Write an article based on this "Grip the cue stick correctly. Place the fingers of your off-hand around the tip to form a bridge. In an open bridge, form a V-groove with your thumb and forefinger. Align your body with the shot. Stand a comfortable distance away. Position yourself vertically with the shot."
Your shooting hand should grip the butt of the cue stick in a loose, relaxed manner, with your thumb as a support and your index, middle, and ring fingers doing the gripping. Your wrist should point straight down to prevent it from moving sideways when you take your shot. Your shooting hand should generally grip the cue stick about 6 inches (15 cm) to the rear of the stick's balance point. If you're short, you may want to move your hand forward of this point; if you're tall, you may want to move it further back. This prevents the cue stick from moving sideways when you shoot. There are 3 main grips: the closed, the open, and the rail bridge. In a closed bridge, you wrap your index fingers around the cue and use your other fingers to steady your hand. This allows for more control over the stick, particularly with a forceful forward stroke. The cue will slide through and you will use your other fingers to keep the cue from moving sideways. The open bridge is better for softer shots and is preferred by players who have trouble making a closed bridge. A variation of the open bridge, is the elevated bridge, in which you raise your hand to lift the cue over an obstructing ball when striking the cue. Use the rail bridge when the cue ball is too close to the rail for you to slip your hand behind it. Lay your cue stick over the rail and keep its tip steady with your off hand. Line yourself up with the cue ball and the ball you want to hit. The foot corresponding to your shooting hand (right foot if you're right-handed, left foot if you're left-handed) should be touching this line at a 45-degree angle. Your other foot should be a comfortable distance away from it and forward of the foot matching your shooting hand. This depends on 3 things: your height, your reach, and the location of the cue ball. The further away the cue ball is from your side of the table, the longer you'll have to stretch. Most billiards games require you to keep at least 1 foot (0.3m) on the floor when shooting. If you can't do so comfortably, you may either need to take a different shot or use a mechanical bridge to rest the tip of your cue stick in when you shoot. Your chin should be rest slightly over the table so that you're sighting down the cue stick as close to horizontal as comfortable. If you're tall, you'll need to bend your forward knee or both knees to get into position. You'll also need to bend forward at the hips. Either the center of your head or your dominant eye should line up with the center of the cue stick without tilting. Some professional pool players do tilt their heads, however. Most pocket billiards players put their heads 1 to 6 inches (2.5 to 15 cm) above the cue stick, while snooker players have their heads touching or almost touching the cue. The closer you bring your head, the greater your accuracy, but at a loss of range for the back and forward stroke.