Open Hand Bridge vs Closed Bridge Discussion

L

Low500

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I got a tell on the Filipino posse at that Houston tournament and it made me think a little. (I'm sure there are other pool enthusiasts besides me out there who've noticed this as well).
The majority of their shots seem to be with the open bridge. They use the closed when the cueball is pretty close to the rail, but the rest of the time it's open handed all the way.
Shane isn't Filipino, of course, but he's doing the same thing.
I looked again at one of his matches on YouTube and watched 3 games. In those 3 games, Shane, took 33 shots...21 were using the open bridge and 11 were using the closed bridge. Shaw was his opponent and Shaw is practically always open bridge.
Those pros don't make many bad bets...if any at all.
I'm just wondering if maybe we Americans have allowed this to slip by us for a long time and have not adapted our playing to the open bridge.
Any observations on this will be good to note.
:shrug:
 
I like the open bridge. I can make a groove the stick will slide through and not notice any sideways motion. It’s a bonus my hand is out of the way and my view is unobstructed. But my closed bridge is less reliable. I don’t feel comfortable gripping it tight and I do feel lateral motion sometimes.


Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)
 
I'm old school and feel more comfortable with a closed bridge. I use an open bridge on occasions, but I prefer closed.

I think the open bridge has become more popular, due to the playing conditions not be the same as they were when I started playing.

Today's tables are way faster than they were a long time ago. The need to hit balls harder to drive them around the table isn't as prevalent as it once was for most tables.

If I am shooting a long straight in shot that requires no English or ball movement, I am comfortable with an open bridge. The same goes for short "gimme" shots.

If I have to put some "pace" on the ball with spin, I almost always use a closed bridge.
 
MattPoland said:
I like the open bridge. I can make a groove the stick will slide through and not notice any sideways motion. It’s a bonus my hand is out of the way and my view is unobstructed. But my closed bridge is less reliable. I don’t feel comfortable gripping it tight and I do feel lateral motion sometimes.
Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)
Click to expand...
Thank you, Matt.
 
HawaiianEye said:
I'm old school and feel more comfortable with a closed bridge. I use an open bridge on occasions, but I prefer closed.

I think the open bridge has become more popular, due to the playing conditions not be the same as they were when I started playing.

Today's tables are way faster than they were a long time ago. The need to hit balls harder to drive them around the table isn't as prevalent as it once was for most tables.

If I am shooting a long straight in shot that requires no English or ball movement, I am comfortable with an open bridge. The same goes for short "gimme" shots.

If I have to put some "pace" on the ball with spin, I almost always use a closed bridge.
Click to expand...
That's a good observation.
 
This has been discussed ad nauseam, perhaps more than 9mm v 45ACP.

The short answer is this - they are both correct, and strong players are equally effective with either bridge.

Truth is, there's not "2 bridges, open or closed"; that is a false narrative that tends to divide folks and has new/less experienced players second guessing their bridge.

There are many different bridges and bridging techniques that a good player will master. Not 1, 2 or 3 bridges will work for every shot.

It's like asking a golfer if they prefer to play with a wood, iron or wedge. Well, they kinda need them all......

-von
 
Noticed Ko uses an open bridge on everything.
I always felt the closed bridge was more accurate on certain shots but apparently if you're a good enough player it doesn't matter.

The thing is these great pro players are so good you never see them in a situation when they need to really fire the ball or use a big draw shot, so it gets down to how you play and what works for you.
Everyone's games is different
 
I use an open bridge pretty much all the time but switch to a closed bridge on draw shots.
 
Just a few days ago, someone mentioned to me that Allison Fisher always uses an open bridge and that surprised me. I've since watched some videos and she uses closed bridge when breaking and when her bridge hand is on the rail but that's pretty much it.
 
I find it easier to keep the cue level with an open bridge. Not to say you can't do it with a closed bridge but it just feels more natural. Closed bridge is more useful to me when i need added stability
 
HawaiianEye said:
I'm old school and feel more comfortable with a closed bridge. I use an open bridge on occasions, but I prefer closed.

I think the open bridge has become more popular, due to the playing conditions not be the same as they were when I started playing.

Today's tables are way faster than they were a long time ago. The need to hit balls harder to drive them around the table isn't as prevalent as it once was for most tables.

If I am shooting a long straight in shot that requires no English or ball movement, I am comfortable with an open bridge. The same goes for short "gimme" shots.

If I have to put some "pace" on the ball with spin, I almost always use a closed bridge.
Click to expand...

Very keen analysis here. It took me years to figure this one out! I'm so used to playing with a closed bridge that it was hard to adapt to playing most shots with an open bridge. Only in this last attempt to play pool did I finally get it! I agree with the poster who said a closed bridge is better for draw shots and on certain other shots as well. But for the most part an open bridge seems more comfortable for playing on today's equipment and conditions.
 
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I'm open bridge most of the time, exceptions are bigger stroke shots, draw and breaking. It does help with my sight line to play with an open bridge.

Wish I could remember who it was in the past year or two who I saw breaking with an open bridge. It was a somewhat notable player - can't imagine that being easy to control and yes, they were breaking pretty hard.

best,
brian kc
 
Good point

Just watch Rafael Martinez!! No better shot maker in the world, played ever game at a triple A speed and he never closed his bridge.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I'm open bridge most of the time, exceptions are bigger stroke shots, draw and breaking. It does help with my sight line to play with an open bridge.

Wish I could remember who it was in the past year or two who I saw breaking with an open bridge. It was a somewhat notable player - can't imagine that being easy to control and yes, they were breaking pretty hard.

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...

I have it on good authority(Cole Dickson) that accuracy is more important than power on the break shot. If you are trying to put so much power into the shot that you need your bridge hand to hold the cue on line, you are out of control. That being said, you should not need chalk on your break tip either. The only time I chalk my break cue is when I break it down to use as a jump cue.
 
Low500 said:
The majority of their shots seem to be with the open bridge. They use the closed when the cueball is pretty close to the rail, but the rest of the time it's open handed all the way.
Shane isn't Filipino, of course, but he's doing the same thing.
I looked again at one of his matches on YouTube and watched 3 games. In those 3 games, Shane, took 33 shots...21 were using the open bridge and 11 were using the closed bridge.
Click to expand...

That’s interesting because my sense is that Shane uses a closed bridge quite often. He often holds his wrist up so only his fingers are on the table, which seems crazy to me.
 
Low500 said:
I'm just wondering if maybe we Americans have allowed this to slip by us for a long time and have not adapted our playing to the open bridge.
Any observations on this will be good to note.
:shrug:
Click to expand...
Just for some perspective...

Title Search
Keywords: open closed bridge

https://forums.azbilliards.com/search.php?searchid=22156291


I believe this subject has more individual threads created than Men vs Women and Pool vs Snooker threads. Combined.

CTE threads might be be more represented.


Freddie <~~~ uses both
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
I'm open bridge most of the time, exceptions are bigger stroke shots, draw and breaking. It does help with my sight line to play with an open bridge.

Wish I could remember who it was in the past year or two who I saw breaking with an open bridge. It was a somewhat notable player - can't imagine that being easy to control and yes, they were breaking pretty hard.

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...
Ok I found the video of Colin Colenso teaching the power break. Note the open bridge.
https://youtu.be/xW1tsONEI_U
 
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