As well as having a level, you have a level confidence. This is a figure used to express (as a percentage) how much confidence the system has in your level - 10% for new players, 70% or more for established players. It is adjusted as follows:
- It goes up when you play another match.
- It goes down if you haven't played for a while.
- It goes down if your result was unexpected.
- If you are new, or haven't played for two years then it's set to 10%.
The effect it has is that if your level confidence is lower than that of your opponent then your level will move more quickly than theirs. This allows the system to adjust the levels of the players who's level might be inaccurate more quickly with limited impact on their opponents. It also allows fast moving players to move fast!