Cue Ball vs Object Ball

Eyes on CB when doing warmups...eyes on OB when you shoot, because your cue goes where your eyes go. Exceptions: the break, a kick, a jump, a masse'...look at CB last for these shots.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

JIGS said:
Actually I have always looked at the contact point of the object ball. It was only recently that others have started telling me to look at the cueball.. but it doesnt feel natual. I have done it on some tough drawback shots but 99% of the time its the object ball.
I wanted some feedback on what others thought.

By the way.. I already am deadly. ;) lol
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Everyone is right "if that's even right to say' but i think bdorman put it best as to why you "NEED" to look at OB last. You must keep you eyes on the shot to see if you contacted the OB where you intended or spend the rest of you life never know why you missed and never correcting it.

Most people struggle with this dilemma, and suffer years because of it. If you contacted the OB exactly where you were looking but missed then you know that you got down on the shot wrong and if you did not contact that point/spot and missed then... and naturally if the other occurs (you make the ball but didn't hit where you were looking) then you should also know what the problem is and what corrections to make or work on.

That's my take, this is all just advice... you can do whatever the F____ you wanna do!
(no disrespect intended, it's just a phrase from someone that I know and I like it)
 
Thanks everyone for the advice and feedback.. I shall continue to look at the OB and not change m game.
 
For most shots, the last thing I look at is the object ball, but I drift between the cue ball and the object ball during my stroke to give my brain the whole picture. I think a lot of players don't put enough focus on where they are striking the cue ball, so forcing yourself to look at the cue ball last may result in some short term improvement, but you will eventually want to drift between them to play your best. Once you can do that, I'm not sure it's really that important which one you drift to last, but it makes sense to me to look at the object ball to see the result so you can adjust.
 
There are shots where tip location on the CB is more important than the direction you hit the CB. One-rail kicks, for instance. Being off a tiny fraction in alignment won't make you miss your target as badly as hitting the CB with unintended english. Similarly when you're tree-topped over another ball; striking off-center will masse the ball and therefore is much worse than an alignment error. Or perhaps I'm playing a safety where I'm close to my OB which is behind another ball; the important thing isn't sending my OB in any exact direction; the important thing is hitting perfect center ball so I stop my CB locked against the blocking ball.

In these specific situations where tip accuracy matters more than shot accuracy, I will look at the CB while delivering my final stroke.

But on about 98% of all shots, a highly accurate alignment and accurate contact with the OB is much more important than a super-precise tip placement. So on about 98% of shots, it makes much more sense to look at the OB than the CB.

-Andrew
 
The game of billiards is incomplete if you have not yet learnt how to apply reverse spin on the cue ball.
 
There are a few major eye patterns you can use, just depends on what you like:

1- Take warm up strokes, settle at CB. Before final stroke, look up at OB, keep eyes there while taking final stroke

2 - Take warm up stroked, pause at CB. Pull cue back, pause, while pausing shift eyes up to OB and shoot

3 - Similar to above, but shift eyes somewhere during backswing/forward swing, not necessarily at a defined pause

4 - Look at CB the whole time


I think most players use the first option. There are also players (like me) that do option 2 or 3 - I don't know why, but I've tried looking up before pulling the trigger and like that last look I get at the CB to make sure. Self taught, maybe that's why, had other analogies with other sports I guess. I think very few people, especially good players, use option 4 - you wouldn't get any feedback on your shot this way, unless you looked up really quick, just seems like a bad idea except on certain specialty shots like jumps, masses, etc.


So if you are looking at OB right now, you are in the majority, no reason to change.
Scott
 
JIGS said:
Maybe this has already been asked or discussed here, but i have a question on where to look while shooting..
I have always lined up my shot and then once ready, I focus on the object ball when shooting... however it was brought to my attention by a few very strong players that I should in fact be looking at the cue ball while shooting and then lift me eyes to the obect ball / poket after I hit the cue ball.

What are your thoughts? Should I retrain my brain to look at the cue ball? Will this improve my game?

Thanks
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Look at the OB. If You can eat without looking at your fork chances are you can't look at the OB and still hit the CB :eek: Btw... There are several great instructors on here and a ton of great stuff on Dr Dave's site.
Good luck to you
 
Based on my experience I'd say object ball. I lean down, line up and then carefully measure the angle while keeping my focus on the OB. I barely even look at the cue ball. I need to take more time with the CB before focusing entirely on the OB either when the CB is frozen on a rail or when I have to precisely calculate the spin. The only situation when I'm almost completely focused on the CB during the shot is when there's a ball in front of the CB or not enough room around the table, forcing me to greatly elevate the cue and to balance my bridge hand on a couple of fingers (or keep it in the air). The sole fact I have the least amount of success with those shots supports my claim that you should mostly be focused on the OB while shooting. Still, it's just me, and I'm not a good player, so you should consider what others are saying.
 
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