Question: do I risk getting 3 strikes/bumped up if I play 2 leagues?

[SouthboundAgain]

I'm planning on playing in 2 different USTA leagues for the upcoming season. My current rating is 4.5s. I will play in a 4.5 league and in a 5.0 league. I expect to win most of my matches at 4.5, and to lose most but not all of my matches in the 5.0 league.

Basically my question is do I risk getting bumped up or getting 3 strikes in my 4.5 league if I win a few matches in the 5.0 league?

 

[schmke]

I'm planning on playing in 2 different USTA leagues for the upcoming season. My current rating is 4.5s. I will play in a 4.5 league and in a 5.0 league. I expect to win most of my matches at 4.5, and to lose most but not all of my matches in the 5.0 league.

Basically my question is do I risk getting bumped up or getting 3 strikes in my 4.5 league if I win a few matches in the 5.0 league?

Short answer, yes.

Longer answer, it is possible to get strikes playing just in the 4.5 flight, playing in a 5.0 flight only increases those chances as you are in theory playing higher rated players.

Now of course, one can't say for sure without looking at the specific matches and ratings of the opponents. It is possible that you'd be playing opponents in the 5.0 flight that are 4.5s playing up so not all that different than another 4.5 match. But it is also possible that in a 4.5 match you could be playing an opponent who has raised their rating and is effectively a 5.0 when the match is played.

If you are really worried about it, contact me after a few matches and I can run a report that will estimate if you have any strikes or not.

 

[MisterP]

I'm planning on playing in 2 different USTA leagues for the upcoming season. My current rating is 4.5s. I will play in a 4.5 league and in a 5.0 league. I expect to win most of my matches at 4.5, and to lose most but not all of my matches in the 5.0 league.

Basically my question is do I risk getting bumped up or getting 3 strikes in my 4.5 league if I win a few matches in the 5.0 league?

Sure. You're at risk because you're a self rate. But, I think you can play lights out against the 5.0 guys and still not get bumped/DQ'd if you lose a couple of sets to low level 4.5 players in your 4.5 league.

 

[J_R_B]

I'm planning on playing in 2 different USTA leagues for the upcoming season. My current rating is 4.5s. I will play in a 4.5 league and in a 5.0 league. I expect to win most of my matches at 4.5, and to lose most but not all of my matches in the 5.0 league.

Basically my question is do I risk getting bumped up or getting 3 strikes in my 4.5 league if I win a few matches in the 5.0 league?

The short answer is yes, one of the easiest ways to get dq'd as a self-rate is to play up as well as playing at your level. Read the "yada yada yada" in schmke's post, too, because you never know for sure, but you're putting yourself at great risk.

 

[schmke]

... Read the "yada yada yada" in schmke's post, too, ...

:shock: yada yada yada? Really?

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http://computerratings.blogspot.com

 

[rswright]

Also check with your local section to see whether you will not only by dq'd but your team will forfeit all of your matches. This may occur even if your capt. and team have no knowledge of the results of matches you played for the other team.

Finally, there is no way of knowing whether your rating is too low or high from your scores. Your rating does is not reflected by your scores. Nor is there any authority which so states.

 

[schmke]

Also check with your local section to see whether you will not only by dq'd but your team will forfeit all of your matches. This may occur even if your capt. and team have no knowledge of the results of matches you played for the other team.

Good point, the rule for this varies from section to section.

Finally, there is no way of knowing whether your rating is too low or high from your scores.

Correct. It is a combination of the score and the dynamic ratings of all the participants prior to the match that determines how an individual match is rated. A 6-1,6-1 score does not necessarily mean it is a strike nor does a 7-6,7-6 score mean it isn't a strike.

Your rating does is not reflected by your scores.

Incorrect. As noted above, scores along with the ratings of the players in the match are what are used to determine a match rating.

See http://www.usta.com/Archive/Leagues/1481_Frequently_Asked_Questions_About_Dynamic_NTRP/ and specifically #4 where it says: "The computer still looks at your match scores and not whether you won or lost the match"

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http://computerratings.blogspot.com

 

[SouthboundAgain]

Thanks for all your feedback. So from my understanding, I run a reasonable risk of getting strikes/DQ'ed if I happen to win even a minority of my 5.0 matches.

What can I do to mitigate that risk?

a) play more doubles instead of singles? (in both leagues)

b) throw away some games if I am winning by a very big margin?

Any other suggestions?

 

[beernutz]

Thanks for all your feedback. So from my understanding, I run a reasonable risk of getting strikes/DQ'ed if I happen to win even a minority of my 5.0 matches.

What can I do to mitigate that risk?

a) play more doubles instead of singles? (in both leagues)

b) throw away some games if I am winning by a very big margin?

Any other suggestions?

How about the option of just letting the system work and not sandbagging to keep a rating lower than what your ability would suggest is appropriate?

If you would normally win enough games at 5.0 (or 4.5) to justify a 5.0 rating, shouldn't you BE a 5.0?

 

[schmke]

How about the option of just letting the system work and not sandbagging to keep a rating lower than what your ability would suggest is appropriate?

If you would normally win enough games at 5.0 (or 4.5) to justify a 5.0 rating, shouldn't you BE a 5.0?

What he said ...

The point of the levels is to have competitive matches. If you are able to be competitive at 5.0 and win some of your matches there, it would seem that 5.0 is the level you should be at.

Yes, when you get to the higher levels, leagues and playing opportunities may be harder to find, but with the plus leagues an effort has been made to provide more opportunities and given that you have a 5.0 team to play on, it seems you'd get to play if your rating was 5.0.

 

[SouthboundAgain]

I never sandbag. I just don't want to be screwed by a system that doesn't work perfectly.

I consider myself to be a good 4.5 but a poor 5.0. I expect to win maybe 20% of my 5.0 matches, and win maybe 70-80% of my 4.5 matches. I want to be able to play both leagues without fear of getting disqualified in case I have a good day and win a 5.0 match.

 

[schmke]

I never sandbag. I just don't want to be screwed by a system that doesn't work perfectly.

I consider myself to be a good 4.5 but a poor 5.0. I expect to win maybe 20% of my 5.0 matches, and win maybe 70-80% of my 4.5 matches. I want to be able to play both leagues without fear of getting disqualified in case I have a good day and win a 5.0 match.

You are right the system isn't perfect, but it does generally work. And if your wins at 5.0 are against other 4.5s playing up or very weak 5.0s (perhaps on their way to being bumped down to 4.5), you probably have nothing to worry about.

But here is one tip that can help reduce your chances of getting strikes. When you play doubles, play with higher rated partners, ideally one that is playing worse than their rating. By doing this, the computer may expect you to win easily so there is less opportunity for your rating to go up as it is harder for you to do better than expected.

 

[Maui19]

Is the OP a self-rated? He doesn't say anything about it, but others indicate he is self rated. I thought that if he was computer rated, he can't get DQed.

 

[beernutz]

Is the OP a self-rated? He doesn't say anything about it, but others indicate he is self rated. I thought that if he was computer rated, he can't get DQed.

From post #1, second sentence: "My current rating is 4.5s."

 

[Maui19]

From post #1, second sentence: "My current rating is 4.5s."

Well duh!