Discussion I Don't Understand PTCGO and their Pairing System
- Thread starter Seastrome
- Start date
This was a rhetorical question and/or a venting post, right? I am not against the latter 'cause it happens to me at least once every few weeks of heavy play, with some very depressing runs where it seems I'm always behind what "everyone" else is playing.
So, I don’t know the exact algorithm PTCGO uses for pairings, but I have been exposed to a few other pairing algorithms.
Most algorithms try very hard to have a close to 50% win chance for each player playing. The means they have to acheive this is your Matchmaking Rating (MMR), your current winrate, and other people’s MMR that are currently queued. There may also be a few other numbers that they can use, but those are more for minor tweaks to matchmaking. Some algorithms either prioritize finding a player fast or finding a player of conparable skill, and given how fast PTCGO matches I’d say it prioritizes speed. This means you are more likely to be paired against someone of a different skill level.
Now, if PTCGO uses your current winrate, this means if you have a winning streak where you “get lucky” on your 50% win, the game is more likely to think it under-estimated your skill level and matches you up with players of high MMR. So, if you get a lucky win streak, it may be possible you get a string of tough opponents that are much better.
As for counter decks, if it is an established archetype, it’s more likely that you happen to hit those by chance especially if several decks are counter decks. If it’s a fringe counter deck, that really sucks because those are really small odds to happen consistently in a row. I’ve definitely been there before and feel you for that one.
Most algorithms try very hard to have a close to 50% win chance for each player playing. The means they have to acheive this is your Matchmaking Rating (MMR), your current winrate, and other people’s MMR that are currently queued. There may also be a few other numbers that they can use, but those are more for minor tweaks to matchmaking. Some algorithms either prioritize finding a player fast or finding a player of conparable skill, and given how fast PTCGO matches I’d say it prioritizes speed. This means you are more likely to be paired against someone of a different skill level.
Now, if PTCGO uses your current winrate, this means if you have a winning streak where you “get lucky” on your 50% win, the game is more likely to think it under-estimated your skill level and matches you up with players of high MMR. So, if you get a lucky win streak, it may be possible you get a string of tough opponents that are much better.
As for counter decks, if it is an established archetype, it’s more likely that you happen to hit those by chance especially if several decks are counter decks. If it’s a fringe counter deck, that really sucks because those are really small odds to happen consistently in a row. I’ve definitely been there before and feel you for that one.