Bmalky
Harvey Hacksmasher
Registered: Mar 2019
Location: Brantford, ON
Posts: 49 |
Re: Curling 101
quote: Originally posted by Der_Dawgvater
Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums and a typical curling fan from the USA who understands the basics but not the more advanced strategies. I'm watching the Briers final on YouTube (sorry, I was busy two weeks ago, but now I have tons of free time while stuck at home lol) and am wondering if any of you can educate me on strategies. My question is, when Alberta and Bottcher had the hammer in the first end, why didn't they go for the blank so they'd have the hammer in the even ends? In general, I think it'd make sense to want the hammer in even ends, so you have the hammer in the all-important 10th end, in which case, why would you want to win the draw to the button to get the hammer in the 1st end? I know I'm missing something probably pretty obvious, but some googling didn't answer my question, so I look forward to your responses, thanks!
The way the first end played out, there was no real chance to blank the end as NFLD kept their rocks in the house. Alta tried to maneuver rocks to the edges to get a roll out by NFLD on a hit. Then Alta could peel the guard and work on a blank, but NFLD didn't cooperate. As long as they had a rock in the house, ALTA had todeal with it. On Bottcher's last, he was trying to blank, but threw tight.
If NFLD had put their first in the house, I guarantee you ALTA would have hit it (almost urely) and tried to run out the end. You are right though, They would have preferred to blank and hold hammer in the even ends.
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|