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Here's how it works: when you first register as a member, you enter at the very bottom of the ladder. After that, how you move up and down is regulated by four rules:
So let's say that after a few months of playing, you've managed to
crack the top 10. The standings look like this:
(By the way, these are names of characters from
my favorite TV show.)
You can't move up the ladder by beating Chloe (although the game
will still count toward your win/loss stats if you do). Now let's
say you play Erin and win. You switch places, so the new
standings would look like this:
Next you challenge Tony. In a huge upset, you get a great rack
on your final turn and win by 3 points. Since he's #2 and you're
#8, you move up half the distance between you to #5. Everyone in
between gets knocked down a notch:
Next you lose to a player who's ranked #500. What happens?
What happens is, that player moves up 298 rungs and becomes
very happy. But your rank doesn't change. You don't need to
be afraid to play a lower-ranked opponent, because you can't drop
down the ladder by losing a game (except to the player one rung
under you). You can only drop when players under you beat players
above you.
Getting to the top spot is difficult. From the ranking rules
listed above, you can see that the only way to become #1 is to first
beat other players to climb up to #2, then take on the top-ranked
player and win. In the words of pro wrestling legend Ric Flair: To
be the man, you gotta beat the man.
And to do that, it helps if you play in
tournaments.