayed, or how they are updated. This page also goes into a little bit more detail about how ratings can appear to behave contrary to expectations in certain circumstances.
This page does not describe the actual equations and formulae used to calculate the ratings. You can find this here:
[ Ratings in Practice ]

Why does my rating have P after the number?

P stands for Provisional and means that you have not yet played enough games to establish a true rating (The ratings formulae require 20 (or 400*) games in order to determine a reasonably accurate rating).

Why does my rating have F after the number?

F stands for friendly. Friendly games are any games that are not part of an official Goldtoken tournament. If you have a Friendly rating it means you have not yet played 20 (or 400*) tournament games, and so have not established a tournament rating.

Why does my rating have T after the number?

T stands for tournament. Tournament games are any games that are part of an official Goldtoken tournament. If you have a tournament rating it means you have played 20 (or 400*) tournament games, and so have established a tournament rating.

Why doesn't the system display both the friendly and tournament ratings?

Once you have completed 20 (or 400*) tournament games, the system no longer displays your friendly rating, even when you play in friendly games. The tournament rating is deemed to be more accurate. It is less open to manipulation because players do not get to choose who they play against.

• Badger has announced that there are plans to alter the system to display both the tournament and friendly ratings on player's profiles. Mark007 is working on implementing this change.

Why did my rating not change after I just finished a game?

Usually when a game finishes, the ratings of both players will be adjusted. However there are a number of different circumstances in which one or both of the player's ratings will not be changed.

• If you have an established tournament rating, any games that are not part of an official goldtoken tournament will no longer have any effect on your rating.
• If the game is part of an official goldtoken tournament and you have not yet completed 20 (or 400*) tournament games, the system will display either your friendly rating or a provisional rating. Your tournament rating will have been adjusted behind the scenes, but you won't get to see what it is until you complete 20 (or 400*) tournament games.
• If your rating is very much higher than that of your opponent, the number of points you get for winning can be very small and possibly even zero.
• If your rating is very much lower than that of your opponent, the number of points you have taken off for losing can be very small and possibly even zero.
• If your rating is provisional and you win against an opponent who's rating is less than 1200, your rating will not be updated.

Why did my opponent's rating not change after we just finished a game?

Usually when a game finishes, the ratings of both players will be adjusted. However there are a number of different circumstances in which one or both of the player's ratings will not be changed.

• If your opponent has an established tournament rating, any games that are not part of an official goldtoken tournament will no longer have any effect on their rating.
• If the game is part of an official goldtoken tournament and your opponent has not yet completed 20 (or 400*) tournament games to have an established tournament rating, the system will display either their friendly rating or a provisional rating. Their tournament rating will have been adjusted behind the scenes, but you won't get to see what it is until they complete 20 (or 400*) tournament games.
• If your rating is very much lower than that of your opponent, the number of points they get for winning can be very small and possibly even zero.
• If your rating is very much higher than that of your opponent, the number of points they have taken off for losing can be very small and possibly even zero.
• If you lose against an opponent who's rating is provisional and your rating is less than 1200, their rating will not be updated.

Why did my rating go down after I won a game?

Your rating score will usually be adjusted upwards after you win a game. If the rating is provisional however it can go down if your rating is more than 400 points higher than your opponent. In addition, it may appear to be adjusted downwards in the following circumstances:

• When you complete 20 (or 400*) tournament games the system will switch from displaying your friendly rating to displaying your tournament rating. If your tournament rating is lower than your friendly rating, this might appear as though your rating has been reduced.
• If you have a provisional rating and have completed one or more tournament games, the system maintains two separate ratings, a friendly rating and a tournament rating. The system will display either your provisional friendly rating value or your provisional tournament rating value, depending on whether you have completed more friendly or tournament games. If you have played a similar number of each, the system may switch from displaying one to the other.

Why did my rating go up after I lost a game?

Your rating score will usually be adjusted downwards after you lose a game. If the rating is provisional however it can go up if your rating is more than 400 points lower than your opponent. In addition, it may appear to be adjusted upwards in the following circumstances:

• When you complete 20 (or 400*) tournament games the system will switch from displaying your friendly rating to displaying your tournament rating. If your tournament rating is higher than your friendly rating, this might appear as though your rating has been increased.
• If you have a provisional rating and have completed one or more tournament games, the system maintains two separate ratings, a friendly rating and a tournament rating. The system will display either your provisional friendly rating value or your provisional tournament rating value, depending on whether you have completed more friendly or tournament games. If you have played a similar number of each, the system may switch from display one to the other.

*20 games are required for most game types, but for Backgammon and Salvo games 400 games are required. (n-point gammon matches count as n games, irrespective of how many 'games' are actually played within the match).