Closed rail bridge
Very often the cue ball comes close to the rail so we can not make any bridge from the playing surface, so we have to make rail bridges.
Rail bridges can be divided into open and closed, but all of them use the term rail in their name and in their structure.
In this article we shall explain the closed rail bridge. It is the best rail bridge and one of most powerful bridges in pool.
1st step:
Put your palm on the rail and spread your fingers with thumb shoving the path of the cue.
2nd step:
Put the cue on the rail so it is in full contact with whole length of the thumb. Keep that contact in every moment of usage of this bridge!
3rd step:
Elevate index finger and connect the top of middle finger with the cue.
4th step:
Drop the index finger over the cue to the opposite side and close the bridge.
If you keep your palm on the table, keep the thumb in the contact with the cue and keep your index finger very low so you can not lift the cue from the rail.
This will give you a very precise and powerful bridge in your pool arsenal.
This bridge is very accurate and once you get used to it, you will be able to generate tremendous power that will help you in your 9 ball rail break, and all the other shots when you have to use rail bridge.
Some times this bridge can even be used for the cue ball that is on the rail, when we have lots of angle, like on the photos above. But sometimes we can not use this bridge for shooting cue balls that are on the rail, so we have to used some open rail bridges.
I will address these that in the next article. Till then, enjoy your new bridge and I am looking forward to seeing you soon!
Photo: Maria Casacalenda/Flickr Editor: Dana Gornall