Lining up center cue ball and dominant eye

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
I should rephrase that. It makes it tough to execute a proper shot with loads of right when I naturally line up with some left. It's an important detail that the bit of left I line up with is back-hand. So in order to get right my set up changes more than if I need some left, as it's closer to my home position.

I agree. I'm not saying you get more english with back-hand. I just pocket better with it. But...like I said, lots of back-hand right is slightly less comfortable than left for me.
Oh, I get it now. Thanks for the clarification.

pj
chgo
 

Zphix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Gene,

I disagree with you slightly on eye dominance. Because people are biocular and use both eyes to create a proper image that is neither completely in the left or right eye then lining up with a "dominant" eye over the cue skews the image.

So, I think it's more important to identify where the center of your vision is and approach the shot line with respect to that. For me, my vision center is on the line of my chin so I approach a shot with my chin on the line.

Also, I hardly ever overcut or undercut balls as you suggest happens when your eye dominance is wrong.

You may very well be right about this, and I could be an idiot. I'm open minded but as it stands I disagree with some of what you're saying.
 

fastone371

Certifiable
Silver Member
Gene,

I disagree with you slightly on eye dominance. Because people are biocular and use both eyes to create a proper image that is neither completely in the left or right eye then lining up with a "dominant" eye over the cue skews the image.

So, I think it's more important to identify where the center of your vision is and approach the shot line with respect to that. For me, my vision center is on the line of my chin so I approach a shot with my chin on the line.

Also, I hardly ever overcut or undercut balls as you suggest happens when your eye dominance is wrong.

You may very well be right about this, and I could be an idiot. I'm open minded but as it stands I disagree with some of what you're saying.

I think that is what DR. Dave is saying here


"Which eye is dominant (or not) is not what is important here. What is important is where the cue is aligned relative to one's personal vision center position. If one has their head too far to the right, with the vision center to the right of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the right of center. And if the head is too far to the left, with the vision center to the left of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the left of center."

Probably the best thing to do would be to learn and understand both methods and see what works best for you. I am sure it would help me, I miss cuts all the time, that's probably why my Fargo number inst 795 yet.
 
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Zphix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think that is what DR. Dave is saying here


"Which eye is dominant (or not) is not what is important here. What is important is where the cue is aligned relative to one's personal vision center position. If one has their head too far to the right, with the vision center to the right of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the right of center. And if the head is too far to the left, with the vision center to the left of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the left of center."

Probably the best thing to do would be to learn and understand both methods and see what works best for you. I am sure it would help me, I miss cuts all the time, that's probably why my Fargo number inst 795 yet.

Didn't see that he had posted :thumbup:

I only read Geno's original post and then responded haha. Figures Dave would beat me to the punch though.

-Richard
 

app4dstn

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The below link is to Joe Tucker's Youtube vid on how to correct this - 3rd eye trainer. In it he says the same thing......using himself as an example of being left eye dominant and lining up right of CCB.

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/7129838

i think the full videos found on his YT page (https://www.youtube.com/user/jt10ball/videos) explain what the 3rdEye does and convey a more complete picture.

i watched them after seeing someone post about the training aid last year, and the beauty of the tool immediately became clear to me as a new player.

in doing the drill Dr Dave terms MOSUFDAT (Joe T calls them "up/downs"), you can be incorrect in a singular or multiple of modes, and still yield a successful result in the drill. i would have to "fool" myself and align in a way that had an offset/bias (ie with an appearance of being all wrong) to strike vertical center, and then sometimes feel like i was mis-stroking to get the success result (on line and without side spin... i did get a 50/50 elephant practice ball to discern whether i was true, or whether i was off target yet able to return to the origin due to compensating spin off the cushion.)

after googling and finding the videos, i readily saw that using that fork on this aid separates the human from the cue.... or more specifically, the sensory input/brain from the stroke execution. paraphrasing what Joe says, when you do happen to hit one correctly, you say, aha, that's what it's supposed to look like when i line up. the genius is that the ordering of learning the competencies can be reversed from the order of execution of the competencies.... you sit there and read about good technique, and it's the vision that drives the alignment through the PSR that leads to the well executed stroke. with the 3rd eye, you have to align and stroke properly. and from there you can figure out what that visual actually is.

i find the principle to be one in the same as a training aid for putting from the golf world by Dave Pelz. that unit is an alignment board with 2 marbles that border the exit line of the stroke. it counters the tendency to deviate from the orignally planned line with subconscious steering and mid stroke adjustments. both are meant to constrain the result and force the human to learn and accept the PSR.

IMO, it allows a more efficient path towards improvement. and an invaluable tune-up aid. inevitably, i drift off over time and tell myself to go back and do some 3rd eye up/downs. most useful for sure. i couldn't describe in explicit terms or measurements where i'm placed. i'm not doing any technique for sighting other than looking and going there. the 3rd eye guided me to a better place.
 

dr_dave

Instructional Author
Gold Member
Silver Member
in doing the drill Dr Dave terms MOFUDAT (Joe T calls them "up/downs"), you can be incorrect in a singular or multiple of modes, and still yield a successful result in the drill...
... not if you use the balls on the end-rail as shown in the MOFUDAT drill handout. They prevent you from cheating your aim and using sidespin to correct.

Good luck,
Dave
 

(((Satori)))

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
... not if you use the balls on the end-rail as shown in the MOFUDAT drill handout. They prevent you from cheating your aim and using sidespin to correct.

Good luck,
Dave

Solid advice again from Dr. Dave imo.

If someone wants to see if they are hitting centerball just hit a ball straight into the rail and see how it rebounds. If it rebounds to the right then move your stick to the left. If when you do this it doesnt look like center anymore then move your head alignment to line up correctly and drill until aligning correctly is a habit. This should be step one stuff when learning imo. I dont think anyone needs any fancy equipment to learn how to align correctly either.

P.S.
Another drill for sighting and alignment someone can use is to place one balll on the end of the rail and line up to hit it square like hitting a stright in shot and have the cueball rebound straight back. When you can consistently hit into the rail without side spin and you can also do the one ball drill then you know that you are both hitting center and you are hitting your objectball target. Your alignment and stroke are in order.
 
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genomachino

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Which eye is dominant (or not) is not what is important here.

Which eye is dominant (or not) is not what is important here. What is important is where the cue is aligned relative to one's personal vision center position. If one has their head too far to the right, with the vision center to the right of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the right of center. And if the head is too far to the left, with the vision center to the left of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the left of center. For good illustrations showing why this is true, see the diagrams in:

"Aim, Align, Sight - Part II: Visual Alignment" (BD, July, 2011)

And for a video demonstration showing what affect alignment errors have on shot direction, see:

NV C.1 - "Vision center" alignment drill, from VEPP I

Enjoy,
Dave

The dominant eye holds the key to everything and everything centers around the dominant eye. Once you know why this happens it can be fixed. Otherwise you can just sit by the hole and wonder. Wonder why you missed that shot.........

First we need to know what is causing the problem and only then can it be fixed....................
 
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Mikjary

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The dominant eye holds the key to everything and everything centers around the dominant eye. Once you know why this happens it can be fixed. Otherwise you can just sit by the hole and wonder. Wonder why you missed that shot.........

First we need to know what is causing the problem and only then can it be fixed....................

This was true for me and I'll bet it's the same for most players. Continued practice may improve their alignment and lessen the mistakes, but knowing what you didn't know is always a good bet. :smile:

The idea of a vision center is a vague exercise in frustration. Leave it alone and your eyes will figure it out will work for a few. Swing the bat till you get blisters is another one. You think you're on the right track and never or painstakingly arrive at the next level. Why not isolate the method and not leave it to chance you're seeing things correctly?

I used to stand behind the shot and it would look fine. I'd pull the trigger and miss by a bunch. Until I realized my eyes were switching dominance as I got down on the shot, my consistency suffered. A quick fix after understanding my problem returned my game and I was on the improve shortly there after.

Best,
Mike
 

Dunnn51

Clear the table!
Silver Member
Aiming threads should be in the "aiming" forum....

Well, I said I won't reply,.... BUT, that was the OTHER aiming thread in the main forum.
Since you 2 guys insist on carrying a discussion in the MAIN forum instead of the AIMING forum, I feel the need to reply.

THIS GUY knows a little about "aiming," but he never mentions a dominant eye,.........
EVER. <------ that's a period there ! :grin-square:

He DOES mention shooting from different ANGLES, and when he does he mentions hitting a DIFFERENT SPOT on the CUEBALL and keeping the SAME SPOT on the OBJECT BALL. He ONLY mentions CENTERBALL on DEAD STRAIGHT-IN SHOTS !
ONLY. <------ there's a period there too ! :rolleyes:

If you need to be made aware of your body position over a shot; you need to perfect your PSR,........ not DOMINANT EYE (Controllable or not) :p

Listen to what he says at 1:03 -!:04 ..... ends at 2:50.

https://youtu.be/ItPxJuAoimE?t=17
 

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
At 2:19, while the cue ball control is quite nice, Bob Jewett's cue tip moves to his left on the straight in shot. It is as if he is swiping the cue ball with left English on the final stroke, accidentally hitting the left side of the cue ball, yet the cue ball doesn't appear to have much spin or squirt. Bob is a talented player but on that shot he sure doesn't have what I would call, a straight stroke.

Also, I think if you go to any of the pool tournaments, you should set a table up for players to find their Vision Center. Each player who wants to find their "PERFECT" Vision Center could make a donation of $5 or $10 to the BEF (Billiard Education Foundation).

JoeyA

Which eye is dominant (or not) is not what is important here. What is important is where the cue is aligned relative to one's personal vision center position. If one has their head too far to the right, with the vision center to the right of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the right of center. And if the head is too far to the left, with the vision center to the left of the cue, the tip will typically be aligned to the left of center. For good illustrations showing why this is true, see the diagrams in:

"Aim, Align, Sight - Part II: Visual Alignment" (BD, July, 2011)

And for a video demonstration showing what affect alignment errors have on shot direction, see:

NV C.1 - "Vision center" alignment drill, from VEPP I

Enjoy,
Dave
 

jburkm002

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There are several pros that appear to place their cue directly under one eye. I have seen right hand shooters place the cue under their left eye. Looks awkward, so I assume they are doing it for a reason.
What percentage of shots can someone make if they are not using their dominant eye properly? Hate for someone to change just because they miss a shot or two. Either you can make balls or you can't if your doing something wrong.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I forget the guys name but he is quite old, looks a lot like Santa and I'm guessing was and still is a very good player. He mentions about prescribing the straight in shot and stopping the cue ball dead in a YouTube video. He mentions about finding where centre cue ball is. He says to him, centre cue ball looks like he is aiming 1/2 tip to the right of I remember correctly. This screams of someone who has never found their ideal sighting position but has still managed to overcome it. So, when he lines up and it looks like he is at centre cue ball he will actually be 1/2 tip to the left. I see it a lot.

I got a friend to get down to centre cue ball and took a picture from a bird's eye view. He was about 3/4 of a tip out and couldnt believe it. Once we rectified the issue his game went through the roof. Don't underestimate what you think you're aiming at and what you're actually aiming at.
 

Zphix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I forget the guys name but he is quite old, looks a lot like Santa and I'm guessing was and still is a very good player. He mentions about prescribing the straight in shot and stopping the cue ball dead in a YouTube video. He mentions about finding where centre cue ball is. He says to him, centre cue ball looks like he is aiming 1/2 tip to the right of I remember correctly. This screams of someone who has never found their ideal sighting position but has still managed to overcome it. So, when he lines up and it looks like he is at centre cue ball he will actually be 1/2 tip to the left. I see it a lot.

I got a friend to get down to centre cue ball and took a picture from a bird's eye view. He was about 3/4 of a tip out and couldnt believe it. Once we rectified the issue his game went through the roof. Don't underestimate what you think you're aiming at and what you're actually aiming at.

For clarification, you mean the tip of his cue was 3/4 out correct, and not the pupil of his dominant eye?
 

Pidge

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
For clarification, you mean the tip of his cue was 3/4 out correct, and not the pupil of his dominant eye?
No his cue tip was out... And his vision centre for that matter. If he had his vision centre on line his top would have been aimed correctly... Which he now does.
 

Zphix

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
No his cue tip was out... And his vision centre for that matter. If he had his vision centre on line his top would have been aimed correctly... Which he now does.

Gotcha. So he was lining up perfectly to an incorrect spot it sounds like? How did you get him to shoot with his vision center along the center of the CB?
 
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