closed bridge question

[dmgwalsh]

I just got a Willie Hoppe book and he talks about and there are pictures of his standard bridge with the middle left finger folded so that the second knuckle is on the table.

I tried this a little and it seems kind of interesting. Do any of you people use this kind of bridge?

Also , the inside of the last joint of his index finger closes onto the inside of the last joint of the thumb. Myself, I had been sort of closing the tips of these two fingers together, making my loop a little loose, which I think helps contribute to an unsteady bridge hand. What do you guys think?

 

[hemicudas]

I just got a Willie Hoppe book and he talks about and there are pictures of his standard bridge with the middle left finger folded so that the second knuckle is on the table.

I tried this a little and it seems kind of interesting. Do any of you people use this kind of bridge?

Also , the inside of the last joint of his index finger closes onto the inside of the last joint of the thumb. Myself, I had been sort of closing the tips of these two fingers together, making my loop a little loose, which I think helps contribute to an unsteady bridge hand. What do you guys think?

You are right, dmgwalsh, Hoppe did use a very strange bridge compaired to today's players. That "side saddle" stroke looks familiar though, right, JAM?

 

[vapoolplayer]

I just got a Willie Hoppe book and he talks about and there are pictures of his standard bridge with the middle left finger folded so that the second knuckle is on the table.

I tried this a little and it seems kind of interesting. Do any of you people use this kind of bridge?

Also , the inside of the last joint of his index finger closes onto the inside of the last joint of the thumb. Myself, I had been sort of closing the tips of these two fingers together, making my loop a little loose, which I think helps contribute to an unsteady bridge hand. What do you guys think?

for a closed bridge i put the tip of my index finger on my middle finger, and bring my thumb up under it, so that the tip of the index finger is half on the middle finger and half on the tip of the thumb making for a very sturdy bridge. if that sounds funny in writing, its the same closed bridge you see on most players. my theory is the less movable parts possible the better.

 

[JAM]

You are right, dmgwalsh, Hoppe did use a very strange bridge compaired to today's players. That "side saddle" stroke looks familiar though, right, JAM?

LOL, Bill! Hoppe's stance is IDENTICAL to Keith's.

I've seen quite a few players with peculiar traits. It is always interesting to read the scientific explanations for various pool techniques, stroke, bridge hand, squirt/deflection, et cetera.

How about Sonny Jerguson of the old Redskins and his wombly pass. It definitely would be ill-advised for young up-and-coming quarterbacks, but for Sonny, it's unique and it works for him.

Santos twirls his cue before firing.

Many veteran pool players seem to swipe their shafts up and down, up and down, up and down, before releasing the trigger, as they are surveying the lay of the table. I don't think this is a necessary skill needed to win, but it works for them, and it is their unique characteristic.

Kid Delicious definitely has his own style. I'm not sure how to describe it, but if you ever get a chance to see Kid in his groove, he's like a one-man opera show. During his climb to the top at the Glass City Open one evening, there were about 50 of us standing there in a complete daze watching Kid do his thing against Canadian Jeff. BTW, I love Danny Basavich's stroke, my favorite of all the players.

Mike Davis, as tall as he is, drops his lower jaw and moves it to the right every time when he's hitting 'em, and his stance is very unorthodox, if you read the so-called pool textbooks, but it works for him and he's a young up-and-coming star.

Jose Parica and Alex the Lion both lay their chin on the cue stick when aiming.

Allen Hopkins has a quick-release one-stroke kind of shooting style, and won many, many national and international titles.

Jimmy Reid will switch bridge hand grips, depending on the equipment.

Relating to bridge hands, Keith has many different grips and bridge hand formations, depending on the shot. When learning the game, one has a good chance of succeeding if they are able to develop good mechanics, stance, stroke, and the like. However, as the saying goes, I believe in different strokes for different folks.

When one is developing their own style, it is essential to learn the basic fundamentals correctly, but if you look at all the champion players, they do have distinctive characteristics, not necessarily textbook pool, maybe not statistically significant in the scheme of things, but it works for them. JMHO, FWIW.

Check out this picture of a player showing Corey Deuel his ergonomically correct cue stick, with Ronnie Wiseman unable to contain his laughter in the background!

JAM

 

[catscradle]

I just got a Willie Hoppe book and he talks about and there are pictures of his standard bridge with the middle left finger folded so that the second knuckle is on the table.

I tried this a little and it seems kind of interesting. Do any of you people use this kind of bridge?

Also , the inside of the last joint of his index finger closes onto the inside of the last joint of the thumb. Myself, I had been sort of closing the tips of these two fingers together, making my loop a little loose, which I think helps contribute to an unsteady bridge hand. What do you guys think?

Mike Zuglan has a similar bridge, but I can't remeber if it's the middle or ring-finger knuckle in his case.

 

[catscradle]

LOL, Bill! Hoppe's stance is IDENTICAL to Keith's.

...
JAM

Didn't the both start as very young tikes?

 

[Rickw]

Good point Catscradle. My son started playing very young and had to stroke the same way because he was too short to shoot with a conventional stroke.

 

[Scott Lee]

Knucle under bridge

I just got a Willie Hoppe book and he talks about and there are pictures of his standard bridge with the middle left finger folded so that the second knuckle is on the table.

I tried this a little and it seems kind of interesting. Do any of you people use this kind of bridge?

Also , the inside of the last joint of his index finger closes onto the inside of the last joint of the thumb. Myself, I had been sort of closing the tips of these two fingers together, making my loop a little loose, which I think helps contribute to an unsteady bridge hand. What do you guys think?

Dennis...I tuck my ring finger knuckle under...something I've done for 30 years! LOL Personally, I don't think it matters too much how your bridge is...as long as it is sturdy! After all, most pros swap back and forth from closed loop to open bridge at will...and the snooker players ALL use an open bridge exclusively! The grip is what's important. Too tight, and the stroke will feel strange and go crooked. Can't be too loose, unless the cue flies out of your hand! LOL You'll only do THAT once!

BTW...had a great lesson with your brother on Thursday! He really enjoyed himself, and learned some things too!
We talked about you...were your ears burning? LOL
See you soon!

Scott Lee

 

[XzyluM]

Well, I used a variety of different bridges (open and closed) depending on my shots. When I started learning the game, I mostly played snooker and never really played any other games. I often find myself using an open bridge when I should be using a closed bridge. Bad habits don't die easy. As far as bridges, I think as long as it's sturdy and keeps your stroke smooth, use it.

 

[dmgwalsh]

bridge

Thanks everyone for their responses. It seems like the "middle knuckle under" variation is something some of you do. Maybe I'll play with it at some point. It feels very secure when I try it. As I am presently working on loosening my grip hand, and wrist, while not dropping the elbow and following through, I'll hold off on that particular change for now.

As far as the tighter loop question, what I get from the various responses is that it should be firm enough not to allow the cue to waver during stroking. This is all tied in with how true the stroke is to begin with. I think I do need to firm up the bridge hand a little and will try working that in.

I'm wondering, however, how much pressure do I apply without slowing down the loose gripped stroke. Time to experiment.

Scott- My brother called me after the lesson on the way to the Pub. He's played a lot mor than me and usually better than me and is very competitive. He wanted to tell me that you thought that his stroke, etc. were all pretty good. After some gentle questioning on my part, he admitted that there were some things you worked on with him that could help improve his game. The next day he emailed me and it appears that he is practicing some of the things you showed him. See you in January. Dennis