How the Vara Performance Rating works

What it is

The Vara Performance Rating (VPR) is a skill rating calculated from match results: confirmed ladder matches today, and results reported by partner clubs and recorded open play as those arrive. Every result goes into one ledger, and your rating is what that ledger says about you.

It's separate from ladder standings. A ladder's own rating only ranks its players; your VPR follows you across every ladder and club.

How it's calculated

Your VPR is two numbers working together: an estimate of your level, and how sure we are of it. Every confirmed match updates both, in the order the matches were played.

1. Expected result. Before each match we work out how likely each side is to win from the ratings. Between settled players, half a point apart is about a 76/24 favorite; a full point is about 91/9.
2. Surprise moves ratings. Win when you were expected to lose and you gain a lot; win as the favorite and you gain a little. Losses mirror that.
3. Margin counts, a little. 11–2 says more than 11–9, so a lopsided result counts up to 1.25× as much.
4. Certainty sets the pace. While we're still learning your level (new to the site, or back after a long break) your rating moves quickly; once your results are consistent it settles, so one off day doesn't undo a season.
5. Doubles. A team's strength is the average of its two players. Each partner moves by how much the result tells us about them: the partner we know less about moves more.

We picked this method by testing several (including the Elo-style formula we started with) on a large simulated league and on real results, and keeping the one that predicted doubles matches best while resisting rating padding.

Keeping it honest

A rating is only useful if everyone's is earned the same way. A few rules apply to every result:

• Verified results count most. Results entered by an organizer count fully, then rated round robins (every player agreed to be rated and the organizer finalized the results), then ladder results confirmed by the opponent.
• Real games only. Every game needs a clear winner who scored at least 6, in line with common rating rules; anything else isn't rated.
• Same faces, smaller steps. Playing the same opponents over and over counts less each time, and there's a limit to how much rating anyone can gain from the same opponent.
• New accounts can't prop each other up. Results against players without an established record move established players less, and starting levels you type in are a starting point only.
• A second look. Results that look out of the ordinary may wait for review before they count, and our team can remove a result that wasn't genuine. Every rating is then recalculated from scratch, so a removed result leaves no trace.

We don't publish the exact thresholds. Play real matches and none of this will ever get in your way.

Reliability and “provisional”

Every rating comes with a reliability from 0 to 100%, built from:

• How certain your rating is from your results (most of the score),
• How recently you played (it fades after a month without matches, to nothing after a year),
• How many different opponents you've faced (six or more for full credit).

The first part grows as your rating becomes more certain, which takes more than a match count: results against a range of players, and verified ones, settle it faster.

A rating is provisional until you have 5 matches and 40% reliability. Leaderboards list players at 40% or more whose rating rests at least 30% on verified results, where a ladder result your opponent confirmed counts half. Your profile shows what your rating is built on: how many matches, how many different opponents, and how much of it is verified.

Where you start

Before your first match we need a starting point. In order of preference:

1. Your connected DUPR rating (verified), once DUPR connection launches,
2. A DUPR rating you typed in (self-reported, unverified, private, counted up to 4.000),
3. Your self-rated skill level from your profile (also up to 4.000),
4. Otherwise 3.000.

Matches take over quickly: the starting point is a guess, the results are evidence. If you started from a level you typed in, your rating stays provisional until you've played 5 matches against players with an established record.

DUPR vs VPR

VPR first, DUPR alongside. Your VPR is your headline rating everywhere: profiles, cards and the leaderboard. Connecting DUPR is coming soon: once it launches, your verified DUPR rating will show as a badge next to your VPR, never in its place.

Self-reported DUPR stays private. A DUPR rating you type in yourself is used only to set your starting rating (counted up to 4.000). It never shows on your public profile.

Lined up with DUPR. Once enough players have both a VPR and a connected DUPR rating, we line the VPR scale up with DUPR's, so a VPR reads like the DUPR number you'd expect. Until then (and until DUPR connection launches) the two are calculated independently.

Sync later. Join now, play, build a VPR. This part depends on DUPR's approval: once DUPR connection launches and DUPR approves our club-organizer setup, matches where every player has connected DUPR and the scores meet DUPR's rules can be sent to DUPR.

Manage your rating

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