I'm currently in Iron 1 (I know, noob) but I'm constantly in the top half of the scoresheet during my matches.
Yesterday I was in a lobby with people ranging from Iron 1 to Bronze 1. We get to 12-12, I manage to clutch a round and after we lose the next one I vote to draw but my whole team votes to keep playing. We lose, and in spite of me being the best player in our team (higher than all the Bronzies; the only other Iron 1 in the enemy team was dead last), I still got "rating decreased" after the match.
Surely this was the perfect opportunity to only get "rating slightly decreased". Do they not say in the explanation of how rating works that close matches will not count for big changes? How am I ever going to get out of this rank when even when I'm playing my best I still fall deeper into the unending pit that Iron 1 is?