Is the dominant eye important in shooting?

W

wylted

Registered
This one issue is disturbing me a lot. I read Dr. Dave's book (The illustrated principles of pool and billiards). In his book listed as principle 2.8 third point down in the box it states that "your dominant eye, entire arm (especially below the elbow),and the cue stick should all be on the same vertical plane during the entire stroke and follow-through. On his website he doesn't mention eye dominance in his best practices section at all and in this section he doesn't make it seem very important at all http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/eyes.html .How do I get a definitive answer to whether eye dominance is important or not ? I'm cross eyed dominant so this issue is really bothering me. If eye dominance does matter should I learn to shoot pool with my other hand or should I wear an eye patch for several months to try to change which eye is dominant? I need to know and no one seems to agree, and even more frustrating is I really trust Dr Dave's material so when there is a disagreement on principles usually I'll just go with whatever he said but in this case he seems to think eye dominance is important while also thinking its unimportant.
 
It is nice to know your Dominant Eye, but you could be an OXY MORON Like me. I do it all Left Handed with the Exception of Shooting a Rifle or Shot Gun. I m Left Handed, Left Eye Dominant. Shoot Rifle or Shot Gun is the only thing I do RIGHTY. Qualified EXPERT in Military in Rifle Right Handed, Pistol Left Handed. We Adapt, Overcome, and Improvise. BTW I shoot Pool Lefty, and shoot with both eyes open.
 
i think the section on visual center answers your question
set up straight stop shots and see if there is a pattern to your spin or side you miss the pocket
that will give an idea of your head position requirements
if cross dominant you mean you are right handed and left eye dominant that is not uncommon(thats me for example) and should not impare your being able tp play pool well

probably an evaluation with video by a professional instructor might help
 
I have worked with players that shoot opposite of there eye dominance and while I feel there is a slight disadvantage it's not impossible to overcome.
 
Definite answer is here all that is needed is to open the eyes to look

DoubleD said:
A definitive answer is impossible.

I guarantee you that there people who play at every level who have matching and mismatching hand/eye dominance.

I don't know if you can change your natural eye dominance. I do know that you can train yourself to shoot with either hand.

So the closest thing to a 'definitive answer' as you are going to get is the same as these questions:

Does it matter to you? Are you going to let it bother you? Are you going to use it as an excuse? Are you upset because of your eye dominance?

If the answer to any of these question is 'yes' and if you aren't willing to learn to shoot with the other hand, you are screwed.

dld
Click to expand...

Hi there, I couldn't help not reply to this.

First, it doesn't matter which eye is dominant or which hand you shoot with, mismatched or not. Aiming better is the same no matter what.

You are stuck with whatever eye dominant you have until you lose approximately 80% of your vision in that dominant eye.

Eye dominance is not a reason to get upset but you need to know how and which way you are dominant and then talk to someone that can teach this then you can tweak your aim to a level that you never thought possible and in a real quick hurry.

The fact of thinking you might have to shoot with the other hand is really
messed up. That's not neccessary at all.

You just need to learn how to work with what you got.

If you look at the pros there is every type of eye dominance possible there. All these players have learned to work with what they have.

Some shoot fine not knowing anything but if they really knew what was going on with the eyes they too could tweak their aim to another level real fast.

The answers are here for sure. Players just need to want to learn bad enough.
 
Last edited:
genomachino said:
If you look at the pros there are every type of eye dominance possible there. All these players have learned to work with what they have.
Click to expand...

Wow I almost 90% agree with what Geno Said, but as I said Adapt, Overcome, and Improvise, and remember most of Pool once you learn a few fundamentals is BETWEEN YOUR EAR, and IS THE ABILITY TO FOCUS, MAKE A PLAN, AND CARRY OUT THAT PLAN POCKETING ONE BALL AT A TIME, AND MOVE THE CUE BALL TO THE NEXT DESIRABLE POSITION.

Pro in Pool or any other Sport are Pro because they have this all down, and the Pro in many Cases who has the BEST MUSEL MEMORY always finishes in the money.

IMHO
 
You might want to look at the Wikipedia article on ocular dominance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_dominance

I looked at the small print on a pack of cigs for a few minutes covering one eye at a time and concluded my eye dominance was weak. Then I tried the Miles test. Very enlightening. Definitely right eye dominant.

I like genomachino's comments. There's an instructor with a book specifically about this. Who's that again?

Edit:

Duh. That's you Gene. iPad didn't load the picture in your signature box before.
 
Last edited:
DoubleD said:
Geno,

I think you missed the whole point of my post.

If a person decides to believe that eye/hand dominance mismatch is important, then the fact is that it IS important and will screw that person up--it gives him something to blame for every miss that he knows he cannot control.

So, if the person is going to believe that eye dominance is important, his only choice is to change to shooting with his opposite hand.

I fully believe that eye dominance is not important and having a mismatch may actually be slightly beneficial.

dld
Click to expand...

Normally, I don't respond to differences of opinion because what is true for one may not be true for another.

However, your last sentence begs for the question of, "If eye dominance is not important, then why do so many great players obviously use one particular eye to aim with?"
 
JoeyA said:
Normally, I don't respond to differences of opinion because what is true for one may not be true for another.

However, your last sentence begs for the question of, "If eye dominance is not important, then why do so many great players obviously use one particular eye to aim with?"
Click to expand...

So Joey to make your statement simple to understand. Do you personally Aim with One Eye CLOSED, or Both Eyes Open ?
 
JoeyA said:
Normally, I don't respond to differences of opinion because what is true for one may not be true for another.

However, your last sentence begs for the question of, "If eye dominance is not important, then why do so many great players obviously use one particular eye to aim with?"
Click to expand...

And why is it that so many great players just place the cue between both eyes and don't use a dominant eye?
 
Here's the short answer:

You can't help which hand you shoot with or which eye is dominant. I guess you could in theory force yourself to shoot opposite handed but I don't think that's the path to playing at your full potential. Plenty of players are opposite eye dominant and shoot great. Earl Strickland comes to mind.

So what can you do, practically speaking?

1. Understand which eye is dominant
2. Understant that this affects how easily you can back cut or shoot into a 'blind' pocket (i.e. cutting to the left may just be easier for you than cutting to the right, so you take extra care when cutting right)
3. Move your head a little to the side so that your dominant eye gets a better view of the cut angle, and use that better view to fine tune where you're aiming. Note you don't need to keep your head to the side, that'd be an awkward way to shoot. Just move it to the side temporarily to see if you're truly aiming to cut as thick/thin as you want.
 
I don't use anything as an excuse. My philosophy won't allow for it. Its probably the reason I win so many games I really shouldn't. When I'm in a game I don't think about my eye dominance at all.Even when I miss a shot I don't blame my eyes I blame myself and think about immediate adjustments I can make. That being said when I'm at home trying to learn about pool from people more knowledgeable then me sometimes I do get stuck on one point. I know that I'll never get a definitive answer to this question, but I think I can do enough research (your answers being a part of my research) to come up with a conclusion to satisfy myself. When I do that then I'll move on to the next issue that bothers me and then attack that issue like a bulldog.
 
Dominant eye?

I was playing my best when an accident caused me to get an astigmatism in my dominant eye. 2 weeks after the acciden & before fore I was aware of the astigmatism I started missing relatively easy shots & started wondering why. I was putting the cue more to the center rather under my dominant eye. So... I made sure to put the cue under my dominant eye but the misses remained. Then I covered my non-doninant eye & all was well but when I covered my dominant eye everything was blurry. To your question, IMHO, 2 cents worht, it would be ideal to play dominant hand under dominant eye. When I subconsciently moved the cue more to the center the misses remained. If U can I would determine my dominant eye & try to play with the same side hand, but... as stated by others there r many a very good & even pro players that play with the cue centered. If U can not play with the cue under your dominant eye, I would sugggest using your dominant hand centered. Bottom line is, find what works best for U & then stick with it. Hope this helps. Good luck w/ it.
 
wylted said:
This one issue is disturbing me a lot. I read Dr. Dave's book (The illustrated principles of pool and billiards). In his book listed as principle 2.8 third point down in the box it states that "your dominant eye, entire arm (especially below the elbow),and the cue stick should all be on the same vertical plane during the entire stroke and follow-through. On his website he doesn't mention eye dominance in his best practices section at all and in this section he doesn't make it seem very important at all http://billiards.colostate.edu/threads/eyes.html .How do I get a definitive answer to whether eye dominance is important or not ? I'm cross eyed dominant so this issue is really bothering me. If eye dominance does matter should I learn to shoot pool with my other hand or should I wear an eye patch for several months to try to change which eye is dominant? I need to know and no one seems to agree, and even more frustrating is I really trust Dr Dave's material so when there is a disagreement on principles usually I'll just go with whatever he said but in this case he seems to think eye dominance is important while also thinking its unimportant.
Click to expand...

Referring only the the highlighted section, this statement does not apply to every shot that is possible in pool. This is also the problem in stating that the eyes need to be in a certain position for shot making.

In the real world of pool shooting, there are many time when the shot required to do will not allow you to get in a ideal shooting stance. A behind a back shot comes into mind, as does reaching out over the table with the stick to do a shot.

Also, what is seen by the eyes is not always what is seen by the mind eye. What this really means that visualization of the shot in your mind is whats important and not which eye is dominant or where your eyes are. To prove this, set up a shot and then close your eyes and do the shot.

Plus there is no way to tell without a doubt how any one aims. Why, cause you can not see what that person is seeing in their mind, even if you both are looking at the same shot. You can not know which eye they use just by watching.

As a real world example is this shot below. Cut the 11 into the upper corner and not use the bridge. This shot required holding the cue out over the table and stroking in that position. With or without a bridge, there is no way to use what is in the highlighted section above.

What matters is practicing these types of shots. What or how anyone else does anything is really of little use. What matters is knowing yourself, challenging yourself and being yourself. If you follow what others do or say , you will never be yourself but more of a copy of those you follow.
 
Last edited:
spatlese44 said:
You might want to look at the Wikipedia article on ocular dominance:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocular_dominance

I looked at the small print on a pack of cigs for a few minutes covering one eye at a time and concluded my eye dominance was weak. Then I tried the Miles test. Very enlightening. Definitely right eye dominant.

I like genomachino's comments. There's an instructor with a book specifically about this. Who's that again?
Click to expand...


Its called "Answers To A Pool Players Prayers" by Richard Kranicki :wink:
 
Eye dominance is much more critical in sports where triangulation is required like skeet. In a static aiming situation I don't believe it has that much import because of my experience.
I am definitely left eye dominant and shoot right handed, I didn't know it for years. shot better then than now.

I believe that unless you want to shoot at moving balls like Mosconi did in a promo, fuffedaboudit:grin:
 
thommy said:
Eye dominance is much more critical in sports where triangulation is required like skeet.
Click to expand...


Funny you mention Skeet, I use to be big time into Skeet with my Model 42 Winchester back in the 60's. One Half Ounce of Shot in a .410 Gauge is a real challenge. Best I ever did was a 21 out of a possible 25...Not bad for a Right Hander with Left Eye Dominance........LOL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top