Finger Twitching

[jonny66]

You bunch of dirty finger twitchers

[tedisbill]

Moving the finger on your bridge hand isn't going to make you cue straighter. I'd say it's more to do with timing. Just like getting into a rhythm with anything else, twitching the finger is just a natural human thing to do that aids 'feeling' and 'timing'.

But if you don't do it naturally, don't just start trying to twitch your finger.

[ADW147CUEMAN]

it can help relax your cue arm and grip :snooker:

[Master Blaster]

Anyone remember Tony Meo ?
The guy had an extreme finger twitch, middle finger if I recall... oh well, may have helped him in other ways :P

The latino middle finger is less patient. He could get into a bit of a strop back in the day, Tony.

[Master Blaster]

I have not heard of any coach actually teaching this and I don't myself. However, my middle finger does twitch and I was told by my coach, Nic Barrow, that I should try and stop it but it's totally unconscious and I don't want yet another thing on my mind so I haven't really tried to stop it.

I don't think it has any effect on a player at all unless he concentrates on either doing it or not doing it but that's just because he would be splitting his concentration.

Steve Davis recommends it particularly if it's done at 60tpm.

[blinker]

I was watching on youtube and Stephen Lee, Steve Davis was doing it frequently so i thought that can't be wrong. Then i intentionally twitch it now and then and it becomes something i do subconsciously now.... Talk about integrating things into your game... haha

[_Harry_Potter_]

IMHO..Maybe the players are getting comfortable with their bridge and stance during the feathers. Sometimes, you are aware of the aim line but still not able to make a firm and balance bridge at the first go. Twitching the fingers during the feathers is just to relax the fingers in more firm and ease position.

[mikeyd100]

The latino middle finger is less patient. He could get into a bit of a strop back in the day, Tony.

Ha, how you doing dude ..... Relates to his trigger finger I guess.
These Tony's eh... Meo & Drago would be a good stropping match

[rentier]

new idea, once again

By implication, it helps, because they do it.
I do not believe the timing issue. This tapping is mostly to irregular.
My idea/explanation is of neuro-physiological nature.

The tactile sense has more accurate and stronger dynamic sensitivity. Tapping refreshes the precise feeling of the bridge hand vs. table position, while the player focuses with his eys at a distance (with longer time, the constant pressure of hand/fingers on the table, keeping hand and body most quietly, player loses some of sense on the precise hand-table-cue position).

Keep in mind, as the player focuses ball (or whole) in a distance, in this moment he has bad view on his bridging hand, standing somehow uncomfortable, bent, twisted, in unusual body balance. Furthermore the monotonous green surface, possibly with only few markers, makes it difficult to intuit 3D table plane from far to the place of his bridging hand.

Any neurologist or physiologist out there?

[JohnF14722]

I do it, but I've never thought about it and I've never intentionally done it, it's just something that subconsciously happens for whatever reason!

[snari]

I used to do it subconsciously while playing pool, but now that I've started playing again I haven't done it anymore. Time will tell if it comes back.