How do I bet on curling?

An interesting sport like curling attracts little attention from the public, bookmakers and bettors. However, it is also possible to make money from betting on this sport. It is worth understanding how to bet on curling and the availability of successful strategies.

General information

Curling is a team sport which takes place on an ice field. It belongs to the category of Olympic sports. There are two teams in the game. Each team is made up of four players. The athletes are named as follows: skip, vise-skip, 1st, 2nd and their respective roles in the team. The essence of the game is to beat your opponent by the number of points. Let’s have a closer look at the rules of curling as it is important for betting on the sport.

Curling rules

The curling pitch is rectangular in shape. Its size can vary from 44.5 to 45.72 meters in length as well as 4.42 to 5 meters in width.

Competitors are required to take turns launching special granite boulders, called stones, onto the ice. They have to be hammered into round targets 3.66 m in diameter – houses. The stone weighs almost 20 kg and is shaped like a cylinder, with a sliding surface. It is equipped with a handle at the top. Each athlete has a special brush. This is needed for rubbing the ice in front of the sliding stone. Additional equipment includes knee pads and Teflon sliders.

The game is divided into 10 separate phases, or innings. In one end each team has to throw eight stones. The thrower must push off and accelerate the stone. The thrower must either stop at a predetermined position or knock the opposing team’s stone out of the house. The other players in the team use brushes to correct the movement of the stone. Rubbing ice with the brushes has its own term: sweeping.

After the drawing of 16 stones, the end points are counted. Only those stones that end up inside the house are counted. The team that gets the stone closest to the centre wins the end. That team also gets points, one for each stone which is placed closer to the centre than the opponent’s nearest stone.

In curling, it is most advantageous to throw the last end stones. Therefore, to determine who throws the last stone, the team captains make test throws. Whichever stone is closest to the centre of the house throws the last stone of the end. This is only valid for the first, starting end. Thereafter, the team that lost the previous end has the right of last throw. If no one hits the target, the score is a draw.

Players can whistle not only their own stones but also those of the opposing team. This is allowed if a stone crosses a line through the centre of a house. It is important to follow the throwing rules: release the handle before the stone crosses the throwing line. Otherwise the throw is not counted. As a rule, athletes use different throwing techniques. There are quite a few, but you can distinguish between two main groups, the difference being the aim of the player – to throw a stone into the house or to push an opponent’s stone out of the house. Competitors may also try to protect their own stones.

Before the third end stone is thrown, a special rule applies: no stone that is between the centre line and the scoring line outside the house may be knocked out of the house. If the offence is committed, the stone is returned to the house and the offender’s stone is discarded. But it is not forbidden to move stones. From the time the 3rd stone is rolled, the rule ceases to apply.

Who wins the game depends on the total number of points scored in all Ends. If the teams have played ten endings and the score is tied, an extra-end shall be awarded. The winner of the extra end shall be the winner of the whole match. The last shot shall be taken by the team that lost the previous end.

Popular championships and famous players

Bettors will not be happy with the fact that curling competitions are rather rare. To be exact, the season is interesting and eventful, but only a few tournaments attract the attention of spectators, bookmakers and bettors. Among the most popular and important events belong to the following:

The World Curling Championships is an international competition among national teams of countries which are members of the World Curling Federation. Twelve teams participate in the group stage. Then a play-off stage begins, in which the top four teams play. It takes place annually.
European Curling Championships is an annual tournament held by the European Curling Federation. Ten teams participate in the group tournament. The championship is in demand among domestic bookmakers and bettors.
Olympic Games – Curling is part of the Winter Olympics programme. Held once every 4 years respectively, but always attracts a lot of bettors. Initially, 10 teams compete and the best 4 among them fight for medals.
The Canadian Championships (men’s Tim Hortons Brier and women’s The Tournaments of Hearts) is a rare occasion to bet on a national curling competition. The fact is that Canada is considered the most successful in the sport and has the most registered athletes.

There are also competitions for men, women and mixed teams.

Famous athletes:

Nicklas Edin, Swedish skip, multiple world and European champion and Olympic medallist;
Kevin Cui, Canadian skip, world, European and Canadian champion;
Bruce Mowett, Scottish skip, world and European champion;
Anna Hasselborg – Swedish skip, multiple World, European and 2018 Olympic champion;
Jennifer Jones – Canadian team skip, 2014 Olympic, Canadian and World Championship champion.

Curling betting line-up and spread

The bookmaker can offer a basic line as well as long-term bets. For example, you can try to guess which team will win a particular championship.

In the main line, the most common outcomes are:

Victory. There can be no draw in curling as the final winner is still decided in the extra-end if necessary. This outcome is rated as one of the most popular, but requires careful evaluation of each team member.
total points. It is necessary to guess the total number of points that both teams will score in the match. An uncomplicated outcome as the number of points in curling is limited to 10-20.
Handicap. To even up the odds of winning the match between the leader and the underdog, the bookmaker offers clients to bet on a handicap win. In this case the favourite of the meeting gets a minus handicap in the form of points, and the underdog gets a plus handicap.
Total of Ends. To make a profit with this bet, you need to guess how many points the teams will score in a specific end or in several endings.
Individual Total. The number of points scored by the first or second team. Correspondingly, the team number is given.
Endgame result. An opportunity to guess which team will win in a separate end – from the first to the tenth.

You can bet on curling here in real time. In Live, there are both basic types of outcomes and additional ones, such as which team will make the first shot and the like.