Hi Jim,
There are three explanations as to how glicko works (and hence why you are where you are) that we could offer:
First - Nick's answer, which will doubtless follow. This should be considered correct and render this post moot.
Second - the
overview page on thenaf.net.
Third - my pigeon / simplistic understanding. In short, glicko seems to care more about who and when your numbers have come from than ELO does.
Under ELO, a 200 coach is a 200 coach. An active, good player doing well over years with a couple of recent whiffy games. A six game, one hit wonder at a NAFC. Maybe someone that hasn't played since 1985. Who knows how they got 200. You will get the same numerical boost for beating all three, as the formula doesn't care. Glicko is a touch more discerning, in that phi (confidence in how well you're doing lately) and mu (how well you're doing) of you and your opponents all matters when it comes to rolling up your final figure. If you're playing the one hit wonder or the old hand, glicko won't be too sure about him, and his poor (high) phi will reduce his overall number and your respective gain relative to beating the good player, who will have a lower phi (and likely higher mu, I suppose). The formula also makes it harder to amass a big number over time by beating a series of (in ELO money) 150-170 players over a long period. Conversely, it is fast to reward you if you go on a run against the big cheeses; reacting relatively quickly to hone in on what it considers your real ability. If you are an ELO 250 player, glicko will get you to the equivalent number far more quickly than ELO will.
So - without checking the games in question, I would gamble that the difference you're seeing is one / more of:
- Your ELO performance being boosted by major championship multipliers (not present in glicko. It cares about opponents, not tournament gravitas)
- Your glicko suffering decay (appreciate that's unlikely if you're interested, but that's present in glicko but not ELO)
- Your opponents not being considered as good as dirold's according to the formula (not a criticism, people are just judged differently as noted above. And of course, you have little choice in who you play unless you're deliberately travelling larger distances to meet better opponents. A particular issue in less densely populated areas, where glicko is a bit meaner to coaches than it would ideally be. Watch this space for 'something else' that may help there)
Er - that's a probably nonsense ramble. Perhaps should have left it to Nick.
