closed VS open bridge

SILVER__WOMBAT

SILVER__WOMBAT

CHARLIE DONT SURF
Silver Member
most player iv seen do both bridges and iv been told i should use a closed bridge but i cant play with it...i even breack with an open bridge and mis-cue less with a open bridge...well i geuss what im saying is, is there anyone out there that just cant play with a closed bridge, and are your favorite bridges:)
 
You use what works for you. I think we had a thread on open & closed bridges a week or so ago. Had a friend many years ago who used an open bridge - it worked for him - he had no fingers=open bridge.
 
I had a hard time learning a closed bridge but I just kept using it until it worked for me....took months. you will find that you will have soooo much control once you get it. I sometimes use an open bridge for harder to reach shots but if I plan to use any english at all, a closed bridge is a MUST.
 
SILVER__WOMBAT said:
most player iv seen do both bridges and iv been told i should use a closed bridge but i cant play with it...i even breack with an open bridge and mis-cue less with a open bridge...well i geuss what im saying is, is there anyone out there that just cant play with a closed bridge, and are your favorite bridges:)
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some advice about the closed bridge: what you want to do with the closed bridge is to apply a little bit pressure with the side of your left hand knuckle and on the left side of your index finger so that it can be snuggly. I wish I had a camera so that I can illustrate to you but unfortunately I haven't. :( Usually, it's good to have a closed bridge for high hit strokes. Open bridges have that tendancy too if you know how to use it right.
 
SILVER__WOMBAT said:
i wouldnt think pool would be the game of choice for a guy with no fingers
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Ian
He played very good!!! He was one of the best hustlers around - if someone with no fingers asked you to play for $$$ you would probably play and everyone did until they found out it wasn't easy. AZb'r Sir Banks Alot and Arack may remember Billy.
 
bridge

:D
SILVER__WOMBAT said:
most player iv seen do both bridges and iv been told i should use a closed bridge but i cant play with it...i even breack with an open bridge and mis-cue less with a open bridge...well i geuss what im saying is, is there anyone out there that just cant play with a closed bridge, and are your favorite bridges:)
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Hi wombat; old man here, some good questions you are asking, but do you not have a fellow player in your area that will help you? i know now days a lot of guys will offer advice. but in my days no tapes , no computers, and a player would not show you anything, just put up your money and play. but if no one to help ,keep asking the questions. STICK:D
 
i play at a youth center i work for and all the kids there have no idea how to play pool well, so im pretty much onmy own
 
I really liked the Golden Gate. I crossed it twice - FREE going into Marin county, but TOLL to head back into San Fran...what's up with that? BTW, it was open the whole time,,,I don't know what I woulda done if it had been closed coming back?! :)
 
pool bridge not on that goes over the bay

trustyrusty said:
I really liked the Golden Gate. I crossed it twice - FREE going into Marin county, but TOLL to head back into San Fran...what's up with that? BTW, it was open the whole time,,,I don't know what I woulda done if it had been closed coming back?! :)
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uummm yea wrong kinda bridge:cool: :cool:
 
When I first learned to play it was snooker and NOBODY in snooker EVER used a closed bridge. I never even knew what a closed bridge was until I started going to tournaments in the states and seeing all of the americans using it. I have used it and can use it but I don't see my shot as well with a closed bridge. Besides that, if your form is right and your head never moves, you don't need a closed bridge. Getting draw or english has nothing to do with the bridge you use but rather how you stroke the ball.
 
I too feel that I can't see my shot as well with a closed bridge, but I also agree that it is a must when using english, sometimes I line my shot up with an open bridge to get a feel for it, and then use a closed bridge, kinda a "double preshot routine"
 
SILVER__WOMBAT said:
i wouldnt think pool would be the game of choice for a guy with no fingers
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I used to know a guy who played with NO bridge! He loved to play pool (forget what kind of bridge he used then), then he blew off his left hand at the wrist screwing around with fireworks. After that, he'd just lay his stump on the cloth and slide the cue through a little groove that was left. Very interesting to watch. A real goofball, too. He'd find people hanging out that didn't know him, then stick his stump in his mouth and walk up to them...looked like he had his arm halfway down his throat!

Game of choice? Nah...some people just love it too much to give it up due to physical handicaps.
 
gwvavases said:
I used to know a guy who played with NO bridge! He loved to play pool (forget what kind of bridge he used then), then he blew off his left hand at the wrist screwing around with fireworks. After that, he'd just lay his stump on the cloth and slide the cue through a little groove that was left. Very interesting to watch. A real goofball, too. He'd find people hanging out that didn't know him, then stick his stump in his mouth and walk up to them...looked like he had his arm halfway down his throat!

Game of choice? Nah...some people just love it too much to give it up due to physical handicaps.
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sounds like a fun guy...and the hand down his throat would scare the shyt out of me...and yea i know i used a "y" in the word above>>>>>>>^^^
 
SILVER__WOMBAT said:
most player iv seen do both bridges and iv been told i should use a closed bridge but i cant play with it...i even breack with an open bridge and mis-cue less with a open bridge...well i geuss what im saying is, is there anyone out there that just cant play with a closed bridge, and are your favorite bridges:)
Click to expand...
We haven't had a question about closed or open bridges since... December 20th? So, that's about right.

Here's my standard answer:

I'll echo what others have written before. In the beginning phases, a
student might change from an open bridge to a closed bridge in pool to
aid in their progress in straight stroking. But once they get better
and figure how to stroke relatively straight, then many players will
revert back to or at least re-incorporate the open bridge. Not only
is the open bridge important in a game of pool, it often is the
*correct* bridge for certain shots.

That is to say, in many circumstances, the use of a proper open bridge is actually an indicator of advancement in pool. Also, a person's answer to your question may also be an indicator of their level of advancement, and may not necessarily be proper for your level. As in every question, there are no absolute answers.

I'm open-hand heavy, as far as percentages go. But, I grew up
(poolwise) watching Rempe and Sigel who use the open-hand bridge more
often than the average professional player. So it stuck. {note: this is what I've been writing for 10 years. The percentage of open handed shots by professionals has definitely increased since this first writing}

Fred
 
Bridges

cleary said:
I had a hard time learning a closed bridge but I just kept using it until it worked for me....took months. you will find that you will have soooo much control once you get it. I sometimes use an open bridge for harder to reach shots but if I plan to use any english at all, a closed bridge is a MUST.
Click to expand...



It seems to be that the primary purpose of your bridge is to provide support for your stroke. I use both bridges, pedominantly open, except on extreme bottom shots. To me, it's more of a comfort and personal preference issue. I don't see the bridge as a major controller of stroke direction. If you have a smooth, straight stroke, the type of bridge used shouldn't make a major difference.
Just because you're hitting the cue ball in a particular place, i.e. english, the stroke itself usually won't change except in extreme circumstances such as draw shots if you need to get your bridge hand out of the way in a hurry.
JMHO
 
I use an open bridge because I have small hands. But I am trying to learn to use a closed bridge for break shots only.
 
Cornerman said:
We haven't had a question about closed or open bridges since... December 20th? So, that's about right.
Fred
Click to expand...

Has it really been that long?

But, I guess you never know when a new development in how to hold a cue will arise.

If only the operator of this forum would find some way to make it easier for people to look for information that may have been previously posted. A function like this would allow newer members of the board to search for answers to questions that could easily become redundant. :rolleyes:

Bottom line is-- doesn't matter what kind of bridge just make the ball.

D<-- does not wear a glove and likes blue masters chalk also
 
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