Answer to sticky hands?

O

Oranzith

Registered
So yeah - my hands typically get quite sticky while playing. Whether it from my personal body temp being high or a warm pool hall or what - it just happens. Not the shaft, I burnish it regularly (for better or worse).

First i started shooting with a glove, and frankly, really despised that. I lost all feel and touch, and missed straight shots regularly because it felt too liquidy.

So i have started using baby powder in way of talk, and this seems to work fine, but can get quite messy.

Any other opinions / methods? I used to wash my hands often, but that becomes quite tedious


EDIT: I play with a wood shaft, none of that fiberglass
 
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I'm just a big believer in washing my hands as much as necessary. It might be tedious, but it works and you don't have to worry about gunking up your shaft with baby powder. Also, many people here on the board seem to like the product called slipstic. I have never used it so I can't speak to its effectiveness myself, but it might be worth looking in to.
 
temperature and humidity is a huge factor also but some people tend to have their hands wet all the time for no reason. I have a cuetec with the S.S.T fiberglass over maple(which I wanna change) and I have no choice but to use baby powder because I feel that the glove removes the 'feel' of a cue....and I'm not someone who sweats a lot on my hands.
 
I get great feel using a leather driving glove that I cut the pinkie and ring fingers off of, and the tips from the other two fingers and thumb, plus the section covering a large part of the back of my hand.

At first it grabbed the cue too much, but after playing with it for a few hours the feel improved. It's not "liquidy" at all, and will never wear out. Works for me, using both open and closed bridges.

Flex
 
Get a small squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer and keep a cotton washcloth in your case. The cloth is just for wiping and drying your hands after you apply the hand sanitizer. Look for a high alcohol content on the label (dries quicker).
When you get home, wash your hands and apply some lotion to keep them from drying and cracking.
 
I sometimes take some 90% rubbing alchohol with me, pour it on a towel and wipe off my bridge hand, fingers and everything inbetween.

The alchohol strips the oils from your skin and creates a temporary anti perspiration effect. The long term effects I'm sure can only be bad, so I do this only as a last resort.

The effect is instantanious. If you try this, be very careful as these vapors are flammable.

90% works the best, you could try the less potent stuff, but it doesn't work as well for me.

Sometimes I fold up some paper towels and put them in one of those One-Zip plastic freezer bags, and then pour in some 90% rubbing alchohol, just enough to make them a little damp, and use these as alchohol wipes around my bridge hand. Keep in mind these are very flammable so don't just leave them laying around near an ashtray or something. I put the wipe back into the bag and zip it up each time. I usually leave one of these in my stick bag.


I also try to be very careful of how I chaulk the cue. I found I occasionally get a little sloppy and let the cue chaulk fall onto my hand where the cue slides.
 
I just ask at the bar for two terry towels; a damp one a dry one. Whenever my hands start to feel sticky, I wipe with the damp, and then dry off with the other one. I tried all sorts of alternatives, but this works best for me. I used to carry 2 terry cloths in my case, but then I realized that they have stacks of them behind every bar.
 
i carry a piece of aluminum foil and a hair comb.

After charging up the hair comb, combing my hairless scalp I get a charge. Then I place it next to my tin foil while holding the foil with the fingers of my hands. All these events should help reduce your sweaty hands.

If not its a great way to get some unusual responses.
 
Just like someone has posted above, I am reiterating that there is nothing that can replace a good old hand wash. But on a sidenote, I read or heard that there is some kind of lotion that can be bought to dry the hands. Maybe you can look into that.
 
A know of a couple Japanese pros that cut down on liquids a couple hours before their matches. This won't work for everybody, because some people will always have sticky hands wether or not they ingest liquids, but it's something you might try.
dave
 
Dish soap as mentioned above, and cold water. Trust me on the cold water... :D
Baby powder has oils in it that make it worse. It will feel slick for a little while then you have to reapply... then again and again each time getting a little shorter inbetween.
Chuck
 
Hands

Fortunately, my hands usually stay warm and dry. It is extremely rare for my hands to be any other way when playing, although when I was younger they varied more, I think, due to the emotional pressure I felt, especially when gambling big.

The hands, and other little indicators, are a 'tell' for an opponent. They indicate the player's emotional and physical state during a game or match.
They are viewed as a sign of weakness or a lack of confidence. Many players use this information as a way to exploit the perceived weakness of the other player to defeat them. These indicators are not true 100% of the time, but can usually be relied on. There are players extremely confidient when playing equal or lessor players, but if matched up with a better player, would start to display these 'indicators'. Everyone always likes to present themselves as confident as possible, but your true emotional and physical states are sometimes hard to cover up. Or someone that acts with confidence, but displays characteristics of being tense or nervous or indecisive.
 
Don't Know Where I Read It...

But it seems to work for me...... I will apply a thin layer of antipersperant to my bridge hand (just the parts that touch the cue). I'll then wash my hands with soap and water to remove the excess. In real humid conditions the rest of the hand might sweat, but the bridge area stays dry. I haven't noticed any increase in dirt build up on the shaft either. I also find that fiberglass gets tacky in humid conditions (break cue have fiberglass shaft) but I think it's oil build up from use.

McCue Banger McCue
 
Snapshot9 said:
Fortunately, my hands usually stay warm and dry. It is extremely rare for my hands to be any other way when playing, although when I was younger they varied more, I think, due to the emotional pressure I felt, especially when gambling big.

The hands, and other little indicators, are a 'tell' for an opponent. They indicate the player's emotional and physical state during a game or match.
They are viewed as a sign of weakness or a lack of confidence. Many players use this information as a way to exploit the perceived weakness of the other player to defeat them. These indicators are not true 100% of the time, but can usually be relied on. There are players extremely confidient when playing equal or lessor players, but if matched up with a better player, would start to display these 'indicators'. Everyone always likes to present themselves as confident as possible, but your true emotional and physical states are sometimes hard to cover up. Or someone that acts with confidence, but displays characteristics of being tense or nervous or indecisive.
Click to expand...

Good points!, just be careful of the guy who knows these points, and acts that way on purpose trying to pull a lemon on you!:D

Gerry
 
Alot of people for reasons that I don't know are adverse to the glove. But trust me if you want a truly smooth stroke, your hand will stay dry or atleast it won't effect your game. Give it time just like you learned or got used to a having to wear a seat belt given time you won't think about it, the feeling is there it's just a little different. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the long run.

Black Cat :cool:
 
Oranzith, I have the same problem. Here's how I control it, and it works pretty well. My shaft is plain wood, not protected with a varnish coat or whatever that cover is that they put on some sticks. Once a week before my league matches, I clean my cue with McDermott cue cleaner, then polish the cue with Cue Silk. From that point on I keep my hands very clean, meaning I wash my hands as soon as I get to the match, and throughout the night. I will even use the restroom to wash my hands during the match if need be. When I wash, I use the coldest water, which I believes seals the pores in your hands, and never use a hand dryer, only paper towels. I have tried alcohol, wipes, etc. but they work adversely for me.
Good luck!
 
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