How do You Grip Your Cue

rustysregular10

rustysregular10

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ok, ive been playing around with different grips lately to try and improve my stroke. I know the standard is to barley grip the cue and let it glide, but a guy a my local ppol room showed me to grip it with a closed fist. Not choking the cue but have a firm grip the entire time. Ive noticed it has helped out tons for me for but is awkward. I will keep using it til it becomes muscle memory because i enjoy it. So how do you grip the cue?
 
I grip my cue firm enough so it won't slide in my hand but loose enough that it's not a death grip using only with my thumb and first three fingers. My fourth finger (pinky) isn't involved in the grip other than supporting my 3rd finger (ring finger) as I find it hinders the flow of my stroke. This has worked very well for me for a long time now and I'm really glad I gave up the death grip or oddly loose grips I used as a beginner.
 
Tea cup grip

Played Mike Siegel exhibition match years ago. He says cool, you have a tea cup grip! I don't know if it's scarcasm or what. So I say is that good or bad? He says just fine, many great players use it. Loose grip, daylight showing through, little finger dangling. I can't use a full grip to save my life. Full grip feels like whole arm is froze. No wiggle. Wiggly is good.
 
There are different grips for different shots. Most of the time you'll use a nice loose grip for feel. Other shots (I find this in longer shots or shooting off the rail) where you will need a tighter grip. It all just depends. You have to experiment with the different shots and see what works for you. Everyone is different.
 
A grip that has helped me lately is this...

Thumb pointed to the floor like the Filipinos. Index finger off the cue, touching the thumb (sorta making an "OK" sign or like throwing a dart). Middle 2 fingers on the cue. Pinkie loose...not necessarily hanging like Schmidt, but loose. This relieves stress in my wrist & muscles which leads to the wiggles as Mr Wiggles says. Loose grip = wrist movement = calm muscles = better CB movement = better potting %.

If you think about it, the 2 middle fingers are centered with the rest of your arm. The thumb, index, & pinky are offset.
 
thumb and middle finger for me i think, i had to go grab a cue from my bag and take a couple strokes to figure it out, but i guess ive never really payed attention.
 
Grip

mosconiac said:
A grip that has helped me lately is this...

Thumb pointed to the floor like the Filipinos. Index finger off the cue, touching the thumb (sorta making an "OK" sign or like throwing a dart). Middle 2 fingers on the cue. Pinkie loose...not necessarily hanging like Schmidt, but loose. This relieves stress in my wrist & muscles which leads to the wiggles as Mr Wiggles says. Loose grip = wrist movement = calm muscles = better CB movement = better potting %.

If you think about it, the 2 middle fingers are centered with the rest of your arm. The thumb, index, & pinky are offset.
Click to expand...

Mosonic, you left one out. Loose grip makes for a stronger America!
 
I like all of the participation in this thread. i see so far that no two grips are the same. i met a guy a long time ago when i was starting out in pool and i had a mika immonen or francisco bustamante stroke. you know real wavy like. This is what he told me. he says to me " put your index finger curled up with your finger /finger nail in the middle of where you are going to grip. then wrap your middle and ring finger around the cue with the pinky dangling. the thumb wraps the cue normally." he says that is the perfect stroke. i believe him. i tried it and found no movement except the back and forth of my forearme. it is extremely awkward but it does work. if you can get past the awkwardness of it. i didnt want to take the time needed for it to become muscle memory. but like i said i like the way im gripping as of late. my runnouts are easier. keep the thread going i want to hear what everyone has to say.
 
over the last 28 years or so, I've probably tried every kind of grip there is. For some reason, I have always obsessed more about the grip then anything else. It has never came natural to me and being around top players, made me constantly try and experiment with different grips and strokes. I don't think I've had one grip and stroke for longer than 6 months at a time, if even that.

That's why I've wasted a large part of my pool journey, from dicking around with all these different grips and strokes.:smile:

I got to find one quick and stick with it. I'm sure I will pick one out at the Derby:D

Whenever I watch video's, I am always trying to watch their grip and stroke. That's one of my biggest pet peeves of TV pool. You NEVER get to see that. At least with stationary cameras in streaming, if they get in shape for a good look, you know the camera wouldn't be jetting away on you.

I really like the followthru on some of these grips. They may open up on their backswings, but on the point of contact and the follow thru after that, their grip becomes closed and even a bit of wrist action going slightly upwards.

For you with the tea cup grip or the extremely loose grips, after watching Mike Zimmerman play for years, extreme power stroke shots can be done. He can do some Larry Neval type of stroke shots.
 
Matt_24 said:
There are different grips for different shots. Most of the time you'll use a nice loose grip for feel. Other shots (I find this in longer shots or shooting off the rail) where you will need a tighter grip. It all just depends. You have to experiment with the different shots and see what works for you. Everyone is different.
Click to expand...

I agree with Matt. There are so many subtle strokes in this game & a different grip is required to execute these strokes properly. Notice how loose the grip when extreme finese is required & then notice the firm grip on the break or a power draw. These different strokes are hard to teach & must be felt to understand the dynamics of a particular stroke.
 
I agree with Daniel, it all depends on what I am trying to accomplish, a looser grip when I draw, firmer when I stun or punch, different grip depending on my situations.
 
mosconiac said:
A grip that has helped me lately is this...

Thumb pointed to the floor like the Filipinos. Index finger off the cue, touching the thumb (sorta making an "OK" sign or like throwing a dart). Middle 2 fingers on the cue. Pinkie loose...not necessarily hanging like Schmidt, but loose. This relieves stress in my wrist & muscles which leads to the wiggles as Mr Wiggles says. Loose grip = wrist movement = calm muscles = better CB movement = better potting %.

If you think about it, the 2 middle fingers are centered with the rest of your arm. The thumb, index, & pinky are offset.
Click to expand...

thats a combination of a v style grip and an the normal grip with the thumb down.....thats a nice one i can see that working very well

i just typically point my thumb down and most of the weight is on my front two........

for maximum draw on a very soft stroked shot I'll sometimes cock my wrist in and open my hand and just have the cue resting in my fingers.........jeremy jones grips his cue like that normally if you ever get to see him play. Its letting the cue do 100% of the work. But like I said I do that on close range soft draws and such......just a grip i have in the bag for specific applications and not a normal thing i do.

-Grey Ghost-
 
I have tried a couple of different grips over the years but I find my current grip to be the best. I only use my index finger, middle finger and thumb which allows me to use a full extension ( when called upon ) without any interruption off the cue. It's extremely fluid and it seems that this grip automatically opens on the back stroke and naturally pivots within the hand. I have just a little space between the cue and the v between my index finger and thumb, a few have said that it looks like tight grip but I assure that it is not. This grip gives me control with fluid movement and I'm convinced that for me, there is no better way. If I ever change it though I'll bring this thread back and report it.
 
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