Get a Grip

Last night a great player was visiting Buffalo Billiards and I took the opportunity to ask him to practice with me. While getting eat on, I noticed his most unusual grip while practicing with him and asked him about it. The first end-digit of his index finger was under the bottom of the cue, which kind of made his middle knuckle on his index finger kind of protrude above the rest of his knuckles BEFORE the final stroke (kind of like the way some top players' index finger looks at the finish. He looked at me like I had come from Mars and responded that he didn't know that he held it like that but that he had always held his hand like that but he didn't think it was anything special. Run out, run out, run out, run out. Yeah, nothing special there.........:wink:

I'm trying to picture what you're saying--- can you describe it again in more detail?
 
great thread, im always switching from vgrip to holding with my thumb and pointer and index,.... i find the vgrip is alot easier to stroke straight with.
 
I'm trying to picture what you're saying--- can you describe it again in more detail?

The unique part of the grip is that the fingerprint of your index finger is placed directly underneath the cue's butt when stroking/shooting the cue ball. You can imagine shooting a pistol with one hand and squeezing the trigger with your index finger. It kind of looks like that, except that the index finger doesn't move and the fingerprint of the index finger stays in one place.

The rest of the fingers cradle the cue like normal.

Hope that helps.
 
... The grip I'm working on is a thumb-and-index-finger pincer that grips the cue at two points on opposite sides, allowing a hinge-like pivot as the angle between cue and hand changes throughout the pendulum swing. The trick is trusting it will do the job under all circumstances. ...
Good thread PJ! I think that using the index finger (or the middle finger, or another finger) as a simple fulcrum during the entire stroke is a good idea, especially for somebody who has grip issues.

FYI, Bob Jewett and I created an online video covering grip technique. For people who might be interested, here it is:

Regards,
Dave
 
How about using the last 3 fingers only ? Fran suggested this to me. The cue will move up/down a little due to the pinky acting like an anchor, but the wrist feels more locked in making the stroke very straight.

I just wanted to report back that I've been real successful playing around with this. I'm using the pinky and the thumb and I can't believe how well this hinges. It also makes it REAL hard to turn your hand over and twist.

Sounds totally goofy, but this is really good. Def worth playing around with.
 
I changed my grip 1982 because I knew it was wrong, I did it with intent, but first spent Hrs & hrs watching great players swings for three days solid. I came up with what I thought was the most simple and most common. 1982 Got to watch Sigel, Hall, Mizerak and the rest of the gang at Reds. Had $200 left on my last day and went all it to test my new grip. Luckily I dbl my money, but it took a couple 2-3 mths before I trusted it. 7 yrs later won my only pro event, family came first.
The thing I noticed the most was my consistency making cut shots improved quickly and with less practice.
 
I changed my grip 1982 because I knew it was wrong, I did it with intent, but first spent Hrs & hrs watching great players swings for three days solid. I came up with what I thought was the most simple and most common. 1982 Got to watch Sigel, Hall, Mizerak and the rest of the gang at Reds. Had $200 left on my last day and went all it to test my new grip. Luckily I dbl my money, but it took a couple 2-3 mths before I trusted it. 7 yrs later won my only pro event, family came first.
The thing I noticed the most was my consistency making cut shots improved quickly and with less practice.
and what grip did you switch to? I'd love to know what you switched too, sounds like it works for ya' haha.
 
I think hand size is an important factor in regards to the type of grip that is used effectively, remember we come in all different shapes and sizes. I myself have very large hands and find that cradle grip is the most effective grip being that its hard for me to wrap my thumb and index finger around the cue securely due to the size of the hand in relation to size of the cue butt.
 
and what grip did you switch to? I'd love to know what you switched too, sounds like it works for ya' haha.

I cradle it with the thumb touchin' the index and middle finger and utilizing the third finger, so its a thumb and three finger grip....when I start playing better, my little pinky will get into it on the more delicate shots.
 
I just wanted to report back that I've been real successful playing around with this. I'm using the pinky and the thumb and I can't believe how well this hinges. It also makes it REAL hard to turn your hand over and twist.

Sounds totally goofy, but this is really good. Def worth playing around with.

Took me around 10-15 minutes to get used to it, but have been using this grip for around 2 months and notice an improvement in my stroke. Stroke feels more in the arm and less in the wrist/hand.

Ask Fran more about it in the instructor forum.
 
Freddy the Beard recommends to use this grip of the last 2 to three fingers for draw shots- and it works good for me too!

Cradeling the tumb loosely around index and middlefinger for standard shots works great as sideway motions of the wrist is not easily possible/ knuckle of the middle finger points right down to the floor!
Middle finger can lift cue into the V of thump and index finger as much as needed.
Still this grip/ cradle is loose enough to play GREAT pool
 
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