SpiderWebComm said:
If you bridge with both pads of your palm on the table, tucking your finger has no bearing on your bridge (two pads, middle finger and pinky finger form the four balancing / stability points). It shouldn't affect the height of your bridge at all.
In my opinion, it's all about comfort and what feels right for you. Worrying about whether or not to tuck it is unnecessary. It's all in your head.
I concur with Dave here. "To tuck or not to tuck" has no bearing on the height of the bridge, but many players (including myself, from time to time) tuck because my subconscious mind is focusing on a "pure tripod" feel (i.e. palm, middle, and pinkie fingers). The palm contact is optional but desirable; when I have to jack my bridge up over obstructing balls (be the bridge open or closed), my subconscious mind tends to focus on making sure the extreme anchor points of my bridge to the table -- the middle and pinkie fingers (for the closed bridge) or the index and pinkie fingers (for the open bridge) -- are solidly anchored to the table. I don't even realize I'm doing it, but I tend to tuck the "unused" fingers. I actually have to think about using them, and, to me, anything I have to "think" about is not a good thing -- it bleeds concentration away from the shot itself.
Having said all that, sometimes we as players need a "shot in the arm" once in a while. You try something new, and voila! "Holy cow, my consistency suddenly went up, and I have no idea why." The explanation, in reality, is simple -- you're paying attention to minute details that you never paid attention to before, and more things are clicking into place than "blindly shooting the shot from rote."
Summary: it *never* hurts to try something new once in a while, and see if you get that "holy cow!" feeling that you haven't experienced in a while. But don't force it if it doesn't work for you. (That is, unless, we're talking about basic mechanics/fundamentals, which are a different story -- many times forcing those, until they become second nature, will take your pool game to levels not achievable with the prior "broken" mechanics.)
Hope this is helpful,
-Sean