Closed vs open bridge - Efren Reyes

[fjk]

I've noticed a difference in Efren Reyes' bridge hand as he progressed over the years (via YouTube vids). Early in his career, Reyes used a closed bridge on almost all of this shots. In his matches beginning in 2000, he had switched to using an open bridge on most of his shots. However, his open bridge seems forced.

Check out this instance in the 2017 Derby City Classic (@11:32) - https://youtu.be/S22RixspcSc?t=11m32s. He shoots with an open bridge, but he moves his index finger over the shaft after almost every shot. With this and the fact that he occasionally jerks his bridge hand after a shot makes it difficult for noobs like myself to imitate his style.

(I know that the jerk in the bridge hand comes from the days before low deflection shafts were used and players had to physically compensate for cue ball deflection)

What I'm wondering is why Reyes decided to switch to using an open bridge, at a time when he was in the middle of his prime and already winning a plethora of major tournaments using a closed bridge hand. Did the trend to use the open bridge hand come in the late 90s? Was it something with his eyesight that made using an open bridge a necessity? ... Is this really something worth creating a new thread??

I played Efren back in the 80s. One of the suggestions he gave me was using an open bridge on very thin cut shots. He said seeing more of the cue during your stroke helped.

 

[jsp]

The open bridge is clearly superior for sighting/aiming. For many, a closed bridge provides better feel or control for a particular shot, especially if the shot has to be played with some pace or a fair amount of spin. When a player instinctively shoots a shot with a closed bridge instead of an open bridge, the player is subconsciously trading off reduced sighting for an increase in feel/control, such that their chances of obtaining the desired outcome (potting the ball and getting position) get maximized.

Going back to the original question, I think the faster cloth of the last 20 years is the main reason of Efren's (and many other pool players') shift to being more open bridge dominant. Tighter pockets is the secondary reason.

 

[HawaiianEye]

The open bridge is clearly superior for sighting/aiming. For many, a closed bridge provides better feel or control for a particular shot, especially if the shot has to be played with some pace or a fair amount of spin. When a player instinctively shoots a shot with a closed bridge instead of an open bridge, the player is subconsciously trading off reduced sighting for an increase in feel/control, such that their chances of obtaining the desired outcome (potting the ball and getting position) get maximized.

Going back to the original question, I think the faster cloth of the last 20 years is the main reason of Efren's (and many other pool players') shift to being more open bridge dominant. Tighter pockets is the secondary reason.

How you sight or aim down the cue depends upon your stance and your bridge. Not everybody bends over like a snooker player and sights down the entire length of the shaft.

The correct way to bridge is to do "what works for you".

You can listen to 1,000 people tell you what is the "best" way to do something, but if it doesn't work the "best" for you, then you should do whatever works "best" for "YOU".

A stable, comfortable bridge is all that counts. How you achieve that is up to you. I've tried every bridge known to man, woman, and troglodyte and what I use is what works best for ME.

 

[alstl]

With non directional cloth waaaaaaaaaay befor Simonis it was a completely different game. If you got on the wrong side of the ball in a rotation play, often went the other way around. Nowadays, with the newer slippery...cloths your unable to go the other way, too much slipping and sliding going on when you amp up your swing speed to go 6 or 7 rails.

Maybe that's why I was never any good in the old days.