How far should the bridge be from the cue ball in snooker?

A common starting point is about 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) for a normal pot. Shorten it for delicate shots, when the cue ball is near a cushion or when you bridge over a ball, and lengthen it slightly for power shots. Whatever you choose, keep it consistent for the same kind of shot.

Do you have to keep a foot on the floor in snooker?

Yes. Striking when both feet are off the floor is a foul under WPBSA Section 3 Rule 11(a)(iii), worth the value of the ball on with a minimum of four points. If you cannot reach a shot with one foot down, use the rest or an extension.

Snooker · 9 min read

Snooker Grip and Bridge Hand: Where to Hold the Cue and How Long a Bridge

Q: Where should you hold a snooker cue?

Hold the butt at the point where your forearm hangs vertically when the tip is at the cue ball, so the grip hand is directly under the elbow at contact. Get down on a shot, put the tip next to the cue ball and slide your hand along the butt until the forearm is vertical; that is your grip position.

Q: How tight should you grip a snooker cue?

Lightly. The thumb and first two fingers hold the cue, the other fingers rest against it, and you should still feel its weight. The grip should not tighten as you strike: a tightening grip pulls the cue off line and makes the stroke jerky.

Q: Is it a foul if your hand touches a ball in snooker?

Yes. Under the WPBSA rules (Section 3 Rule 11(b)(vi)), contacting a ball in play with any part of your body, clothing or equipment is a foul worth the value of the ball on or the ball concerned, whichever is higher, with a minimum of four points.

Updated 9 November 2026 · Snooker technique, with notes for pool players · Rules quoted from the WPBSA rulebook (September 2024)

The short version:

Grip where your forearm hangs vertical when the tip is at the cue ball, so the hand is directly under the elbow at contact.
Hold it lightly with the thumb and first two fingers, and don't tighten at the strike.
Keep the wrist straight, hanging down, not cocked in or out.
Build a firm V bridge: hand flat, fingers spread, thumb up against the forefinger, about 25 to 30 cm from the cue ball.
Change the bridge height for top and screw, so the cue stays as level as possible.

The grip and the bridge are the two places your hands touch the cue, and between them they decide whether the cue can travel in a straight line. Neither has to look like anyone else's: players at the top level have very different grips. What they share is the result. The cue moves back and through on the same line, and nothing moves that should stay still. This guide gives the standard starting points and how to check them.

The grip

Where to hold the cue

Figure 1, side view. At contact the grip hand sits directly under the elbow, so the forearm hangs vertical (dashed line) and swings like a pendulum from the elbow. The bridge (blue) is about 28 cm from the cue ball here.

The forearm works like a pendulum hanging from the elbow. It moves the cue most directly along the line when it is vertical at the moment the tip meets the cue ball. So the grip position is not a fixed distance from the end of the butt; it depends on your arm length and bridge length. To find it:

Get down on a straight shot with your normal bridge.
Put the tip right next to the cue ball, where it will be at contact.
Slide your grip hand along the butt until the forearm hangs straight down. That is your grip position. A phone propped up beside the table, filming side-on, is the easiest way to check it.

If your hand is too far forward, the forearm leans back at contact and the tip tends to rise through the ball. Too far back and it leans forward, and the tip tends to dip. Some players move the grip slightly further back for long power shots to get more cue through the ball; for normal shots, keep it in the same place every time.

How tight to grip

Lightly. The thumb and first two fingers hold the cue; the third and little fingers rest against it, and you should still be able to feel the cue's weight. The most important rule is that the grip does not tighten as you strike. A sudden squeeze at contact pulls the cue off line and makes the stroke jerky. If you are not sure whether you squeeze, hold the finish position after each shot and check that your hand is still relaxed.

The wrist and the thumb

Let the wrist hang straight down from the forearm. A wrist cocked outwards, away from the body, or tucked inwards changes the angle of the cue in the hand and tends to pull it across the line during the stroke. The thumb wraps lightly around the cue alongside the forefinger rather than pressing on top of it, where it would add pressure and steer the cue.

Grip fault	What it does	Check
Grip too tight	Jerky stroke, cue pulled off line, poor feel for pace	You can feel the cue's weight; the hand is relaxed at the finish
Tightening at the strike	Steers the cue at the moment it matters	Hold the finish for two seconds and look at the hand
Hand too far forward	Forearm leans back at contact, tip rises	Side-on video: forearm vertical at contact
Hand too far back	Forearm leans forward at contact, tip dips	Same video check
Wrist cocked in or out	Cue swings across the line	Front-on video: grip, elbow and cue in one vertical plane

The bridge

The standard snooker bridge

Almost every snooker shot played with the hand on the cloth uses an open V bridge:

Put the bridge hand flat on the cloth with the fingers spread wide.
Press down through the fingertips and the heel of the hand, and let the knuckles rise slightly.
Cock the thumb up and press it against the side of the forefinger. The V between the thumb and the forefinger is the channel the cue runs in.
Keep the bridge arm straight (most players) or slightly bent, and keep the hand pressed down until the cue ball has gone.

Pool players often use a looped bridge, with the forefinger curled over the cue. It is rare in snooker, where the open V gives a clearer view of the cue running along the line. A V bridge is also easy to raise and lower, as the next section shows.

Bridge height: top, centre and screw

Figure 2, looking along the cue from behind. To hit higher or lower on the cue ball, raise or lower the V of the bridge (yellow) rather than tilting the cue. The blue dot is where the tip meets the cue ball.

Hit high on the cue ball for top (follow) and low for screw (draw). Do it by moving the bridge, not by lifting the butt: raise the V by lifting the knuckles and cocking the thumb higher, lower it by flattening the hand and dropping the thumb. The cue stays close to level, which keeps the stroke on line and avoids the swerve that comes with an elevated cue. The screw shot covers the low bridge in detail.

Bridge length

The bridge length is the distance from the bridge to the cue ball. A common starting point for a normal pot is about 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in). Shorten it when you need precision more than power: delicate shots, a cue ball near a cushion, or a bridge over another ball. Lengthen it slightly for a power shot or deep screw. The exact figure matters less than doing the same thing for the same kind of shot, because a different bridge length changes where your grip should be (see figure 1).

A bridge that does not move

If the bridge hand shifts during the stroke, the cue moves with it. The pressure through the fingertips and the heel of the hand is what keeps it still, and the hand should stay down until the cue ball has reached the object ball. Players who lift the bridge early usually lift the head too.

Bridges for awkward shots

On the cushion

When the cue ball is close to a cushion, the bridge hand goes on the cushion rail. Either run the cue between the thumb and the forefinger, with the hand flat on the rail, or, when the cue ball is very close, along the rail under the forefinger with the other fingers spread for support. The cue is now higher than usual, so screw is harder and the bridge length is short; play these shots with less power than you would from the cloth.

Over a ball

When another ball is in the way, raise the bridge onto the fingertips, high enough for the cue to pass over the ball, and keep the bridge short. Take care: touching the ball with your hand or sleeve is a foul (see the rules below). If you cannot bridge safely, use the swan or spider rest.

Out of reach

For shots you cannot reach with one foot on the floor, use the rest, the spider, the swan or an extension rather than stretching. How to use the snooker rest covers each one.

The rules that apply (WPBSA Official Rules, September 2024):

Both feet off the floor: striking with both feet off the floor is a foul worth the value of the ball on, minimum four points (Section 3 Rule 11(a)(iii)).

Touching a ball: contacting a ball in play with any part of your body, clothing or equipment is a foul worth the value of the ball on or the ball concerned, whichever is higher, minimum four (Section 3 Rule 11(b)(vi)).

Rests and extensions: rests, long cues, extensions and adaptors may be used, but devices to aid cueing or sighting need prior approval from the governing body (Section 1 Rule 4). The striker is responsible for placing and removing equipment they use and is penalised for fouls made with it (Section 3 Rule 20).

How to check your grip and bridge

Film it. One video side-on (is the forearm vertical at contact?) and one from directly in front, looking down the line (do the grip, elbow and cue stay in one vertical plane?).
Straight cueing over the spots. Cue ball on the brown spot, straight up and down the table over the blue, pink and black spots. If the cue ball comes back to one side, something is moving: usually the grip tightening or the bridge shifting. It is routine 1 in our snooker practice routines.
Freeze the finish. After every shot in practice, hold the cue still for two seconds. A relaxed hand and a bridge that has not moved are what you are looking for.

Then train the aim

Grip and bridge can only be learned at a table. Once the cue moves straight, the AimGeometry trainer shows you where you are actually aiming: it draws the ghost ball and the cut angle and tells you after every shot whether you hit it thick or thin. It runs in the browser, free; the practice table is a 9 ft pool table.

How to aim in snooker →

FAQ

Where should you hold a snooker cue?

Where the forearm hangs vertical with the tip at the cue ball, so the hand is under the elbow at contact. Find it by getting down on a shot, placing the tip next to the cue ball and sliding your hand along the butt.

How tight should you grip a snooker cue?

Lightly, with the thumb and first two fingers, and without tightening at the strike.

How far should the bridge be from the cue ball?

About 25 to 30 cm (10 to 12 in) for a normal pot, shorter for delicate shots or near a cushion, slightly longer for power.

Is it a foul if your hand touches a ball?

Yes: value of the ball on or the ball touched, whichever is higher, minimum four points (WPBSA Section 3 Rule 11(b)(vi)).

Do you have to keep a foot on the floor?

Yes. Striking with both feet off the floor is a foul (WPBSA Section 3 Rule 11(a)(iii)). Use the rest instead.

Rules quoted from the WPBSA Official Rules of the Games of Snooker and English Billiards (revised September 2024). Grip position, grip pressure and bridge length are common coaching starting points, not rules; diagrams are schematic. This article contains no sponsored or affiliate links.