Lots of people ask what that “weird looking plastic thing” is for when they’re playing pool. It’s called a Bridge and it can help you do some pretty cool things.

The bridge is basically used for shots that you can’t reach all the way across the table. For example, if I wanted to shoot the 1 ball and cut it in, I can’t really reach far enough to do that on my own. I’ll need a little help and that’s exactly what the bridge is for.

Some people may call it the Cheater’s Stick but it’s a real tool and it can certainly help you to make some shots. There are problems to using a bridge though; for the most part, you don’t want to be holding it in your hand while shooting your shot. You’ll generally want it on the table and want it pinned.

The only time you wouldn’t want it pinned is when the cue ball is really close to the shot and you had to shoot it in. If you did it that way, the cue ball would bounce back too quickly and you wouldn’t be able to remove the bridge in time.

Generally though, you’re a bit farther back from the cue ball and you don’t have to worry about it. Sometimes you’ll want to put a slight angle on it like I’m doing in the video above. That angle will hold the shaft of the cue a little bit better and keep it from being too loose.