ice dance free dance betting

I have noticed that some bookies are betting on the free dance.

Is this different to the betfair betting?

If your first statement is correct, and selected bookmakers are indeed offering a market on the result of the free dance, then yes.


Can you win the free dance and not win gold(overall)?

Yes. The Free Dance is one of the three elements that provide the overall score in the Ice Dance. The other elements are the 'Compulsory Dance' and the 'Original Dance'. The pair with the best overall score from these three elements wins the Ice Dance. It should be noted that each element carries a different weighting i.e. the maximum points available is lowest in the 'Compulsory Dance' and highest in the 'Free Dance'.

Therefore, with the exception of the leaders after the first two elements - Virtue/Moir*, any pair could win the free dance element without winning the ice dance.

Given the massive fluctuation of the price on the favourites post the completion of the second element, varying between 1.1 and 1.7, you are clearly not alone in being uncertain as to how this event is scored. However, this information is available from the official Olympic site combined with other sites such as Wiki, which also provides the scoring from previous games.

FWIW I currently have a book showing a massive green of £0.17 on Virtue/Moir and £9.76 on all others, having layed all of the £12.25 backed (~£24 matched) at 1.1 and backed £2 at 1.7 on the Virtue/Moir. All of these bets were matched after the completion of the second element, Original Dance. The layer(s) at 1.15 and backer(s) at 1.69/1.7 (of far more significant sums), again all of which was matched after the completion of the second element, have done rather better.

* Barring disqualification