Talk:Elo rating system/@comment-87.59.182.212-20110818153035/@comment-3360527-20110819014023

The amount for the win or loss is determined by the rating of you (your team) compared to your oppnent (other team). You gain a lot and lose little if your team is lower rated. You gain little and lose a lot if your team is higher rated. The net change in ELO across all 10 players is going to equal 0. If it were like how you said, then there would be a gradual decay in average ELO across all players with every game.

(Side note: There is a decay in average ELO but that is due to que dodges and ELO decay, not because loses are more costly than wins.)