Here is my background: I recently got a set of Billiard Balls (Fakini) 1 3/4". When I have 4 between all my fingers and thumb, it is a very tight fit. They just fit. I did notice that my hands have stretched out about 1/8th of an inch since I first started practicing with them.

Here is the question: Do you do stretches to help gain space in between your fingers or just let your fingers stretch out normally with use with your billiard balls or do you do a combination of both?

Sort of long winded, but the idea is how do you stretch your fingers to help with your billiard ball manipulation?

As a side note I had thought about getting bigger balls to place between my fingers so the 1 3/4" would be easier to handle. They aren't difficult, but my fingers are stretched to the max.

Thanks,

Andy

Everyones hands are different. Some people may not be able to hold larger sizes.

There are exercises that piano players practice but you can just place 4 balls near the tips and over time move them closer toward your palm. That will stretch your fingers. You can't go crazy with this, Use common sense and don't strain or break anything.

Some magicians don't actually position the balls in a completely linear arrangement. Their fingers are holding the balls as if they are holding a large cone - with the smallest part closest to the crotch of the thumb and the pinky finger retracted as far as possible - usually aimed at the ceiling.

Thanks Jay. I did find that I can hold them in a linear fashion, but noticed that my hands had stretched already. I don't think I will be using anything other then 1 3/4" balls. They fit my hands although I might play with bigger ones in the future.

Andy,

What I have done is use my 1 3/4" Fakini balls to practice with but I also get a racket ball to help strech my fingers. The balls used in racket ball are bigger and offer a little more flex and are more forgiving on your fingers. I have since bought a set of 2" Fankini balls and the transition has not been too hard but are still challenging. Hope that helps.

David

Thanks David. I don't think I want to switch to a larger size ball, but thought that using a larger ball might help stretch out my fingers so that I can manipulate my normal balls better. Racket Balls might be a cheap way to go.

Take 1 ball and put it between two fingers, push it all the way down so it touches the vertex of your two fingers, hold this position for a few minutes, then move to the next two, then the next. Do this every day until you can fit all of the balls at once in this position. I am 14 years old and use 2 inch fakini, I can hold all of the balls at the vertex of each finger. It hurt at first, but it became more natural.