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Anonymous Pairing Pool Be Like

#21

@mcgoves perhaps I will post this as an edit with a date or as another post altogether, but I tried something today as an experiment. When I use the app (Android), it again gave me black on one occasion 9/11 times. But when I use the browser, it was very balanced. I've been mostly using the app ever since I first heard of lichess because it is convenient, but in the anonymous pool I've always wondered why I got so many black games. I guess I've solved my own problem by using the browser.

Without actually trying to look thru the source code, this makes me think the site tracks colors on the client-side and the app tracks colors within the app itself and there is a small bug in the app.

@mcgoves perhaps I will post this as an edit with a date or as another post altogether, but I tried something today as an experiment. When I use the app (Android), it again gave me black on one occasion 9/11 times. But when I use the browser, it was very balanced. I've been mostly using the app ever since I first heard of lichess because it is convenient, but in the anonymous pool I've always wondered why I got so many black games. I guess I've solved my own problem by using the browser. Without actually trying to look thru the source code, this makes me think the site tracks colors on the client-side and the app tracks colors within the app itself and there is a small bug in the app.
#23

@KenleyGalven said in #7:

If you don't have specific knowledge of the algorithms, perhaps you shouldn't comment. I regularly play both, and you can see from my rating that I'm not some beginner who just wants to play white. When I'm in the anonymous pool to test openings for both colors, I draw black with a much higher frequency. Your questioning of my claim without basis isn't needed. Thanks though.

It's true I have no proof, because you are talking about anonymous games, but I still think it is the case that you abort more Black games than White games. Here's what is probably happening:

  1. You happen to get a streak of White games. You don't take notice, because you prefer playing White.
  2. Since you now have an imbalance of White games, you start getting paired as Black more often to compensate.
  3. You are now on a streak of Black games. This time you notice, because you don't like playing Black.
  4. After a few Black games, you start aborting them, meaning that the number of Black games can never catch up to the number of White games, causing Lichess to continue giving you Black games. Maybe you get a White game or two, but this will only make it more likely that you'll be Black in the following games.
  5. You complain that Lichess is constantly pairing you as Black (because it is, at this point, due to your own behavior).

Now imagine if pairings were truly random. You would naturally get a streak of White games at some point, because that is how randomness works. You don't abort them, but then you eventually get a streak of Black games as well. This time, you start aborting after a few Black games. As you can see, you'll slowly accumulate more and more White games than Black games.

Again, I don't have proof, but I have a pretty good idea of what is happening. If you want to choose what color you play, then play with the engine. Not everyone can have White in every game.

@KenleyGalven said in #7: > If you don't have specific knowledge of the algorithms, perhaps you shouldn't comment. I regularly play both, and you can see from my rating that I'm not some beginner who just wants to play white. When I'm in the anonymous pool to test openings for both colors, I draw black with a much higher frequency. Your questioning of my claim without basis isn't needed. Thanks though. It's true I have no proof, because you are talking about anonymous games, but I still think it is the case that you abort more Black games than White games. Here's what is probably happening: 1. You happen to get a streak of White games. You don't take notice, because you prefer playing White. 2. Since you now have an imbalance of White games, you start getting paired as Black more often to compensate. 3. You are now on a streak of Black games. This time you notice, because you don't like playing Black. 4. After a few Black games, you start aborting them, meaning that the number of Black games can never catch up to the number of White games, causing Lichess to continue giving you Black games. Maybe you get a White game or two, but this will only make it more likely that you'll be Black in the following games. 5. You complain that Lichess is constantly pairing you as Black (because it is, at this point, due to your own behavior). Now imagine if pairings were truly random. You would naturally get a streak of White games at some point, because that is how randomness works. You don't abort them, but then you eventually get a streak of Black games as well. This time, you start aborting after a few Black games. As you can see, you'll slowly accumulate more and more White games than Black games. Again, I don't have proof, but I have a pretty good idea of what is happening. If you want to choose what color you play, then play with the engine. Not everyone can have White in every game.
#25

@AsDaGo I'll say to you what I said to mcgoves: When I was specifically working on black openings a few months ago, I aborted most of my white games. However, I didn't find myself frustrated with the system constantly blocking me because I didn't have to abort very often. And again, this was all on the app. I don't play on a computer as often, but when I did, as noted above, it balances my colors much better.

@AsDaGo I'll say to you what I said to mcgoves: When I was specifically working on black openings a few months ago, I aborted most of my white games. However, I didn't find myself frustrated with the system constantly blocking me because I didn't have to abort very often. And again, this was all on the app. I don't play on a computer as often, but when I did, as noted above, it balances my colors much better.

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