Rise up the Spin & Gold ELO Ranking System at GGPoker
As a former pro chess player, your writer is well acquainted with the so-called ELO system that for decades has been used as a measuring stick (most notably by FIDE, the World Chess Federation) with which to rank chess players. Wearing both chess and poker pro hats, I see countless elements that the two fascinating games have in common, so it’s interesting to see that GGPoker have come up with a related feature in the shape of their Spin & Gold ELO ranking system.
The aim is to create a way of ranking players that is based purely on their skill and win-rate, as opposed to the size of someone’s bankroll or access to funds.
First...
What Are Spin & Gold Games?
GGPoker’s Spin & Gold takes the Sit & Go format and turns it on its head. Instead of the usual set prizes, here they are determined at random once all players have registered – in fact, you could win up to 100,000 times your buy-in! That’s a potential $1,000,000 up for grabs for a mere $10 outlay, for example. Buy-ins range from $0.25 to $200, so it couldn’t be more bankroll-friendly. Meanwhile, you can play 6-Max for twice the prize, as high as $2,000,000!
Spin & Gold ELO Ranking System: How It Works
Anyone familiar with online poker - and, frankly, anyone just familiar with poker - appreciates that it is a skill game. It would be useful, then, if we could measure our own ability and thus be in a better place to work on and subsequently improve our game. And this is what GGPoker’s Spin & Gold ELO ranking system is all about.
The facility to make assessments and comparisons based on skill is certainly an interesting one. It’s easy to fall into the habit of seeing those with the bigger bankrolls as the better players, but in many ways this is a misconception. The Spin & Go ELO Ranking system is wholly founded on results, so the more top finishes a player achieves, the higher the rating, while poor results will lead to the rating going down, and so on.
Reaching the Next Tier Level
As can be seen from the above graphic, there are seven ELO rating tiers, and each time a player progresses in their personal quest they will see their rating increase appear on the post-game screen. Gain rating points, and rise through the tiers accordingly, culminating in the Top 100 ranked players.
Logically, competing against higher rated opponents affords players more sizeable potential gains and lower losses, and facing lower rated opponents results in smaller gains and larger losses.
Note that - with the exception of the Grand Master rank (which applies to the top 100 players) - it’s not possible to have a tier level downgraded even if dropping below the actual tier rating level.
Find the ELO Menu tab on the left-hand side of the Spin & Gold screen, while rating (updated daily at Midnight UTC) and tier ranking can be checked at the top of the ELO Rating page, where other statistics are also available.
So... test your poker skills, rise up the ranks and see your game - particularly regarding Sit & Go and online poker tournaments - improve. Have fun, and good luck at the tables.
