 The open hand bridge.Lay your hand flat on the table with fingers together. Note the middle finger is pointing at 12 o’clock… |
|
 Lift thumb up and press it against index finger joint. The middle finger is still at 12 o’clock, this will change as you pull your fingertips back and begin to spread them… |
|
 The open hand bridge is a quadpod, and is a very solid foundation, it is especially useful for close shots, delicate shots, finesse shots and shots that you want to cinch which don’t require a lot of english… |
|
 The thumb and index finger joint form a V cradle. Next turn the hand to an angle where the shaft points to 12 & the middle finger points toward 2 o’clock. Tilt the thumb pad up and away. This completes the open hand bridge.Only the outside left heel of my hand and fingertips are planted firmly and touching the cloth…. |
|
 The Closed bridge. Most common, used more by professional pool players than any other, the reason being, it allows for more control while shooting with power and english. Begin by making a fist with the fingernails face down touching the table, then lift the thumb up and press it against your index finger… |
|
 Lay the shaft over the cradle between thumb and index finger… |
|
 Roll the index finger up, over the shaft and touch the tip of the thumb.Cock the bridge hand so that now your middle finger is toward 2 o’clock, naturally this would be 10 o’clock for southpaws… |
|
 Completed closed bridge; Spread the fingers, keep the thumb pressed firmly against the middle finger, and tip to tip with the index finger. Touching the table are three fingertips and the bridge hands’ extreme outside heel pad only…. |
|
 Rail Bridges:
No!No! |
|
 No!No! Rail bridges should be as level as possible, the reason for these two nonos’ is that it would be very difficult to get an accurate hit with these bridges, the cueball will probably jump or masse’, resulting in a miss hit… |
|
 Correct rail bridges ie; Hand on rail with thumb laying sideways, against and slightly under index finger knuckle.Note: Shaft level and against thumb… |
|
 Lift index finger up and over shaft bringing the middle finger with it, against the shaft. |
|
 The completed rail bridge(side view).
Notice that the shaft rests against the side of the thumb and the tips of the first two fingers. The shaft is @ 12 o’clock, the middle finger is @ 2 o’clock… |
|
 Rear view of above – created rail bridge… |
|
 Here I have simply taken my thumb out of the normal rail bridge, moved it under the shaft, doing this when the cueball is near the rail helps facilitate drawing the cueball with control… |
|
 The jacked up bridge. Begin by making a normal open hand bridge, then lift the back of the hand up and forward. In this photo my middle finger and little finger are touching the table, the only way to elevate more, with any control, would have the third and fourth finger touching… |
|
 The cheat bridge. This shot has saved me, and made me, a lot of money. Here is a view of the middle finger folded under, this bridge must be short, very short, 2″ to4″ with a corresponding followthrough (ft). Put up shots that look impossible to avoid the side pocket scratch, it’s amazing how much you can cheat the scratch… |
|
 How low can you go?
Thumb rests flat on the table and against middle finger. Here I’m starting to lay the shaft in the thumb and first finger pocket, also bringing that first finger up and over… |
|
 The completed cheat bridge. Now that’s low. The shaft rests on the thumb, between the folded under middle finger and index finger. The tip of the index finger is also touching the cloth. Next, move the bridge, as close as 2″- 4″ from the cueball… |
|
 This shot requires the cueball to be hit at 7:30, with a short, snap, stroke, and only a 2″-4″ followthrough. Hitting the cue ball at 7:30 here serves two purposes, left english and draw.The left english throws the 3 ball to the right(allowing a fuller hit) and the draw makes the cue ball come back below the side pocket. Execute this shot correctly, and you too can. Cheat the scratch… |
|
 This is a view of my left handed fist bridge, it’s about the only thing I can do left handed. You should be sure to practice this and include it in your repertoire of shots… |
|
 Practicing this to perfection allows you to cinch the ball, and control the cueball with much more finesse, than is possible with the mechanical bridge… |
|
|
|
