Welcome to billiards

Playing Billards With A Mechanical Bridge

A mechanical bridge, also referred to as crutch, rake or rest is a device that allows billards players to reach those utterly unreachable shots across the pool table. It is usually made of plastic or aluminum into a sturdy bridge head and attached to the shaft of a spare cue stick. It allows the player to locate the bridge sufficiently close to a cue ball for difficult and unreachable shots, replacing the usual hand bridge used for regular shots. The bridge head features grooves or notches with varying heights for the cue shaft to be held at the right angle while it is stroked to make a shot.

The bridge head must be silky smooth all over to prevent damage to the cue shaft and the table fabric and to prevent scratching the table through the fabric. It should give a good fit to the cue shaft to prevent side movements during the hit to prevent sending the ball off course. Amateurs tend to hesitate to use a bridge as they do not have the skills and are unfamiliar with its use. Following a few easy tips can help amateurs to better their game by using the mechanical bridge.

Deftly put the bridge about 5 inches from the cue ball, taking care not to move any adjacent balls on the table. Put the cue into slots 3 or 4, judging the best position as this will help strike the cue ball to the desired location. Once the required slot has been chosen, put the bridge flat onto the table, holding it with one hand. Then grip the cue near the end, with the tip supported by the bridge. Once positioned, strike the cue ball evenly and straight towards the target ball. Always lift the bridge off the table immediately after the strike. Practicing this technique by using different angles and shots until you are comfortable with the shot, will give you the skill to make successful bridge shots for playing a good game of pool.

Almost all billards professionals and most pool enthusiasts will use a bridge when certain shots require their use. Snooker players sometimes tend to use a screw-on butt extension for certain shots. In addition there are other types of bridges that pool players use, including closed bridge and rail. Each of these is used for specific hits. The rail bridge, as the name suggests is for shots too close to the rail where there's no space for a hand bridge. The closed bridge is used by professional and advanced players where the player requires a better, more secure grip, using the hand bridge in a different way.

Players can try all these variations once they have mastered the game with its standard equipment. There is nothing like practicing using the mechanical bridge for even regular shots, to allow the player to develop abilities to handle and be comfortable using a bridge. Constant practice can give the player that confidence required for the game to become a great and satisfying game of billards.