People play poker for many reasons and motivations, but for many, it is the competitive element of the game that attracts them to it. For the most part, success in poker is measured based on the amount of money you win, but GGPoker has introduced a skill-based system that changes that paradigm.
The Spin & Gold ELO system has been around for a little while now but has somehow gone under the radar, and we decided it deserved some more love. The system is designed to reward players based on their achievements on the felt, regardless of how high or low they play.
Often in online poker, the buy-in amount plays an important role when calculating points, and if that bothers you, and if you love jackpot sit and goes, you’ll love what GGPoker set up with its Spin & Gold ELO.
- Or get up to $100 worth of rewards
- Available in many regulated markets
- Great MTT schedule including WSOP events
A Skill-Based Rating System
If you’re familiar with games like chess, you probably have some idea of what ELO is and how it works. In a nutshell, this is a performance-based system that only accounts for one’s skill and results, and GGPoker decided to give it a try in online poker.
At the moment, the system is in place only for Spin & Gold games, and, as already explained, it calculates points based on your results in these games without taking stakes into consideration whatsoever.
Simply put, winning games will increase your ELO rating while busting out will cause your points to decrease. Since buy-ins are not a factor, the system allows all players to compete on an equal footing in an attempt to highlight the best and most consistent performers regardless of what their bankroll might be.
Can You Become a Grand Master?
There are seven rating brackets in total, the first five marked with letters of the alphabet, while the final two get special names inspired by chess — Master and Grand Master. Below is the quick breakdown of ELO tiers and points required to advance:
- E — starting tier — 1,200 Rating
- D — 1,500 — 2,000 Rating
- C — 2,000 — 3,000 Rating
- B — 3,000 — 4,000 Rating
- A — 4,000 — 5,000 Rating
- Master — 5,000+ Rating
- Grand Master — Top 100 players on the site
Everybody starts in the E tier and with 1,200 rating points, which is the same starting rating you’ll get on sites like Chess.com, so it seems clear where GGPoker drew its inspiration from. Then, as you play and win, you’ll acquire points and move up in the world.
Just like in chess, Spin & Gold ELO isn’t a fixed system where you always win or lose the same number of points based on your finishing position. Instead, your ELO points are calculated based on your performance and taking into account the ratings of your opponents.
Performing well against tougher, higher-rated opponents will net you more points. By the same token, victories in games with lower-rated opponents will yield fewer rating points but will cost you more rating if you don’t do well.
Every Game Counts
Every time you finish a game, you’ll see your ELO rating go up or down accordingly. You can also check your points and tier in the GGPoker client at all times. These stats are updated once a day, so it may take a few hours for your most recent results to be included.
Once you reach a certain rank, it will remain yours forever, even if you dip below the rating requirement for that tier. The only exception to this rule is the Grand Master tier, as this title is reserved only for the 100 highest-rated players.
If you play poker primarily for the competition and the sense of achievement, you should definitely check out GGPoker and set off on your journey toward the coveted Grand Master status. Once again, this is currently only available for Spin & Gold games, but we hope that in the future, the operator will find a way to extend the system to other game formats as well.
