Tips from a pro....
- Thread starter John Brumback
- Start date
That's scary good!! Everything about him is. Look at his stance...he can kill the balls! With his closed bridge...if you will notice..he can lower or raise his middle finger for the shot at hand..that's what pros do
Good pics right there buddy!! John B.
Thanks for the post and the great reminder John!
I'm comfortable with my bridge, its my stance that's frightening
sometimes people make fun of it. I spread the feet rather wide apart. But I figure, it feels right, go with it
How tall are you. Might be a reason to spread feet apart if you pretty tall.
Not tall at all, around 5'9". I feel I can get down over the cue ball better spread out wide. I've tried the Lance/Perkins stance, but I don't feel comfortable using it
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I agree Bob and that's funny. When I was younger I spent a lot of time in the ring boxing and sparring then full contact fighting so my fingers and hands suffered a few breaks and a lot of fractures so I have had to adapt to whatever bridge or bridges that would allow for a stroke without being in pain.
Ive always known the bridge isn't the biggest part of the the stroke as its the balance and delivery of the tip hitting the cue ball but its very important and I wish I had a better bridge. Take a look at Lassiters and Joe Balsis bridges and you can see what im talking about.
As far as the 60 going to 100 don't worry as if I tried to spot you that it would be a death sentence for me.
BTW thanks for all that you do for pool and especially 14.1.
That's scary good!! Everything about him is. Look at his stance...he can kill the balls! With his closed bridge...if you will notice..he can lower or raise his middle finger for the shot at hand..that's what pros do
Did you ever run into Doug Sharp (RIP), a DC area shortstop and great instructor? He taught me the pointer-finger-on-the-middle-finger closed bridge, how to lower or raise it for the shot at hand, and also to bring the whole palm off the table to get a better follow stroke (exactly as you described in critiquing Lou's bridge).
For those who are wondering about this bridge, it may take a little stretching, but I think it's much better once you get used to it.
Cory
No, I have not heard of him.He does sound like a great instructor tho. Thanks for mentioning what I described about the " Lou shot" That is a great bridge ( closed but palm up off of the cloth) but it might not be in any books.......Most top pros use this bridge alot. John B.
JB;
As many others have already said, big thanks to you for posting this great reminder/tip.
Playing the averages and odds are a big part of achieving success in pool and so it stands to reason that having the odds-on correct fundamentals (eg right bridge for the shot) will, many more times than not, reward your game.
But it's also true that we can't look past the exceptions like Bobby Chamberlain's bridging, or Keith's sidearm stroke or Busty's bizarre bridging, speaking of which:
I was hitting some balls with him and I couldn't believe my eyes, so much so, I stopped him and asked specifically about his bridging. On his back stroke the cue tip was completely disappearing from his index and middle fingers but here's where the unbelievable part comes in:
On his forward stroke as the tip comes back through on it's way to strike whitey, the tip glances off of his themb knuckle closest to his wrist.
That knuckle gets painted master chalk blue and for the life of me I don't know how this man manages to maintain world-championship level play, but he sure has.
He acknowledged that it was odd but he said "it's just what happens". :thumbup:
For me, I have to stick with the best odds and try to work on better fundamantals in an effort to maintain some semblance of county-class speed. :embarrassed2:
best,
brian kc <----- I'm so happy I removed the lally columns from my basement so I don't end up short-stroking like Allen Hopkins. :grin-square:
As many others have already said, big thanks to you for posting this great reminder/tip.
Playing the averages and odds are a big part of achieving success in pool and so it stands to reason that having the odds-on correct fundamentals (eg right bridge for the shot) will, many more times than not, reward your game.
But it's also true that we can't look past the exceptions like Bobby Chamberlain's bridging, or Keith's sidearm stroke or Busty's bizarre bridging, speaking of which:
I was hitting some balls with him and I couldn't believe my eyes, so much so, I stopped him and asked specifically about his bridging. On his back stroke the cue tip was completely disappearing from his index and middle fingers but here's where the unbelievable part comes in:
On his forward stroke as the tip comes back through on it's way to strike whitey, the tip glances off of his themb knuckle closest to his wrist.
That knuckle gets painted master chalk blue and for the life of me I don't know how this man manages to maintain world-championship level play, but he sure has.
He acknowledged that it was odd but he said "it's just what happens". :thumbup:
For me, I have to stick with the best odds and try to work on better fundamantals in an effort to maintain some semblance of county-class speed. :embarrassed2:
best,
brian kc <----- I'm so happy I removed the lally columns from my basement so I don't end up short-stroking like Allen Hopkins. :grin-square:
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My very own shot
John, when I was learning to play pool back in the late 60's there were very few books on pool available. So like most guys, in addition to Mosconi, Caras, Cottingham, and couple of others, we all bought and studied Willie Hoppe's "Biliards as it should be played." I've always called the bridge you're talking about an Upside Down Bridge, for reasons that are now unclear to me and use it frequently, but I guess not often enough.
Lou Figueroa
Attachments
No it isnt but stopping your stick suddenly after contact leads to about 98% of players having a bad stroke and thus bad pocketing.
My very own shot
John, when I was learning to play pool back in the late 60's there were very few books on pool available. So like most guys, in addition to Mosconi, Caras, Cottingham, and couple of others, we all bought and studied Willie Hoppe's "Biliards as it should be played." I've always called the bridge you're talking about an Upside Down Bridge, for reasons that are now unclear to me and use it frequently, but I guess not often enough.
Lou Figueroa
Well..there it is right there
. I have to wonder why more don't use this bridge? I guess it comes from them thinking it won't be stable enough. John B.PS: "Now unclear to me and use it frequently" I'm confused by this quote but It doesn't take much
My very own shot
John, when I was learning to play pool back in the late 60's there were very few books on pool available. So like most guys, in addition to Mosconi, Caras, Cottingham, and couple of others, we all bought and studied Willie Hoppe's "Biliards as it should be played." I've always called the bridge you're talking about an Upside Down Bridge, for reasons that are now unclear to me and use it frequently, but I guess not often enough.
Lou Figueroa
I don't use this as often as I used to but it's still something I use. I started using that bridge without even thinking about it, just seemed to come natural, maybe due to the fact that I have small hands.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well..there it is right there
PS: "Now unclear to me and use it frequently" I'm confused by this quote but It doesn't take much
Yeah, that was a bit of goofiness there. What I was trying to say was that I don't remember why I started calling it an Upside Down Bridge. Maybe I read it somewhere in another book or another player called it that. In any case, I do use that bridge frequently.
Lou Figueroa
sometimes me no
write so pretty
Well crap and I thought I caught you dogging your writing..shoulda known better
John B.PS::grin:
Well crap and I thought I caught you dogging your writing..shoulda known better
PS::grin:
So, John, a legit question: what is your technique (secret) for shooting with a mechanical bridge?
Lou Figueroa