tilt head or parallel head

westlife

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
good day ladies and gentleman all members here..i wanna ask how do you put your head above the cue is it tilted or parallel to the cue. and do you have any drill to find the head position or alignmnet on the eye im a right eye dominant and right handed.having some difficulty to find the centre cue ball and put the head above the cue AKA vision center
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
good day ladies and gentleman all members here..i wanna ask how do you put your head above the cue is it tilted or parallel to the cue. and do you have any drill to find the head position or alignmnet on the eye im a right eye dominant and right handed.having some difficulty to find the centre cue ball and put the head above the cue AKA vision center

I just made this image.....is it close to what you're talking about? Of course you're specific eye dominance would be a little different than these examples. I based this on my own experiment of closing each eye and recording the change in focal perspective between center CB and the OB, compared to what my brain processes as straight in. Whether your eyes are parallel or slightly angled from the aim line really won't matter. It still works the same, only you won't have to position your head/body as far left or right.


picture.php
 
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BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
good day ladies and gentleman all members here..i wanna ask how do you put your head above the cue is it tilted or parallel to the cue. and do you have any drill to find the head position or alignmnet on the eye im a right eye dominant and right handed.having some difficulty to find the centre cue ball and put the head above the cue AKA vision center

Try to think of your head as parallel to your torso, not your cue stick. A right-hander with a 45-degree stance who forces their left eye over the cue stick after bending to the stance is going to need a chiropractor, maybe disc surgery.

As I step with my left leg, it comes into perfect balance by pointing at nearly the same angle as my right foot. My body and HEAD now face approximately 45 degrees to the full line.
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I just made this image.....is it close to what you're talking about? Of course you're specific eye dominance would be a little different than these examples. I based this on my own experiment of closing each eye and recording the change in focal perspective between center CB and the OB, compared to what my brain processes as straight in. Whether your eyes are parallel or slightly angled from the aim line really won't matter. It still works the same, only you won't have to position your head/body as far left or right.


picture.php

Good example Brian of parallax error in vision, this is due to the separation of our eyes. Each eye sees a different picture and it's up to the brain to figure out the true path and then set the stance behind the cue ball and onto the shot line.

Each player will have to figure out how to adjust for their personal parallax error in their vision. No two people are the same.

I've posted this video before and I think the OP may benefit from watching it.
The only thing I would add to this video is to pay attention to where the butt of the cue is pointed on his body. This point on the body will be where the grip hand will always start to line up any shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKoMZrg1MAg

And here is another video to help explain the above a little more clearly.

https://youtu.be/rDkP6iaP3MY Watch Ralph, his hand/grip will always start from the same position on his body on any shot line.

One other thing to mention is to NOT put the cue under your chin. When you fall down into the shooting position the cue will fall somewhere between your right eye pupil and the bridge of your nose, unless of course you are severely right eye dominant then the cue will fall down directly under your right eye.

The eyes should be horizontal and square to the playing surface and shot line.........just to answer the OP's question.

Hope this helps.

John
 
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BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
Good example Brian of parallax error in vision, this is due to the separation of our eyes. Each eye sees a different picture and it's up to the brain to figure out the true path and then set the stance behind the cue ball and onto the shot line.

Each player will have to figure out how to adjust for their personal parallax error in their vision. No two people are the same.

I've posted this video before and I think the OP may benefit from watching it.
The only thing I would add to this video is to pay attention to where the butt of the cue is pointed on his body. This point on the body will be where the grip hand will always start to line up any shot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKoMZrg1MAg

And here is another video to help explain the above a little more clearly.

https://youtu.be/rDkP6iaP3MY Watch Ralph, his hand/grip will always start from the same position on his body on any shot line.

One other thing to mention is to NOT put the cue under your chin. When you fall down into the shooting position the cue will fall somewhere between your right eye pupil and the bridge of your nose, unless of course you are severely right eye dominant then the cue will fall down directly under your right eye.

The eyes should be horizontal and square to the playing surface and shot line.........just to answer the OP's question.

Hope this helps.

John

Thanks. Now that I look at it, the eyes should probably be at a slight angle, like for me I think my head us slighty turned. Not 45° like Matt's, but mine is skewed a bit -- being right handed my left eye is closer to CB than my right eye. Not much but a little. This would only cause a narrower range of focus between the two perspective lines. It would be cool to incorporate a nose and chin for each set of eyes.
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks. Now that I look at it, the eyes should probably be at a slight angle, like for me I think my head us slighty turned. Not 45° like Matt's, but mine is skewed a bit -- being right handed my left eye is closer to CB than my right eye. Not much but a little. This would only cause a narrower range of focus between the two perspective lines. It would be cool to incorporate a nose and chin for each set of eyes.

In bold. Good you have worked out your personal parallax error. :) Your left eye is offsetting the error.

John
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
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In bold. Good you have worked out your personal parallax error. :) Your left eye is offsetting the error.

John

I held the the cue and got down in position, not aiming at anything, no CB , then pressed my chin to the cue and raised up to look in a mirror (without moving anything but my waist). My head is slightly angled because it feels good there. When I try to turn my neck completely perpendicular to the cue shaft it hurts. Lol

But it could've been because I was at the side rail leaning over to face down table......I bet from straight on I'm more perpendicular. I'll check later.....wife is calling.
 

One Pocket John

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I held the the cue and got down in position, not aiming at anything, no CB , then pressed my chin to the cue and raised up to look in a mirror (without moving anything but my waist). My head is slightly angled because it feels good there. When I try to turn my neck completely perpendicular to the cue shaft it hurts. Lol

But it could've been because I was at the side rail leaning over to face down table......I bet from straight on I'm more perpendicular. I'll check later.....wife is calling.

Pain in the neck like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbrnUXbOJqM

:) John
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
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Silver Member

Ok. After reviewing several pictures of myself in stroke stance, I can say my cue shaft is always directly under my nose. When I'm reaching/leaning sideways over the the table, my head is slightly turned away from the CB but the stick remains under my nose. Usually my eyes are perpendicular to my cue shaft or very close. I have no dominant eye skewing that focal line.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
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Silver Member
Ok. After reviewing several pictures of myself in stroke stance, I can say my cue shaft is always directly under my nose. When I'm reaching/leaning sideways over the the table, my head is slightly turned away from the CB but the stick remains under my nose. Usually my eyes are perpendicular to my cue shaft or very close. I have no dominant eye skewing that focal line.

you are very lucky to have "equal eyes" (my terminology)
saves you from ;lots of vision center issues
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
you are very lucky to have "equal eyes" (my terminology)
saves you from ;lots of vision center issues

Once again, dominant eye does not have to determine where you center the cue. I am left eye dominant and have been for 52 years. However, I found that with my "natural" dominant eye line up, the cue was not in line with the shot at set up. I learned to redirect the cue just before the forward stroke to compensate, of course unaware all the time.

I now shoot with my right eye over the cue because for whatever reason this makes everything line up properly. The moral of the story is if you want your chin over the cue then put your chin over the cue. Your vision will adjust to it. That does not mean, however, that everything will be lined up nicely (at least in my case). You need to experiment a little.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
Gold Member
Silver Member
Once again, dominant eye does not have to determine where you center the cue. I am left eye dominant and have been for 52 years. However, I found that with my "natural" dominant eye line up, the cue was not in line with the shot at set up. I learned to redirect the cue just before the forward stroke to compensate, of course unaware all the time.

I now shoot with my right eye over the cue because for whatever reason this makes everything line up properly. The moral of the story is if you want your chin over the cue then put your chin over the cue. Your vision will adjust to it. That does not mean, however, that everything will be lined up nicely (at least in my case). You need to experiment a little.

You are an odd case! You're a left-handed player, correct? Is your head/vision perpendicular to the shaft or slighty twisted/skewed? Just curious.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
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Silver Member
you are very lucky to have "equal eyes" (my terminology)
saves you from ;lots of vision center issues

I've noticed that when I focus on a pole in the distance, then point at it with my finger, I see a finger on each side of the pole. Since each eye is focused inward toward the pole, my right eye gets a peripheral image of my finger to the left of the pole. My left eye puts the finger on the right side of the pole. This is with my eyes perpendicular to the focal line straight to the pole. If I turn my head to the right, just far enough to bring my left eye in line with the pole, the peripheral images of my finger shift to the left and my left eye is aligned with the finger on the right and the pole behind it. Damn that's confusing. Sorry.

Maybe that's how Dan can be left eye dominant but align with his right eye.
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
You are an odd case! You're a left-handed player, correct? Is your head/vision perpendicular to the shaft or slighty twisted/skewed? Just curious.

I know. Fran Crimi wants me to come into NY so she can study me. lol

I keep my shoulders as sideways as possible, so my right eye is closer to the cue ball than my left. My head is basically level but to be honest I'd have to take another look on video to see exactly. There isn't a large tilt if there is one, though. I thought that since my head was a bit sideways that my left eye was behind the cue as well but I just didn't notice it... but nope, it is the right eye that is over the cue.

I may change things up over time, but right now this is one of the elements I needed to incorporate in order to straighten things out. Like I say, I may be able to "undo" some changes and still maintain a straight stroke, but the trick is getting there in the first place.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
as for the chin in the center not necessarily meaning equal eyes
this is from KRANICKI's book
and a reason some people nave trouble finding center cue ball and "seeing" straight
strong left eye
nose center left eye aim.jpg
 
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BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
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I know. Fran Crimi wants me to come into NY so she can study me. lol

I keep my shoulders as sideways as possible, so my right eye is closer to the cue ball than my left. My head is basically level but to be honest I'd have to take another look on video to see exactly. There isn't a large tilt if there is one, though. I thought that since my head was a bit sideways that my left eye was behind the cue as well but I just didn't notice it... but nope, it is the right eye that is over the cue.

I may change things up over time, but right now this is one of the elements I needed to incorporate in order to straighten things out. Like I say, I may be able to "undo" some changes and still maintain a straight stroke, but the trick is getting there in the first place.

Something weird happens when the head/eyes are angled toward a focal point. Hey, maybe your left eye is so far back that the aim line is outside of it's peripheral, which means you'd really be aiming mono with the right.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Something weird happens when the head/eyes are angled toward a focal point. Hey, maybe your left eye is so far back that the aim line is outside of it's peripheral, which means you'd really be aiming mono with the right.


Amongst all the old photos of Mosconi there is one that always sticks out in my memory and that is a picture where his head is tilted on the shot and he looks like a total killer. Mass murderer.

Lou Figueroa
 

Dan White

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
as for the chin in the center not necessarily meaning equal eyes
this is from kanicki's book
and a reason some people nave trouble finding center cue ball and "seeing" straight
strong left eye
View attachment 474045

Interesting. I never knew that book existed before Lou mentioned it. Maybe could have saved myself some effort at the table if I had read it, but then again what I am doing seems to contradict the book, but still it works.
 

BilliardsAbout

BondFanEvents.com
Silver Member
Had some fun reading Kranicki's book again yesterday to see what I might glean or better define. Here are some takeaways. What do you think?

It is hard on hits thinner than half-ball to bring the vision center over the cue ball and instinctual aim or an aim system compensates for sighting on concealed targets, as on the far side of the cue ball (I agree)

It may be helpful to triangulate the cue ball’s bottom, center of mass and the “apparent” absolute top, as the top moves in perception in the full stance, to align center cue ball (this may sound like overkill, but it is extraordinary how many students swear their cue tip is pointed at dead center when it isn’t)

A ball’s equator tends to be lower on a ball than perception tells you when in the full stance, so the contact point needs adjustment (I agree, for most students)

The equator tends to bend into a smiley face shape when in the full stance (I can see that, weaker players tend to cut balls too thinly as one consequence--better players who miss tend to miss too full)

For right-handers, Kranicki suggests pivoting the right foot at a given angle can bring vision center over the shot line so find a personal foot angle, so the head responds to the turning torso without straining the neck to sight the shot, and he also further recommends sticking the left foot out straight, parallel to the shot line (I know some players do these two moves and they work for them)

Moving the head laterally while assuming the stance leads to an aiming disaster (I agree beyond the SLIGHT natural lateral movement that comes with moving the torso vertically--Kranicki's point implies placing the head on line first, then lowering it straight down or nearly so while assuming the stance--certainly what many pros tend to do--amateurs do very strange things instead, like lay the stick near-flat on the cloth than wrap head and body around it awkwardly)
 
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