How do you position your fingers on your mouse?


3rd.

I am shocked to see that there are people that right mouse click with ring finger.
I can only do that if I could use 3 real buttons on the top of the mouse.
I was actually playing like that on my old A4Tech Winbest 4D which had 3 buttons on the top, all 3 same shape/size, and inbetween them I had 2 scroll wheels.

The main reason I used my ring finger to grip the mouse instead of using it for right mouse button, is that 95% of the mice out there don't have the correct angle or the correct material on the right side of the mouse to allow you to lift the mouse by using your pinky alone. So my deciding was to never change that unless I find a mouse with correct angles/grips/shapes to allow me to comfortably lift the mouse by pinky alone. Only now I understand the stupid decision of most manufacturers to not make a comfortable right side of the mouse where you can put both your ring finger and pinky together without being forced to put one on the mousepad... Really bad for the entire future of gaming.. really.

I am drawing a single conclusion out of this thing. The people using ring finger for right click, are either the lucky owners of a mouse that allows you to lift them in air using your pinky alone for the right side of mouse, or they simply never lift off their mouse off the mousepad = means that they are not gamers, or they game with huge sensitivities. And can you imagine that more then 50% of the companies out there made mice for those people?

EDIT:
I checked a bit over the internet, and there are polls here and there among gamers, which state that between 80 and 90% of the gamers use the standard style, with right clicking with middle finger. However, I really don't understand why mouse companies, don't make mice that come with a rest place for both pinky and ring finger on the right side of the mouse. Or the other way around, they build mice that are either too heavy to be lifted with pinky alone, or the material is too slippery to be able to grip it with a single finger. Or I might go ahead and assume in a rude way that those companies don't know yet that most gamers removed their mouse accell, and they play with low sensitivities? I doubt it.
 
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I'm more interested in where people rest their pinky / ring finger at than their index / pointer since most appear to rest those on the left/right buttons.

Do you:
  • Arch your pinky/ring outwards and grab the side of the mouse with the tips of them?
  • Touch the sides of the mouse with the left edge of those two fingers?
  • Rest the ring finger on the top of the mouse and only have the pinky on the side?
  • Any other variation

I ask because I've been having severe accuracy issues and yet to settle on a proper way to grip my mouse. I've already dropped by dpi from 2000 to 1400 which has helped some but my control still feels really bad. Playing BC2 / SC2 I consistently overshoot my targets while sniping or selecting units. If I lower my DPI any further I'll be unable to move across the entire screen / rotate 180 without picking up my hand.

Currently using a G500, also have a G9x. Between the two I prefer the G500. Also using the control side of a Razer eXactMat, which feels extremely smooth but maybe is the real problem? I've tried using the smooth side of the pad but that makes my accuracy even worse. Never tried using a soft pad due to the assumption of hard ones are better.

Here are my thoughts about this:
As a gamer, you need those aspects:

1. You need a grip that allows your thumb and pinky/ring fingers to naturally push towards left/right. If you got a mouse that doesn't allow you to use your pinky comfortably to push the mouse towards left, or the thumb angle/position forces you to pull the mouse towards top/down or other direction then right side, paralel to the pad, then you WILL NEVER have a good accuracy left right.

2. Considering the fact that most pro gamers are playing without accelleration, and the fact that this means that they need very small mouse sensitivity, means that those players with play with low sensitivities that are so small that will allow them to aim correctly a very small point on the screen, but high enough to not need more then 2 lift offs to turn 360 degrees. There are small exceptions as there are players that consider useless to turn very fast 360 degrees, as they consider that they are already dead by that time.
This will imply that those players need to be able to lift the mouse comfortably. A mouse that is slippery and it doesn't have a curved spot so that it can grip the mouse there, will end up not being able to lift off their mice, making the mouse entirely useless.

3. Weight of the mouse? Imagine that you might have to lift off a mouse from the mousepad every 10 seconds. How do you think that will be with a heavy mouse.

4. As most mice are not build correctly to allow easy lift off, I would expect to have no players that use their ring finger for button pressing. However, I think companies are not going into the comfortable side, simply to satisfy that 10%? I find it ridiculous, however, that is life.
 
3rd.

I am shocked to see that there are people that right mouse click with ring finger.
I can only do that if I could use 3 real buttons on the top of the mouse.
I was actually playing like that on my old A4Tech Winbest 4D which had 3 buttons on the top, all 3 same shape/size, and inbetween them I had 2 scroll wheels.

The main reason I used my ring finger to grip the mouse instead of using it for right mouse button, is that 95% of the mice out there don't have the correct angle or the correct material on the right side of the mouse to allow you to lift the mouse by using your pinky alone. So my deciding was to never change that unless I find a mouse with correct angles/grips/shapes to allow me to comfortably lift the mouse by pinky alone. Only now I understand the stupid decision of most manufacturers to not make a comfortable right side of the mouse where you can put both your ring finger and pinky together without being forced to put one on the mousepad... Really bad for the entire future of gaming.. really.

I am drawing a single conclusion out of this thing. The people using ring finger for right click, are either the lucky owners of a mouse that allows you to lift them in air using your pinky alone for the right side of mouse, or they simply never lift off their mouse off the mousepad = means that they are not gamers, or they game with huge sensitivities. And can you imagine that more then 50% of the companies out there made mice for those people?

EDIT:
I checked a bit over the internet, and there are polls here and there among gamers, which state that between 80 and 90% of the gamers use the standard style, with right clicking with middle finger. However, I really don't understand why mouse companies, don't make mice that come with a rest place for both pinky and ring finger on the right side of the mouse. Or the other way around, they build mice that are either too heavy to be lifted with pinky alone, or the material is too slippery to be able to grip it with a single finger. Or I might go ahead and assume in a rude way that those companies don't know yet that most gamers removed their mouse accell, and they play with low sensitivities? I doubt it.

You should try the Intellimouse Explorer 3.0. That's what I use with my ring finger on right click grip. I game quite a bit. I've even ranked #3 on my favorite server on my favorite game, Day of Defeat:Source.

Here's how I have my mouse set up:
Scroll up - Main weapon
Scroll down - Secondary weapon
Middle click - Voice chat
Back button - Knife/Melee
Forward - Grenades/Explosives

I find the mouse quite easy to pick up with just my pinky. It's light and has a good shape to it. It's also a low sensitivity mouse, I find that nice.
Anyways here's a link for the mouse, it's quite cheap so wouldnt cost much to pick one up and try it out http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-B75...qid=1349268772&sr=8-1&keywords=intellimouse+3
A link for just how well this set up works for me http://steamcommunity.com/id/steephill/screenshots
 
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I own an intellmouse explorer 3.0 old version.
Also I own a Razer Deathadder.
I also own a Mouse Sidewinder X5, and a Sidewinder X8.
I owned an MX518, Razer Diamondback, Razer Copperhead, A4Tech X7, A4Tech Winbest 4D+ (520 dpi, but with ball, old one).

The Intellimouse explorer that you linked has the exact same scroll wheel and thumb buttons like the old one? If yes, then I don't really want it anymore, unless I really can't find something better shape wise.
I started to feel like both the Intellimouse Explorer that I own at this point, as well as Razer Deathadder feel too thin, and it causes me a strain inside my palm. (just the pain you feel when you try to hold a pencil with only your thumb and pinky).
Deathadder seems even thinner then Intellimouse Explorer. However, I am in the eternal search of the mouse that will be a real improvement over Intellimouse Explorer.
Sidewinder X5 skips at high speeds. Just useless for gaming.
Sidewinder X8 works like a charm, but it feels like Microsoft doesn't understand what they are doing.
I mean seriously, the right side of X5 is better then X8. X5 offers a tiny bit more space then X8 to hold your pinky and ring finger on the mouse, and the material is less slippery then X8. Sorry I don;t have sweatty hands, so X8 tends to avoid me when I try to lift it.
I the other hand, X8 left side of the mouse is even better then X5.
One other problem with X8, is that it is just as heavy as it should be without a battery, making it more convenient to play without one, and to use the wire. If you put the battery inside, it just becomes too heavy. Otherwise, excellent mouse. The main problem with it is that it could use a bit more comfortable right side of the mouse, and it should stop blinking the battery and back light when I use it without a battery.
However, so far only Microsoft and A4Tech understood that the most comfortable way to lay your fingers on a mouse is to have the tallest part of the mouse in the back of your palm. Here is where Razer got alot to learn, cause they not only put the tallest part very close to the front of the mouse, but also the angle they make with the mousepad it makes you feel like you play with your index and middle finger in air.

The only other mouse on the market right now that seem to have taken the IE3.0 example, is Steelseries with the Ikari laser mouse.
However, I really don't think I will ever buy it, as I haven't seen any part of the mouse that makes a good enough angle with the table so that I am sure that I will be able to easily lift it in air.

As with MX518, I got the exact same problem as many others on the internet, and that is when I try to play the way I like, by palm gripping the mouse. Because I got long fingers, and towards the front of the mouse the mouse button 2 is going very close to the mousepad, it leaves very low space for my ring finger, forcing it into a very specific position. This very specific position doesn't allow my pinky ot rest on the mouse, forcing it to the mousepad. This is a huge problem for me as having my pinky touching the mousepad at high speeds, will cause a huge pain after 1 hour. Is not like they would affect anyone on the earth by adjusting a bit the space for the ring finger, but it seems that Logitech doesn't give a damn about it.


Update:
It seems like there is some sort of very small latency when comparing X5 with X8, and I was wrong in the first place to compare X8 when wired with X8 when not wired. The wire only gives power, doesn't transmit movement+mouse buttons.
Either way, even if is needed for very specific situations to feel it, the lag is there definitely. If you compare the mice directly, then it becomes really obvious. Sidewinder X8 being heavier, even without battery, adds to the delayed response feeling.
 
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When I was younger I used to do two fingers on left click, ring on right, and pinky holding, idk why, felt I could click faster? This was in the days when wheels were rare and I was using the first line of MS Optical mice with the big ambidextrous buttons.

When they introduced the wheel I initially never used it but once I started playing games where wheel was melee or using it for voice com I moved my middle finger over to it, it was only natural. I was doing it that was with my m500, deathadder and whatever I had before that because I was really hardcore FPS and had m4,5 and 6 each bound to something like rifle/pistol/knife for fast switching.

Contrary to some here, when I got my Rat7 I moved to middle-index click because the mouse is very heavy and I use the side of my pinky + the tip of my ring finger to support it, I've been using middle mouse much less for important functions because it's hard to use without accidentally scrolling on most mice, especially as they age and scrolling becomes too loose while the click generally stays about the same.

Typically I creat a V with my thumb and pinky and my mouse slides into that V. This makes it hard for me to use side-buttons and I have to contort my grip on both my G9x and Rat to hit them.

I sort of wish I had a mouse with an outer lip to sit over my pinky.
 
I do it like so w/ almost a claw grip:

Pointer Finger = left button
Middle Finger = right button
Mouse Wheel = I control with both, depending on which button needs more attention at the time

I think this actually works out the best.
 
It depends on what I'm doing. When not gaming it's: index for left, middle for scroll wheel, and ring for right. When gaming it changes to index for left and middle for right. Sometimes, like when talking with someone, I use my left hand with the finger orders inverted. I never even thought about it until I was showing photos to a friend and she commented on my ambidextrous mouse handling. Then, I've always had a mild ambidexterity; some things I'm just more proficient with my left hand even though I'm right dominant. Such as, I can move my fingers much faster on my left hand than my right and prefer to open bottles and jars with my left and securing the container in my right.
 
Index finger handles the left button and mouse wheel/middle button
Middle finger handle the right button

Both fingers.. nevermind
 
- I grip my mouse with thumb & the ring finger which also lifts the mouse when needed (pinky just rests at the side)
- Index finger for left & middle
- Middle finger for right button

MX518, soon to be Roccat Savu in case I end up keeping it.
 
I have the RAT7 and use index for left+middle buttons and middle finger for the right button. I suppose my hands are larger than normal, but I don't find the mouse uncomfortable at all using a 'claw' grip. I have the palm rest as far back as possible which I find helps support the claw grip for my hand.
 
I do the 3 fingers on top, 1 finger is dedicated to the mouse wheel. I retrained myself to do this some years ago for the advantage it has in games where every split second counts. It was nice for everything else too.

I doubt it is natural for most people to do it this way but once you learn possibilities increase. You would be surprised how many people still peck a keyboards with 2 fingers on each hand. It is ironic that while we teach typing classes no one in those ever says anything about the mouse.

No one really told me to do this I just looked at it one day and said why are 2 fingers doing the job of one.
 
I'm amazed how many of you (80%+) use your ring finger for the right click. That means you must move either one of your fingers to use the scroll wheel. I'd find that annoying.

I use 3 fingers:
Index -> Left button
Middle -> Scroll wheel
Ring -> Right button

My thumb and pinkie lift the mouse when necessary. I use a Logitech MX 518.
 
index finger - left click and scrolling
middle finger - right click

However, for fps Im using a mouse with a button on the left side. For that Im using my thumb.
 
One thing I'm also curious about is the angle of your arm from your hand.

My arm comes at a downward angle from my mouse.

My chair arms are a bit lower than my desk and I rest my elbow on it, it's a bad habit but I notice I use my fingers for most of my forward / backward movement by lifting my arm and tilting my hand back or lowering my arm and pushing foreward, and using my wrist/arm pivoting at the elbow.

Not resting my elbow, or at the very least having it elevated over my mouse would probably be superior.
 
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