in curling what does it mean to have the hammer

In curling, “having the hammer” means your team gets to throw the last stone in that end, which is a big strategic advantage.

Quick meaning

• The hammer = last rock advantage in an end.

• It’s usually easier to score (often 2 or more points) when you throw last, because you see the whole situation and can draw in for points or knock an opponent’s stone out.

• Because it’s so valuable, a lot of strategy in curling revolves around using the hammer to score multiple points, or “stealing” points when the other team has it.

How a team gets the hammer

• At the start of the game, the hammer is normally decided by a “draw to the button”: each team throws stones toward the centre, and the team closest to the button chooses who starts with last stone.

• After that, the team that doesn’t score in an end gets the hammer next end; if an end is blank (no one scores), the same team keeps the hammer.

Why it matters so much

• With the hammer, the main goal is often to score at least two points in that end; scoring only one is OK, but is considered a small win for the team without the hammer.

• Without the hammer, teams try to force the opponent to just one point or, better yet, to “steal” points by having their own stone closest to the button at the end of play.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.