grip consistency practice/tricks

Drop The Rock

Drop The Rock

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I have heard everyone has a natural grip. One technique for find it is to make a fist like you are going to punch someone and then loosen it for your cue. Anybody have tricks or tips? I have been trying to focus on my grip and bridge in order to have more solid fundamentals. I have already been working on shortening my bridge length which has helped a lot.
 
Drop The Rock said:
I have heard everyone has a natural grip. One technique for find it is to make a fist like you are going to punch someone and then loosen it for your cue. Anybody have tricks or tips? I have been trying to focus on my grip and bridge in order to have more solid fundamentals. I have already been working on shortening my bridge length which has helped a lot.
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I know some people bad mouth pre-stroking. They call it names like air-stroking. But if you do it rapidly, it will tell you if your grip is correct. It has other benefits also.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
 
For at least 50 years I've had problems with tightening my grip when under pressure. I had to think about it when pressure on me was increasing, and that's no good. Now that I have Arthritis in my hands and fingers, it's not a problem. Hurts like hell if I tighten up. Johnnyt

PS: Grip is more important than most think.
 
Drop The Rock said:
Anybody have tricks or tips?
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The most important thing is a grip that doesn't change during the stroke. More fingers gripping the cue = more likelihood of change.

I have already been working on shortening my bridge length which has helped a lot.
Click to expand...
I've been working on lengthening mine for more powerful shots - to avoid jerking the cue.

pj
chgo
 
Try lagging the cue ball up and down the table and focus on hitting the ball with a relaxed hand and arm. No tension. I find that the tension tends to come in anticipation of pocketing the ball and getting position, so if I'm having issues with that I find it easier to focus on the quality of my cueing without the object ball. Once I've got the feel for it I'll reintroduce the object ball. Works well for me. It takes some practice over a few sessions to get the hang of it though.
 
I've always worked on keeping my back hand straight, from the elbow down, gripping mainly with the second and third finger.. index and pinky barely touching... seems to give a better pendulum for my stroke. The killer for me is when I tighten up and start curling the grip in, like Earl... don't know how he compensates for that.
 
I use a pretty light grip on most shots. Sometimes even "letting go" of the cue on it's forward motion. Usually hold it a little firmer when I'm using much English. Really, I try not to think about it. Seems like when I get to thinking about stuff like that it messes me up.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
The most important thing is a grip that doesn't change during the stroke. More fingers gripping the cue = more likelihood of change.


I've been working on lengthening mine for more powerful shots - to avoid jerking the cue.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...

You make a valid point in terms of the number of fingers contacting the cue. I have the opposite problem, with a longer bridge I tend to jerk or lose control but not with a shorter bridge. I tend to have more accurate cuing and spin the ball plenty/shoot power shots easily when I have a shorter bridge. The only time I use a longer bridge now is when I'm stretching and I still only pull the cue back a short distance.
 
SilverCue said:
I know some people bad mouth pre-stroking. They call it names like air-stroking. But if you do it rapidly, it will tell you if your grip is correct. It has other benefits also.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I prestroke a lot but it tends to make me think about my grip lol! I don't have any issue holding the cue too tight either. I used to but don't anymore
 
For me the revelation and confidence in a light grip started when I was messing around wondering what would happen with no grip. For that I just had the cue lay on top of my index finger. No other fingers touching. Later I experimented with throwing the cue, Stroke Slip. This fooling around gave me way more confidence that I really only have to have enough pressure to keep the cue from flying across the table. This confidence and realization was huge for me.

Its one of those things that if you don't go to extremes you'll never figure out what's right for your style. People have all kinds of explanations of a light grip but, how light is light and how light is right. Play with it and it'll be fun and educational. Personally I have fun finding the limits.

I'll now hold the cue fairly tight standing over the shot then loosen considerably as I get down. Its part of how I relax as I get into the shot.

Not an instructor and this may have many flaws or pitfalls but its where I am.
 
try holding a piece of chalk between your thumb and index finger while playing
it worked for me to cure my death grip
let me know if you try it and your results
pm ok
 
Drop The Rock said:
I have heard everyone has a natural grip. One technique for find it is to make a fist like you are going to punch someone and then loosen it for your cue. Anybody have tricks or tips? I have been trying to focus on my grip and bridge in order to have more solid fundamentals. I have already been working on shortening my bridge length which has helped a lot.
Click to expand...


I hold the cue waaaayyy too lightly.
I use thumb plus two fingers, which is ok, but way I do it is on the
side of the cue, the fingers never even wrap around the cue at all.
Kinda reminds me of how Humphrey Bogart holds a cigarette.......lol
WITHOUT the cool factor....lol
http://blacklightnoir.tumblr.com/post/34164909275/humphrey-bogart-with-cigarette-by-benn-mitchell

I've worked hard in the last few months to establish more of a
grip like snooker players use:
Imagine you're holding a bird and you don't want to kill it but also
don't want it to fly away, is a classic description I've heard.

But once I grip the cue and get all the fingers involved it seems to
not move as naturally......for me...... and I keep missing balls if I
don't go back to that super light grip.

I mean my grip is so light that it's impossible to play with linen or
leather wraps because on harder shots the cue sometimes is left
behind and the right hand goes forward with no cue in it.
NOT GOOD and I'm working on changing this.

Also as far as my bridge hand goes, it typically extends as far as it
can go. So basically a straight bridge hand and very light grip.

As to my level, I can run out one rack after another in 9 ball, but I
also have to change my grip dramatically on faster shots. Terrible!

Developing a more consistent grip where I don't have to change it
much at all on faster shots seems to be a good thing.
In the meantime I'm missing shots I've made millions of times before.
Went to the pool hall today and played by my self, it was not pretty. lol
 
How you grip the cue doesn't matter. Index and thumb, middle and thumb, back two fingers and thumb... Doesn't matter. All that matters is it doesn't get in the way of the cue traveling level and straight.
Pressure is a personal choice. I grip the cue tighter than most. Lots prefer a light grip. Because of how I hold the cue, I can never have a light grip. The firm grip keeps the cue on line and whilst it is harder to generate lots of spin, you learn to work around it and now I have no issues with spinning the white.
What is important is not changing the pressure of the grip until the cue ball is long gone. Tightening the grip, or loosening it for that matter mid way through a shot causes the tip to go off line.
Practise keeping the pressure constant. It will help you out massively.
 
Pidge said:
What is important is not changing the pressure of the grip until the cue ball is long gone. Tightening the grip, or loosening it for that matter mid way through a shot causes the tip to go off line.
Practice keeping the pressure constant. It will help you out massively.
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Bingo! :thumbup:
 
Pidge said:
How you grip the cue doesn't matter. Index and thumb, middle and thumb, back two fingers and thumb... Doesn't matter. All that matters is it doesn't get in the way of the cue traveling level and straight.
Pressure is a personal choice. I grip the cue tighter than most. Lots prefer a light grip. Because of how I hold the cue, I can never have a light grip. The firm grip keeps the cue on line and whilst it is harder to generate lots of spin, you learn to work around it and now I have no issues with spinning the white.
What is important is not changing the pressure of the grip until the cue ball is long gone. Tightening the grip, or loosening it for that matter mid way through a shot causes the tip to go off line.
Practise keeping the pressure constant. It will help you out massively.
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This is right. There are two champions I've seen in person who use and prefer tight grips...but their delivery is perfect and the grip pressure they use is consistent.
 
Cameron Smith said:
Try lagging the cue ball up and down the table and focus on hitting the ball with a relaxed hand and arm. No tension. I find that the tension tends to come in anticipation of pocketing the ball and getting position, so if I'm having issues with that I find it easier to focus on the quality of my cueing without the object ball. Once I've got the feel for it I'll reintroduce the object ball. Works well for me. It takes some practice over a few sessions to get the hang of it though.
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This along with One Pocket John's is from what i see as the best advice. Once again it is very hard to say what is and what is not and that proves that it's more of an "Individual" thing than not, Keith always comes to mind when this stuff comes up.
Consistency is all that matter in almost all actions, in pool finding yours is what should be your goal. There is no one bridge and no one grip, there are too many factors in pool that's trying to be controlled, Time and Practice will be your best friends and Patience you best Ally

Hit the table with the major shots in mind (soft follow/draw, soft stun, hard follow/draw, hard stun) find your own quirk that allows you to execute these with the most "consistency".
That's my input.
 
7forlife said:
Consistency is all that matter in almost all actions, in pool finding yours is what should be your goal. There is no one bridge and no one grip, there are too many factors in pool that's trying to be controlled, Time and Practice will be your best friends and Patience you best Ally

Hit the table with the major shots in mind (soft follow/draw, soft stun, hard follow/draw, hard stun) find your own quirk that allows you to execute these with the most "consistency".
That's my input.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the only connection a player has with the QB is thru their cue and the feeling they get in their grip hand. Different grip pressures for different types of shots and spin used and position play.

To me, it feels like every shot has its own feel of grip pressure. I work on this constantly.

I also believe that when the pro's practice that they are working on feeling (grip pressure) the QB in their grip hand.

That's what is so important with practice strokes, getting a feeling (grip pressure) for the shot.

This is a personal feeling, some can feel better than others.

The next time you go to the table to practice, really focus on what you are feeling in your grip hand (can you feel the threads on the cue butt), some grip pressures will be light and others could be medium or firm.

Nice post 7forlife

John
 
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Can't tell you how many times I've changed my grip - some days something else just feels right but I settled on one finally and I stroke straight and pure through the ball. It's amazing.

What I've also noticed is that my bridge is always long, but I only pull the cue back a few inches. Very similar to Sky when Jay /Cotton/Ken were talking about his stroke on the recent US Open YouTube videos.

Anyway, I think grip consistency becomes muscle memory like anything else. When you first change it you know you're doing it right because it feels weird then later on you know you're doing it right when it feels natural.
 
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