# FSRS and small decks?

**URL:** <https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/fsrs-and-small-decks/57849>\
**Category:** FSRS\
**Created:** [March 23, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/fsrs-and-small-decks/57849 "2025-03-23T17:06:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@mason](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/mason)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 5:06pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/fsrs-and-small-decks/57849/1 "2025-03-23T17:06:30Z")

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Disclaimer: I am a new anki users, so I don’t have much experience or data to draw from.

I have some decks that are complete and small, e.g. morse code. I decided to switch to FSRS since I was convinced it was the better option, but I am concerned about how it will interact with these small decks. My goal with these decks is to have 100% retention. It’s easy to learn morse code with 100% retention, and I just want anki to show it to me often enough that I never forget it. My question is, if I set the retention to, say 90%, will FSRS adapt to me getting the answer right every time and slowly lengthen the intervals to a point where I actually do start to forget 10% of morse code?

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**Author:** ![Danika\_Dakika](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/forums.ankiweb.net/danika_dakika/32/17815_2.png) [@Danika\_Dakika](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/Danika_Dakika)\
**Post date:** [March 23, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/fsrs-and-small-decks/57849/2 "2025-03-23T19:07:13Z")

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There is a terminology distinction that will matter to you here –

- “Retention” is how many cards you remember on the day the card is due.
- “Retrievability” is your chance of remembering a card today (or on any given day).

When you say “My goal with these decks is to have 100% retention” – you’re actually probably looking for 100% Retrievability.

Why does it matter? Because your Average Retrievability on any given day is generally going to be higher than your retention (both your Desired Retention and your actual retention results). [If I didn’t explain that very well, here’s a more thorough explanation with graphs and examples: [Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/comments/1anfmcw/you_dont_understand_retention_in_fsrs/) .]

> [@mason](#):
>
> My question is, if I set the retention to, say 90% …

For a small deck like that, where you want your Retrievability at any given moment to be close to 100% – you could certainly set your DR higher than that to see the cards more often. The highest you can go is 99%, and FSRS will warn you about the consequences you should expect if you do that –

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/3X/f/5/f5ede8fecc89f93ab240182ef8602252c285b858.png)

Maybe consider something around 95% and see how you like it?

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**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/uploads/anki2/original/1X/8f1279ababc5879d54e4838989f606cfe55af8c7.jpeg) [@system](https://forums.ankiweb.net/u/system)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://forums.ankiweb.net/t/fsrs-and-small-decks/57849/3 "2025-04-22T19:07:46Z")

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Closed on April 22, 2025, 7:07pm UTC

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