sighting question

deanoc

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
When I have a shot I try to imagine the object ball getting the right start
for an inch or so then I try to hit the cue ball to make the object ball go that way

I never understood anything else but when I do this I seem to make my shots

Is this anything like right?

I find that when I see this,then bend over and look and try to see the cue hit the object ball
that I play with confidence and seldom miss unless I try english

I experience a very funny phenomena, when I practice or rather try to practice,I have trouble doing this.
Only when I am gambling can I seem to get in the habit of blocking silly thoughts out of my mind

including where the cue ball is going,i have to know that before I bend over


I also tend to jump up when practicing or allowing thoughts of where the cue ball is going
 
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It seems to me it's right if it works for you. So is visualizing the shot which is what I think you're describing. I try doing that too, because I have an issue with aiming. It's because I'm left eye dominant but right handed. I have yet to really see two people who set up and shoot the same way; so I figure practice, doing drills, etc. is adjusted a little by each person to make a comfortable fit. When you practice there is no risk. When gambling there is, so you're doing something when it counts that perhaps you're not in practice. Maybe you focus more, or take your time. I'm thinking of getting a go-pro to record my practice. For now I use a mirror for some shots. You might get some insight if you could see yourself shoot in both situations.
 
It seems to me it's right if it works for you. So is visualizing the shot which is what I think you're describing. I try doing that too, (because I have an issue with aiming. It's because I'm left eye dominant but right handed.) I have yet to really see two people who set up and shoot the same way; so I figure practice, doing drills, etc. is adjusted a little by each person to make a comfortable fit. When you practice there is no risk. When gambling there is, so you're doing something when it counts that perhaps you're not in practice. Maybe you focus more, or take your time. I'm thinking of getting a go-pro to record my practice. For now I use a mirror for some shots. You might get some insight if you could see yourself shoot in both situations.



Three old timers were right handed and left eyed...
..Willie Mosconi, Joe Davis, George Chenier...didn’t stop them from being champions.
 
Good point pt109 - I did not know that. I practice shooting left handed instead of using a bridge on some shots. When doing so, I'm surprised how well I can see to aim with my good eye vs aiming on a right handed shot and having to adjust for the offset so to speak. I sometimes think I should transition to left handed all the time; but don't feel that coordinated!
 
Dean,

My method has been the area method first described in the Joe Davis book "Advanced Snooker".

I read it at 14 and have used this method all my life. It seams the simplest way of aiming with the largest target. It has served me very well.

I would send you the book but I loaned it to someone and they never returned it.

Bill S.
 


Three old timers were right handed and left eyed...
..Willie Mosconi, Joe Davis, George Chenier...didn’t stop them from being champions.
Gareth Potts, a not-so-old timer and currently one of the straightest shooters on the planet, is very cross dominant. Notice how he turns his shoulders almost parallel to the cue to get it under the right eye. Just takes a little pool yoga.

pj
chgo

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I gotta say Deanoc, as many posts you have you don't know this? I feel I'm being baited.

Once I get down on the shot, the speed, the english, etc., all done, when I drop, it's just pull the trigger. The time for thought is over, that's why I set up on the shot.
 
Good point pt109 - I did not know that. I practice shooting left handed instead of using a bridge on some shots. When doing so, I'm surprised how well I can see to aim with my good eye vs aiming on a right handed shot and having to adjust for the offset so to speak. I sometimes think I should transition to left handed all the time; but don't feel that coordinated!

I’m not sure how to say this but I think you should bring the cue to your eyes rather than
your eyes to the cue....a lot of problems don’t even exist this way.
The cue doesn’t have any eyes so I don’t look down it...it’s in my peripheral.

I’m slightly right-eyed and right handed but I didn’t know it for years...I just see the shot
the best way I know how.

PJ....help me out here
 
Funny I started a thread to find out if am doing it correctly

or if this is pretty much what you are supposed to do

While there are many interesting comments,they all seem to talk about something else

no offense,i was looking for help or interaction on the same subject
 
Funny I started a thread to find out if am doing it correctly

or if this is pretty much what you are supposed to do

While there are many interesting comments,they all seem to talk about something else

no offense,i was looking for help or interaction on the same subject

Dean, did you think you were asking something that is easily defined?
....my method is to (1) see the shot,,,,(2) make it happen

I know you’re a golfer....

BE74E83D-9BF7-41DF-AC9F-58036F0A9163.jpeg

Basically, more success is achieved by fiddling around till you think you’re going to make
the shot...then pull the trigger.
 
Get that book

Billy is the best center ball player I have ever seen. You say you play mostly
center ball, then that may be very helpful. Billy is also a tremendous snooker
player, ranked at one time in the top 5 or so U.S. snooker players, I think this
was the reason he could play on all tables so well. Bar tables,big tables, new
cloth, old cloth, no cloth, didn't matter. What you are describing sounds like
a putt, where you pick a spot a little in front of your ball and try to roll it over
that. In golf you are above the ball and there are many things slightly in front
of the ball to aim at to start the ball on the line you want. In pool you are down
and there is nothing to aim at , unless you are visualizing the line to the pocket
and starting it along that line, which seems like that should work.
jack
 
Look for sightright coach
Dont go insert or cue just find sightright coach in Usa
This is definitely the purest way to learn sighting and subsequent alignment

I teach and did the course a year ago. Players are very happy
In snooker it really has been a revelation over the past few seasons

http://www.sightrightuk.com/snookercoaching.php
 
pt 109

nice bobby jones quote about rhythm and timing

golf is certainly a tough game and in my opinion one that
is made over complicated with all the concern over
details,like painting by numbers

I have never been to a coach in pool,so i don't really know if it would help or not

from time to time someone sends me an article on some aspect
and so far i get confused

i have really discovered lately that concentrating on what i described above is really helping me


also i have made an adjustment in my right hand to holding the butt in my last 3 fingers
and stroking more authoratively on delicate shots has really helped my accuracy of ball pocketing
 
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Dean,

If you feel your method of aiming works for you, stick with it.

Aiming is not the only factor. Alignment is equally inportant.

One exercise I have found helpful is to practice shooting balls in with one hand. No rail.

This exercise forces your hand and wrist to be in the proper natural position.

Once you are comfortable, build you stance around that position and you will be perfectly alined.

Aiming only works if you are properly aligned and deliver a straight stroke.

Works for me.

Bill S.
 
question for billy

i found that i actually shoot some shots better with one hand,like short rail banks and long straight in shots when i am close to the object ball

when shooting one handed i find myself standing with my head a foot or more higher than when i get down 2 handed
any comments

thanks for the advice Billy
 
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pt 109

nice bobby jones quote about rhythm and timing

golf is certainly a tough game and in my opinion one that
is made over complicated with all the concern over
details,like painting by numbers

I have never been to a coach in pool,so i don't really know if it would help or not

from time to time someone sends me an article on some aspect
and so far i get confused

i have really discovered lately that concentrating on what i described above is really helping me

—————————————————————
also i have made an adjustment in my right hand to holding the butt in my last 3 fingers
and stroking more authoratively on delicate shots has really helped my accuracy of ball pocketing
I started working at a pro shop when I was 12....didn’t walk into a pool hall till I was 17.
....first time I picked up a cue, like you, I held it with my last three fingers...it’s the golf
influence...I think we should both stay with that.
I also naturally used a closed bridge...my left hand was influenced by golf also.

We’re in good company...some great players held the cue this way also.
 
You need to walk in at an angle, this gives you better depth perception.
Then you get down on the ball with an up and down motion sort of like a chicken getting ready to sit on an egg.
Now as you look down your cue , your eyes are liars and are pointing you wrong , so you swing your hip over a quarter turn to which ever way you are cutting the ball.
If the ball is straight in , you turn the right hip in then turn the left hip in to realign. You can turn yourself around if necessary at this point.
Take a couple of short line up strokes , aiming at the bottom of the cue ball, then take several very long strokes , stopping at the back of the stroke each time and making sure your wrist is not turning.
After the last stop , bring the cue forward in one motion until after contact with the cue ball and count to 3 or 5.
You should already play 2 balls better just by reading this.
I am a Certified, Bonafide, Dignified, ball striking instructor, please send 500 dollars to my Go Fund Me account,
 
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I started playing pool on a tiny table in the living room
when I was about 8 years old,I didn' take up golf until i
was about 11 or 12

Funny when around pool rooms and golfing gambling
all sorts of bets are made, I stated playing both game one handed

I developed into a very good wedge player with one hand

from about 6feet away I could flop the ball onto a pool table with a nice
easy swing,with two hands i could never make that shot

On fast down hill putts I could always get close or make 30 foot putts,but with 2
hands,I had trouble not hitting it too hard

Finally I realized my regular two handed stroke was way too wristy
I had to work hard to take the wrist out of my stroke

I realized the same thing with my pool stroke recently,I was flipping my right wrist

so I decided to wrap my last 3 fingers around the butt,not tight but
not super light and I improved immediately

I haven't played one handed pool in years,I never was any good playing jacked up,
but I certainly could see short banks better


Funny how people are afraid of proposition bets these days,it seems to me
that people are fearful of just about anything these days

Seldom do you see the action we used to see,one of the signs I have looked
for over the years is a person who will bet more on the side than on himself


this marks out to me a guy who is afraid,I always try to get him to bet higher


but I digress

I am hoping Billy Stroud will offer some more advice,this is really
a guy who knows pool,too bad times changed and guys get old
 
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