The Secret Art of Palm-Pressing

Wishing you had a way to get more keys in games? I had a tough time managing key binds over the years. Eventually I developed a method I like to call palm-pressing. Through this technique, I am able to multiply the amount of buttons my fingers push. Interested?

A Word on Keyboard Etiquette

I recommend using a keyboard rest or an ergonomic keyboard wherever possible. Of course, when playing games for any length of time the bottom of my wrist begins to fall onto the keyboard rest. This is against etiquette, but with proper moderation and a good ergonomic keyboard little harm ensues.

Onto the Palm Press!

As the name implies, it involves using a part of the hand most people probably don't use on a regular basis, at least not for typing. As a conventional typist, I often have my fingers on the asdf keys, the home row for the left hand. This also means I keep my wrists off of the table or keyboard when typing.

The most efficient use of the palm press which I have found is the Windows "Control" key, located on the lower-left hand side of a standard US keyboard. This key is pushable by the side of one's hand as shown above. Majority of pressure on the key comes from the pinkie finger's knuckle, see image above. When not in use, the hand can use the wrist as a pivot back onto the keyboard rest.

Doubling the Available Keys

We have just doubled our available keys by holding down the CTRL button with our palm. For me, I can hold down the CTRL key while I push 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, q, w, e, r, t, a, s, d, f, c, v, b. And, if I try I'm able to also push 6, z, g, and x. That's pretty darn good in my book.

Even More Keys!

Remember the SHIFT key? Using the palm and pinkie approach, I can hold down CTRL+SHIFT and push all of the same above keys, effectively tripling the amount of keys available to me. But wait, that's not all! I can also use CTRL+ALT and gain even more keys. Combine that with SHIFT and ALT separately and that's one heck of a combination of keys.

So there you have it, the secret palm press jutsu. Ninja--VANISH!

*poof*