Guess a bridge is what makes you feel comfortable while having full view of the cue ball throughout the entire stroke. The hand bridge should be like the cue bridge. One use for shots you cant reach. No moving parts. If I worked at it I think I could develop a power stroke with an open bridge. Just not there yet.
Open / Closed Bridge Rules?
- Thread starter FrankieD
- Start date
I always figured that had more to do with the conical taper of most snooker cues than anything else.
What you meant to say:
"Sorry I completely derailed your thread, as I seem to do all the time here on AZB. So, let's just make it an 'aiming' thread now, and y'all can disregard all the comments about bridges that have already been made and you can start a new bridge thread and hope I don't hijack that one as well and turn it into a 'pendulum vs. piston stroke' thread (which I already tried to do here, but nobody took the bait this time)."
You, sir, are a real piece of work.
This is a good question
There is one theory I have since you asked a GOOD question. The open hand bridge is connected to the soft to medium stroke most of the time. Also the open hand bridge lends itself to an upstroke' if you will which allows the tip to stay on the cue ball a little longer, this is good also for letting out the impurities in a players crooked stroke - which everyone has by the way. The closed bridge (down stroke) is a better bridge for firm to ten speed stroke shots (a speed eleven stroke would be equal to break speed) and or slight deflection shots. A player should not get much deflection from the shot if using an open hand bridge, if so then the cue would deflect too much.
There is one theory I have since you asked a GOOD question. The open hand bridge is connected to the soft to medium stroke most of the time. Also the open hand bridge lends itself to an upstroke' if you will which allows the tip to stay on the cue ball a little longer, this is good also for letting out the impurities in a players crooked stroke - which everyone has by the way. The closed bridge (down stroke) is a better bridge for firm to ten speed stroke shots (a speed eleven stroke would be equal to break speed) and or slight deflection shots. A player should not get much deflection from the shot if using an open hand bridge, if so then the cue would deflect too much.
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My BIL used to work for a software company called Peerless, who used to sell commercial printer software among other things. While he was trying to get the Canon printer account, his company paid a guy to train him in proper Japanese etiquette so he wouldn't inadvertently insult the very socially conscious Japanese. Believe it or not, there are dozens of little things you are supposed to do (or not do) with chopsticks. Unlike pool bridges, there are definite rules in place with chopsticks. Break then at your own peril.
He finally landed the account, then Canon sent him to China... where there doesn't seem to be any rules about anything.
When I was at the Turning Stone a few weeks ago, I was seated at the spectator table behind where Thorsten Hohmann was playing on the TV table. Hunter Lombardo was seated next to me, and after Thorsten missed a shot using an open bridge, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Hunter had placed his hand on our table and was trying different finger positions with the open bridge. I was very intrigued by that since I know that Hunter is a deep thinker that has the respect of a lot of pros, but I was too timid to ask him what he was doing, or why.
I notice that a lot of great players seem to fidget with their fingers when they use an open bridge, sometimes right up to the time they take their stroke. They also seem to have more complex finger positions than I would use. I don't know if this is intentional, or maybe it's a subconscious effort to still the bridge hand. Next time I run into Hunter somewhere, I'm gonna ask him about it, it's been bugging me ever since I seen him doing it. From what I've heard about the guy, there was probably a very specific reason he was experimenting like that.
I notice that a lot of great players seem to fidget with their fingers when they use an open bridge, sometimes right up to the time they take their stroke. They also seem to have more complex finger positions than I would use. I don't know if this is intentional, or maybe it's a subconscious effort to still the bridge hand. Next time I run into Hunter somewhere, I'm gonna ask him about it, it's been bugging me ever since I seen him doing it. From what I've heard about the guy, there was probably a very specific reason he was experimenting like that.
Just searchin' for the sweet spot....
Using the right one at the right time seems to be the most over looked part by,if you will"bangers",lol.If you want to follow you need to use a open or be able to bring the pad of your hand up off the table in order to use a closed bridge and get the same results.People need to pay attention when watching top players! Don't argue, just watch and do what and they do!! It's only one of THE most important parts of top pool playing.I see so many sloppy,lazy, crappy bridges it makes my head spin. Sorry for the rant.lol John B.
The taper makes a difference, but I can make a closed bridge with either. The weight of the balls makes a much bigger difference to me. I can comfortably play deep screw with an open bridge in snooker but in pool the cue tip is pushed much further offline by the ball for shots like that. I've never tried an open bridge in billiards, even though my carom cue has a conical taper.
In the end it's user preference. Those are my reasons.
Perhaps you need an explanation of upfront honesty, as well as, 'argument'.
Sorry no food for you today.
Pro Tip: You are not the center of the universe. The Sun does not revolve around you. You weren't even in my thoughts when I wrote it.
Save your PMs gents, I'm aware he won't see the plain and simple English in front of him.
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Back to the topic at hand.
No, I'm not a troll, just a guy who's pointing out the troll. This is the troll post you made.
You've been pounding this point home for a very long time. You have been proven completely wrong by numerous expert posters, a few of whom either modeled the stroke with computer software or made a rather elegant little tip-travel charting device. Now you are trying to link bridge types with stroke types, only there is no connection here. Either type stroke can be made with either bridge. I do it all the time.
FWIW the closed loop does nothing to maintain a straight-line stroke. Nada. The fulcrum is beneath the stick in either bridge type. A real piston in an internal combustion engine has straight sides of some length, with extremely tight tolerances to the cylinder wall. This is what keeps the piston moving in a straight line (and not the connecting rod assembly like you believe to be true). The hand, even with the strongest of grips, is neither hard enough nor tight fitting enough to force the cue movement into a linear direction. You are deluded if you think differently, and 30 seconds at a real-life table should be all you would need to convince yourself that this is true.
If I was going to ask the top 20 pros in the world a question it would be when they decide to use a closed or open bridge.
I was taught the closed bridge was better for long shots or shots requiring you to hit the ball harder.
There are some players who always use one or the other but my observation is most high level players switch back and forth.
I was taught the closed bridge was better for long shots or shots requiring you to hit the ball harder.
There are some players who always use one or the other but my observation is most high level players switch back and forth.
As usual you distort the truth & try to put words in my mouth that are not mine. (Go see the CAD diagram & realize that it shows that the tip DOES move in a series of arcs & NOT in a straight line. Nearly straight is not straight. Try hitting a shot that is nearly straight when the plan was for a straight shot. See what results you get with that.)
Also, as a few others you think you are omniscient & know what is in my mind. You do NOT know & have no real idea.
I think anyone that is unbiased can see who is trolling here.
My question to Fatz was in relation to 'why' he was taught that.
As to the "like in a piston', the key word is 'like'. I by no means think that human fingers encompassing an inch or less of the line of the cue can 'restrict' the cue movement as a piston is restricted by a metal cylinder that encompasses the entire piston head.
You act like you KNOW why I asked him that question. You do not. But you will most probably continue your trolling ways based on your biased beliefs.
Try a full fixed elbow stroke that is barely lifted off of a mechanical bridge placed 1/2 way between the bridge hand & the ball. Perhaps your eyes will be opened along with your closed mind.
Also, a pendulum stroke is not EXACTLY 'like' a true pendulum either.
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Use whatever bridge is the most comfortable for you while still being able to deliver the proper fundamental stroke from start to finish. For me personally I will use a closed bridge on my low shots as well as some of my open table shots...it just depends. I find it a bit easier to use an open bridge on a lot of shots, particularly ones that require a lot of follow.
When I was at the Spokane Open tournament last month, I noticed Rafael Martinez, (the winner of the tournament) shooting almost exclusively with an open bridge.
The improved sight line down the cue stick would be the advantage I get from an open bridge. (Which I will be using more often now, after watching Rafael).
The improved sight line down the cue stick would be the advantage I get from an open bridge. (Which I will be using more often now, after watching Rafael).
Rafael has a unique style, I think it would be Very difficult to copy.
I prefer using an open bridge. My type of bridge is more dictated by obstacles rather than power. I break on my 9' table with an open bridge but with a closed bridge on a 7' table because of arm placement and comfort.Llike mant other replies, I use my shaft for aiming, maybe not so much for aiming but to check that cue is paralell to aim line, which is easier to do with an open bridge.