vigcancode's blog

results not proportional to practice
By vigcancode, history, 22 months ago, In English

I have solved around (45) 1400 rating questions and (35) 1500 rating questions and in total around 540 questions and I'm still not able to improve my rating , how can I improve my rating and speed , what am I lacking (I don't know DP)

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22 months ago, # |
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Here's come the important question: Did you actually solved these problems, and not just going to the editorial after like 5 minutes, "solve" the problem, and call it a day? Did you truly solved these problems in random order, or are you just cherry picking easier problem? Cause if you are actually solving 45 1400 problems, and 35 1500 ratings question BY yourself, you should be blue, and not grey (C and D problems are usually in the 1400-1600 range)

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    22 months ago, # ^ |
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    I did odd number questions from the ladder (c2ladders) and I checked solution only after trying 1hr and only for some questions , others I did

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      22 months ago, # ^ |
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      Maybe you should take a break from CP. The problem might not came from the fact that you under-practiced, but you over-practiced to the point that you are practically burnt out, started to have mental issues, which lead to you not being able to solve problems at 100% of your potential. Newbies don't really need that much practice. So just take it slow I guess.

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        22 months ago, # ^ |
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        With about (45) 1400 randomly scored questions and (35) 1500 randomly scored questions is it really possible to get to the blue level, I think cyan might be possible but with this amount of practice blue might be the gift

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          22 months ago, # ^ |
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          Well on my profile I solved like 40 1500 questions, and 40 1600 questions, which is not that much, and I even take like a 4 months break from cp. And look at me, I'm blue. I'm pretty sure I'm not that gifted.

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22 months ago, # |
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Do some virtual

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22 months ago, # |
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I solve like around 1800-2000 in practice but usually tags or topic of question makes it easier for me. Plus, the problem ratings are not directly correlated with your rating’s ability.

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22 months ago, # |
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Usually for practice I would hide to problem tags since you do not get to see those in an actual contest. I'd recommend practicing on virtual contests; at your current rating you are doing well in being able to solve more difficult problems since you can consistently get 2 problems on Div 2 level contests and sometimes 3. That said you want to focus on reducing the number of wrong submissions you have since that is really dropping you right now. Pretty much usually as a general rule if you have wrong answer on pretest 2 or 3 it usually means there is something clearly overlooked so you're best off rethinking most of your solution rather than making small changes and hoping it works.

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22 months ago, # |
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Self-deception: maybe why you're still grey after practicing every day

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22 months ago, # |
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Have you tried using CSES? I think that's a very good website to start using at this point. It is intended to be used along with the Competitive Programmer's Handbook [PDF].

Going from green to cyan on Codeforces is mostly about getting good at DP and the common graph algorithms, besides improving your logic and problem-solving through practice. In my opinion DP is the most important topic in Competitive Programming, so getting good at that is essential and will pay off tremendously.

This video by Colin Galen also has tons of very nice tips.

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22 months ago, # |
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Try doing contests without worrying about your performance or rating. That is what I’ll try to do from now on after losing 200 rating in 4 contests. Keep working hard and you’ll eventually do well. Good luck!

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22 months ago, # |
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I feel like you just have not solved enough. If you solve 100 more 1400 problems you will definitely see improvement. If you do it and see no result, send me a pm, and I will try to help you to figure out the reason why it did not help.

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22 months ago, # |
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Growth is exponential, and consistency is key, just continue practicing, and you will eventually see a spike in your rating. That's at least what happened to me, I couldn't get out of pupil, my friend even joked about my graph looking like a constant function, but then in 3 contests, I suddenly got to high specialist, and eventually to expert.

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