Betting Club - Day 15, March 2001
Kaio (13-2) wins today in closely fought battle with Musoyama (12-3). He still had to wait for the last fight of the day between the two Yokozuna. But Takanohana (12-3) loses stupidly, ugly, and quickly in his fight against Musashimaru (12-3). Keiko wins with no need for overtime. Dejima retains his Ozeki status, while Miyabiyama falls to Kadoban. Sven the Stud wins !

PRIOR VICTORS

HOW TO BET:

1. You must bet on 10 wrestlers below Ozeki and Yokozuna (i.e., you cannot bet on Ozeki or Yokozuna).
2. To bet systematically, visit www.scgroup.com/sumo
3. Once you reach above site, print out the results for the last two or three tourneys. Then compare the up/down movement in each wrestler's rank. Then make your bets. For example, a good wrestler who did poorly in the last tourney will fall drastically in rank, and will only fight weaker wrestlers in the next tourney. As a result, he will probably achieve a good record in the next tourney.
4. Send your sumo picks by email to MARK

WHO OWES WHO MONEY? (NO PURSE PAYED FOR LAST 7 TOURNEYS)

• Mayuko owes Sven 2000 yen, John 1000, Willis 2000, and Mark 1000
• John owes Sven 3000 yen, Willis 1000
• Mark owes Sven 3000 yen, and Willis 1000.
• Keiko owes Sven 3000 yen, John 1000, and Willis 1000
• David owes Sven 4000 yen, John 1000, Willis 2000, and Mark 1000
• Eric owes Willis 2000 yen.
• Peter owes Willis 1000 yen, Mark 1000 yen, and Sven 1000 yen

HOW TO CALCULATE SCORE

• Each player selects 10 fighters (no Yokozuna or Ozeki). The first fighter in the list gets 10 points per victory. The second fighter in the list gets nine points per victory. The third gets eight per victory, etc. etc. Scores are tallied in an Excel Spreadsheet file, which is then exported as an HTML file and inserted into this web page. Sven Puetter originally introduced me to this game back in 1997, and I use the scoring method Sven explained to me then.

ORIGIN OF GAME

Apparently, this game is based on actual "behind the scenes" Sumo gambling among the Japanese.
Many club members have asked "Why can`t we pick Ozeki and Yokozuna fighters?" 

• Most club members agree on the answer: "Ozeki and Yokozuna fights are occasionally fixed."
• Another club assumption is that "fixes" ONLY occur in matches involving Ozeki and Yokozuna.
• Fixes can involve (1) two top fighters who face each other (2) a top-ranked rikishi facing a lowly maegashira.