Top of the keyway tension. How? Why?

[Moog]

I am brand new to the lockpicking hobby. Like I am sure many of you out there were, I was inspired to pick it up because of the lock picking lawyer. I noticed he uses top of the keyway tension a lot. Almost exclusively. I have been practicing on a Master lock No.5 padlock of mine, using the genesis pick set from covert instruments. I have gotten it open quite a few times, but only using bottom of the keyway tension. I would like to try top of the key way but it entirely doesn’t work. I cant even get the short hook pick inside the lock because the tension wrench is in the way and wont let me get under the pins unless I approach lower from a tilted angle, but then I can’t manipulate the pins. Any ideas what I am doing wrong? Is top of the key way tension beneficial in some way? I see the overwhelming majority of people on youtube using it, but for me its seemingly impossible. I get that I should use whatever works best for me, but i would at least like to make an attempt to see if I like top of the key way. Thanks for your time.

[FranklyFlawless]

Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

Top of the keyway tension tools are typically shaped like a crowbar, so one of the ends needs to be "hooked" into the keyway right where the key pins are, and the other end pointed towards you.

Is top of the key way tension beneficial in some way?

It grants more room within the keyway for lockpicks to utilize, at the cost of obscuring the visibility of the key pins.

[demux]

Another common reason is that it gives you more precise tension control than bottom of the keyway, which may be advantageous depending on the lock.