I've always used mostly an open bridge. A few years ago I started bending my ring and middle fingers underneath. My bridge was getting tired from all the flexing. I like the new bridge better. It's very stable.
I am lazy and often flop my open bridge down with all fingers forward. A couple practice strokes and I tuck my two middle fingers. Immediately my bridge feels more stable. Except in the rare instance that I need a lower bridge than I can achieve on the particular shot with the fingers tucked they are always tucked if I am using an open bridge.
I started playing pool with a closed bridge. Then I noticed that many of my compadres of high school age used an open bridge. Gave it a try, it required less effort. In six months or less I was using an open bridge on almost all shots although some seemed to still require a closed bridge. Then the old shortstop who I respected greatly told me to only use a closed bridge, and a shorter bridge length than the long span an open bridge seems to encourage, six to ten inches was a long enough bridge on most shots. No question, for me the short bridge and closed bridge was more accurate. At the time, even if the bridge length was short using either one, the closed bridge seemed just a little more accurate on those shave the fuzz off a peach shots. Now I only used the open bridge when it was clearly superior in some situation. I went to maybe 80%-90% closed bridge.I think I maintained that for the remainder of my first infatuation with pool, ten years more or less.
In another current thread on the date of this posting we can watch a video of an exciting finish of a match. One of the best few in the world was two balls away from hill-hill or maybe winning the match. Watching for the first time I noticed an open bridge maybe a bit awkward and a whole lot of shaft between his bridge and the cue ball. I thought then that he was setting the shot up to be much harder than it had to be. He missed and turned the table over with the other player on the hill and shooting at the eight ball playing nine ball. I have to think his stomach hit the floor with a thud. Going from controlling your destiny to giving somebody else control is a horrible feeling. The pool gods weren't done yet and he did win but it was an ugly finish to the match. He might have won anyway but it looked like the three point rule might have been the deciding factor. Like I said, UG-LY!
Hu