What are Elo Ratings?
Elo ratings are a way to measure the relative skill of players or teams in zero sum games (where each competitor either wins or loses).
Elo ratings are a way to rank players or teams mathematically using a fairly simple algorithm. They are historically the most accurate way to rank a large number of competitors without human input.
Arpad Elo
The Elo system is named after its creator, Arpad Elo, a physics professor and chess player, who first created the system to be used in chess tournaments in the 1960s.
The Elo system has since been adapted for use in other games and sports such as boxing, wrestling, football, baseball, and basketball.
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How do Elo ratings work?
The Elo system works by assigning each player an initial Elo rating (typically 1,000 or 1,500). This number represents the player’s relative skill level and will be adjusted with each game they play.
When two players compete against each other, the player with the higher Elo rating is more likely to win.
An Example
For example, if Player A has an Elo rating of 1500 and Player B has an Elo rating of 1400, then Player A is expected to win the game.
The difference in player ratings will determine how many points are added or subtracted from each player at the end of the game.
If Player A wins, they will receive a small increase in their Elo rating, while Player B’s rating will decrease by the same amount. Neither player’s Elo rating will change much because the game went as expected.
However, If Player B wins (was expected to lose), they will receive a larger increase in their Elo rating, while Player A will receive a larger decrease. This match did not go as expected, so the system needs to make a larger correction.
Elo ratings are self-correcting
Over time, a player’s Elo rating will change as they win or lose games. If a player consistently performs well, their rating will increase, and if they consistently perform poorly, their rating will decrease.
This makes the Elo system a self-correcting system that continually adjusts to reflect the current skill level of each competitor.
Advantages of Elo Ratings
One of the greatest advantages of the Elo system is that it is simple and easy to understand. The formula for calculating Elo ratings is straightforward, and it can be adapted for use in many different games and sports.
(If you’re interested in the math behind Elo ratings, the entire Elo formula is at the bottom of the article)
Elo ratings are now used to project outcomes of online games such as “Go” (see goratings.org), most major professional sports (see fivethirtyeight.com), and amateur wrestling (see wrestlestat.com and dubstat.com)
Another advantage is that the Elo system is based on the results of actual competitions, which makes it an objective measure of skill that is not impacted by emotion or human preference.
Unlike manual rating systems, Elo ratings can be used to to create rankings for large numbers of competitors. Essentially, there is no limit to how many competitors can be ranked using Elo ratings. In fact, Chess.com has over 100 million users with each one receiving a rating.
In addition, the Elo system can be used to match players of similar skill levels against each other, which makes for more competitive and exciting games.
Conclusion
In summary, Elo ratings are a method of calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games. The system was developed by Arpad Elo and has been adapted for use in many different games and sports. The Elo system is based on the results of actual games and is a simple and objective measure of skill.
Elo Rating System
