Loose Grip/Tight Grip and Resulting Cueball Action

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There is a wrist movement in a golf swing referred to as the wrist hinge or wrist cocking.
I play pool using a soft wrist grip so I can feel the hinge movement on my forward stroke.

It also allows me to keep a much improved sense of tactile feel for cue ball position.
The grip sets everything up in any endeavor from using a hammer to stroking the cue ball.
 

Biloxi Boy

Man With A Golden Arm
Not to muddy the water further, but

Is it speed or follow-up or both or something else that imparts spin?
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
scott
would you agree the "snap" adds acceleration to the cue before impact?

Larry...No I do not agree. For that to even be possible, you'd have to start "snapping your wrist BEFORE the cuestick reaches the bottom of the pendulum strike.
I think it can add a little speed to the stroke, but not enough to make wrist motion a benefit for that reason alone.

I don't "snap" my wrist in any powerful sense - I just add moderate, coordinated wrist motion to arm motion (like throwing a ball underhanded) for a little more fine motor speed control.

pj
chgo
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Not to muddy the water further, but

Is it speed or follow-up or both or something else that imparts spin?
Something else: hitting the cue ball off center - how much spin is determined by how far off center.

More speed (plus off center hit) = more RPMs, but not more spin "action" (higher spin-to-speed ratio). That's only increased by hitting farther from center.

Follow through adds nothing to the impact, but is important to avoid "braking" the stroke (which would likely pull it offline).

pj
chgo
 

Tennesseejoe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Theoretically, follow thru (what happens after the cue ball leaves the tip) does not effect the cue ball. In reality, follow thru helps keep the stroke straight and smooth while contacting the cue ball. Follow thru is good for most players.
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
Theoretically, follow thru (what happens after the cue ball leaves the tip) does not effect the cue ball. In reality, follow thru helps keep the stroke straight and smooth while contacting the cue ball. Follow thru is good for most players.
Follow through is a symptom of a good stroke into the ball with good speed and acceleration. Is there is limited follow through with a fast-speed shot, that is usually an indicator of a problem. An exaggerated and necessary follow through can also be a bad indicator. For more info, see:

follow through resource page

Regards,
Dave
 

Franky4Eyes

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Look up a player named Johnny Kang on YouTube.
Tightest grip in the history of pool.
Tons of action and he white knuckles the cue.
 

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
I did not want to hijack flatfoot's thread about slick linen wraps, so . . .

I like tacky wraps because I use a loose grip and don't want my cue "flying" from my hand. So, why not just hold the cue tightly in the first place? My perception is that a loose grip produces more cueball action while a tight grip kills, or retards, such action. Assuming my observation is correct, why would it be true? What could be the physics/mechanics of such a phenomenon?

Thanks.

For years and years I played with a death grip. I'd say the cueball action I got was very similar to what I have now. The difference is that it's easier to get a smooth stroke forward transition with a loose grip. It's easy to jerk the stroke a bit with a tighter grip. Also there will need to be some elbow drop involved to get a full motion of the cue. The tight grip does help if you are extremely nervous. You can't really ruin the stroke by overtightening the hand, as it is allready tight.

The reason why tight grips are perceived to deaden the action, particularly when it comes to draw strokes, is that tightening the grip at the last minute tends to jerk the tip upwards a little bit, so that you hit closer to center than intended. That same phenomenon can also jerk the tip sideways and cause you to miss more shots. If your grip stays tight, or you tighten it in a controlled fashion, it will no longer apply.

I can also spin/draw the ball with close to zero follow through AND a death grip, if I wish. It's a specialist stroke that is all wrist and very little if any arm involvement. I was taught by a carom player how to do that stroke. It comes up very rarely, but can be useful.
 
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CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
I see a lot of people as that stroke giving the Cue the what I call the death grip, like they are trying to break someone hand when give a hand shake. My uncle was an electrician, he alway had wire cutter he was using, his grip was like a death grip from cutting wire.

I point out the problem with a House Cue because they can see the point, than I hold the Cue in hand with tip on table, and squeeze hard, The point always rotate a little, and the Tip that is on the table move slightly to one side.

I say light up your grip your stroke will be straighter, some listen and inprove a little. Some never do and their problem is not fixed.

All I can do is provide the visual demo. Pool is not an easy game to master, some never get better because they refuse to I change bad habits.

JMHO
 

asbani

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I disagree with half of the posts here, nothing new right! :)

There are three types of grip, loose, firm and tight.

I don't think one has an advantage over the other two, it's just a preference and style of play, you can do whatever you need in a pool table with either grip given you have practised with all your life.

As always I give proof of what I say, usually about pro's who are at the top of their game, no forum heroes :)

You can see players who use very loose grip and do well with it.
Similarly you can see players who use a tight grip and still do well with it.

Doing well meaning they won major tournaments and titles, and ill list names.

Loose grip -> Efren, Bustamante, Ronnie Alcano <--- nothing surprising here since Busty & Ronnie idol is Efren, so they copy him :)

Firm grip -> Mike Sigel, Johnny Archer, Buddy Hall

Tight grip -> Earl Strickland (In his prime), Lee van cortezea, CJ Wiley (In his prime with choked grip too).

Btw, these just out the top of my head examples, there are many more.
 

Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
I know him.
I thought maybe because he hits so firmly his tighter grip would be apparent on video.
Was just offering an example of contradiction.
Some players who have their whole grip hand wrapped around the cue are still holding the cue lightly with little tension in the arm. That will always make it difficult to tell from a video. On the other side, someone who has daylight between the grip hand and the cue stick may still have a lot of tension in the hand.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In shooting a stun shot, I get far better results using a tight grip. When using english or draw, a loose grip seems to work best.

Snap vs stiffing it has one very possible difference. When you limp it, the ball only gets the mass of the cue. When you strong arm it, the ball will get the cue plus whatever bicep you got in it. That could be a 50 lb force compared to just a pound.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Snap vs stiffing it has one very possible difference. When you limp it, the ball only gets the mass of the cue. When you strong arm it, the ball will get the cue plus whatever bicep you got in it. That could be a 50 lb force compared to just a pound.
That’s a common belief, but a tight grip doesn’t add your arm’s mass to that of the cue - the soft skin of your grip hand flexes too much for that.

pj
chgo
 
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