What to do about someone who's almost untouchable on ELO board?

[ResonanceSM]

There is someone on top of the ELO board for a game with very high variance with a very low number of games played (11).

In fact they have only won 2 completed games. 8 of their other "victories" have from from having the most thinking time left in tournament games.

Because of the high variance in the game, they are practically untouchable without a ton of luck. (And even if someone passes them, since they don't play anymore, they'll probably be top 2 forever.)

I guess I'm venting a bit because I'm on a great streak, but they're still quite out of reach (I need to win at least 5 more IN A ROW) to catch them.

I know people complain about this a lot. But hopefully enough complaints will lead to someone having a creative solution. I know attrition has been suggested and people really don't like it. But this situation is crazy because they didn't even win most of their games.

[h_illes]

Ah, they rode the high K factor for the initial games. Interesting.

If they don't play, they will vanish from the leaderboard after 2 months of inactivity. If they do play, I guess they will lose eventually (unless it's once again unfinished tournament games...)

I don't see what else to do. In any case, in a high variance game, the leaderboard inherently reflects luck in recent games, so don't read too much into that.

[tbhp]

Is your current streak really that exceptional, or is it something you think you’ll be able to replicate in the future?

If it’s the latter, it’s possible that at some point you’ll get a slightly better streak that will be enough to overtake them.

I think the elos for a game usually go up as more games get played. If this is the case, then over time everyone’s elo will collectively rise and eventually cruise past theirs.

Your understanding of the game may also become better over time, even without realizing it, which may affect your winrate just enough to climb past them.

Another option would be to ask them for a duel right now. If you win, you may end up ahead of them.

You could also explain to them the situation and ask if they’d be willing to play a few more games. If they can recognize that their current elo is not reflective of their level, they may understand the issue and accept.

[tbhp]

Another suggestion: I see you haven’t played tournaments for this game. Are there tournaments that get organized where many great players are present?

If this is the case, you may find out that playing in those can have an impact on your elo that you didn’t think possible. That’s because when you play against high elo players, your elo will stay similarly high as long as you win at least half your games. And if you win more than that, then it can go up like crazy, which would definitely make you cruise past the current leader.

When you play normal games against random opponents, on the other hand, wins don’t give you as much, and any loss sets you back greatly, so that makes it harder to improve your elo, especially if it’s a high variance game where there is a realistic chance of losing against lower rated opponents.

[ResonanceSM]

Another suggestion: I see you haven’t played tournaments for this game. Are there tournaments that get organized where many great players are present?

If this is the case, you may find out that playing in those can have an impact on your elo that you didn’t think possible. That’s because when you play against high elo players, your elo will stay similarly high as long as you win at least half your games. And if you win more than that, then it can go up like crazy, which would definitely make you cruise past the current leader.

When you play normal games against random opponents, on the other hand, wins don’t give you as much, and any loss sets you back greatly, so that makes it harder to improve your elo, especially if it’s a high variance game where there is a realistic chance of losing against lower rated opponents.

The variance is really high. I have noticed that ELOs are drifting upwards, so maybe that'll work.

But the community is pretty small, maybe we could have a tournament, but I'm already mostly playing against/with the best players in arena. Or at least those that would play in a tournament.

But we'll see. I realize it's just complaining a little, but if it's true they'll fall off eventually, then... I guess that's good enough. Hopefully my ELO will be high when it happens.

[FrankJones]

Which game is this?

I play a high-variance game where very few people are over 300 Elo. There have been times when nobody was.
(Open face Chinese poker).

[Ceaseless]

Which game is this?

I play a high-variance game where very few people are over 300 Elo. There have been times when nobody was.
(Open face Chinese poker).

Considering Euchre is not only their highest rated game, but the one on their profile where they were actually ranked, that would be my guess. A quick look at the leaderboard fills the remaining blanks and confirms it.

[Ceaseless]

There is someone on top of the ELO board for a game with very high variance with a very low number of games played (11).

In fact they have only won 2 completed games. 8 of their other "victories" have from from having the most thinking time left in tournament games.

Because of the high variance in the game, they are practically untouchable without a ton of luck. (And even if someone passes them, since they don't play anymore, they'll probably be top 2 forever.)

I guess I'm venting a bit because I'm on a great streak, but they're still quite out of reach (I need to win at least 5 more IN A ROW) to catch them.

I know people complain about this a lot. But hopefully enough complaints will lead to someone having a creative solution. I know attrition has been suggested and people really don't like it. But this situation is crazy because they didn't even win most of their games.

If the ceiling for the game is so low that a lucky k-factor break can put you on the top I don't see much point in taking the top slots very seriously. Lucky streaks define who is ahead at any given point, and people just take turns getting lucky. Skill doesn't play enough of a hand to overturn that. Sure, if someone is maliciously rigging the system that's one thing, but if someone just caught a lucky break and accidently got on top what is there to say? Someone might try messing with the k-factors, maybe lowering the luck-based ones to make it harder for that early streak to clear the masses, though that seems like a game-by-game struggle that needs trial and error and may end up being more effort than it's worth. Every game has some level of variance, but it's a matter of degree, and if it's too big, there's only so much you can see.

[Andrei3009]

You can just wait until the person automatically disappears from the leaderboard after two months. To return, he will have to play a rating game, which will potentially lower his rating.

[teallite]

Because of the high variance in the game, they are practically untouchable without a ton of luck. (And even if someone passes them, since they don't play anymore, they'll probably be top 2 forever.)

Because of the high variance there is still a chance that someone can take over the top spot. If someone decides to get to the top in low luck game using tricks, there is nothing you can do.