Dominant Eye Test

BeiberLvr said:

Most of the well known tests show that I am left eye dominant (I'm right handed), but I've had success shooting in the center and under my right eye, although not as consistent as I would like.

So I did something that has worked wonders for me, but I can't promise it will work for everyone. In any case, here's what I did, and maybe it will help others that had my same problem.

First, I drew a straight line on a table. Then I set up a camera (my phone) so the lens was filming directly down the line, and I did the following:

1. Got down into my stance with my right eye over the cue. Everything looked normal.
2. Got down with the cue in the center of my chin, and again, everything looked normal.
3. Finally I got into my stance with the cue under my left eye. Normal here as well.

After watching the video, I noticed something very interesting. Despite everything looking normal in all three scenarios, it was only when I had the cue under my left eye that I was actually stroking straight along the line.

The moral of the story is, our eyes can deceive us, but the camera never lies.

Good shooting,
Jon

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Thanks for the post Jon.
Yeah the eyes lie. The eye that is seeing the picture from a standing position is not the same eye that is seeing the same picture from a shooting position.
This has to do with distance and the fact that most folks eyes are separated by approx. 2-1/4".
You will figure out that from a standing position that your body alignment with the shot line will be done with your right eye. When you bend down into the shooting position the cue will end up closer to your left eye because now the balls appear closer.

Good post.

John

One Pocket John said:

Thanks for the post Jon.
Yeah the eyes lie. The eye that is seeing the picture from a standing position is not the same eye that is seeing the same picture from a shooting position.
This has to do with distance and the fact that most folks eyes are separated by approx. 2-1/4".
You will figure out that from a standing position that your body alignment with the shot line will be done with your right eye. When you bend down into the shooting position the cue will end up closer to your left eye.

Good post.

John

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Hi John,

I just learned that I'm the opposite & Gene Albrecht has a manual method to help with consistency.

Best 2 You & All,
Rick

BeiberLvr said:

That's exactly how it is for me now. It's really made me focus on the position of my feet as well. Obviously everyone is different, but I found that I had mine spread too far apart. So by bringing my left foot in from about 20" to 12", it's easier and more consistent when getting everything else on the line of aim.

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Yeah, this will change your stance, because now you have to arrange your body to accommodate the shot line that your right eye is seeing in the standing position.

Have fun. This new routine will take some time to get use to.

I'm right handed and right eye dominate. My body, in the standing position, is aligned on the shot line as I see it with my left eye. When I bend over to shoot the cue ends up on the right side of my nose bridge.

Took me a while to figure this out, but it has paid off with a very straight cuing action.

John

One Pocket John said:

Yeah, this will change your stance, because now you have to arrange your body to accommodate the shot line that your right eye is seeing in the standing position.

Have fun. This new routine will take some time to get use to.

I'm right handed and right eye dominate. My body, in the standing position, is aligned on the shot line as I see it with my left eye. When I bend over to shoot the cue ends up on the right side of my nose bridge.

Took me a while to figure this out, but it has paid off with a very straight cuing action.

John

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Hi John,

I'm glad you have it worked out & are cuing straight.

I've been cuing straight but just have not been always 'seeing' straight.

The problem for me is that to shoot a rifle or pistol from eye level I would use my right eye. But for shooting below eye level, like the table is, I would be using my left eye as in shooting from the hip.

The problems, for me, are two fold. I see the shot line in the standing tall position with my left eye. I've always been a very low head position guy, not chin on cue but low & with a very 'flat' cueing action.

So...when I go down to shot a shot my right eye wants to take over even though it is not the best eye for the job as the cue is never straight out from it as a rifle would be.

It's rather difficult to keep seeing the shot line with my left eye as the head lowers as there is definitely a height were my right eye wants & does get involved & I don't like & am not accustomed to shooting with a high head position.

I have gotten down a few times lately & have maintained the shot line as seen by my left eye & my right eye has taken over but I have kept the alignment as the left eye saw the shot line. Once down & my right eye has taken over the shot looks terrible with the cue seemingly no where near where it needs the be. But...I have shot those shots anyway & POP they have gone right into the back of the pocket.

This is all 'new' to me since my contact with Gene Albrecht & his Perfect Aim.

I like knowing the truth of matters but It's not that easy to always apply it correctly. Gene has a manual method & it works when I do it correctly but it's not my 'natural way' that I have been doing for than 45 years.

I really can not believe how well I have played for more than 45 years without this knowledge & the huge roadblock that my subconscious mind had to somehow overcome.

Again, I'm glad that you're cuing well. I just hope I can continually & consistently see well.

Best of Everything 2 You & Yours,
Rick

I know you've been experimenting with your stance, Jon, for a long time. Quite awhile ago, you acknowledged that you cue under your dominant eye but your issue was that you had crooked your arm under your torso because it was cross-dominant. I felt that you were on the right track in making stance adjustments to correct that issue.

Then something happened ---- for whatever reason, you decided you should start to cue under your recessive eye. I felt you went off-track at that point, but regardless, I admired your desire to experiment to find out the truth.

...And it was because of your experimentation that you found a way to assure yourself of the best way to cue your shots.

I think the real moral of the story is that you put in the work and you found the answers.

I can't begin to tell you how many experiments I performed on my game only to find myself right back where I started. But with each experiment I did, I learned a little more about the game and about myself.

Eye dominant test

I've found most people think that if they are right eye dominant then put the cue under the right eye (and vice versa for left eye).

Through years of teaching I've discovered there are all sorts of variations on how dominant someone's eyes are. Some players the cue is all the way under one eye, while others the cue only favors the dominant eye slightly.

Practice - 10 medium to long straight in shots. Track how many are perfect stop shots, how many the cue ball drifts left and how many right.

The Test:
Setup: Line up a cue laying from the one end of the table pointing toward a piece of chalk that you place on the opposite rail with the corner of the chalk pointing toward the cue.
Now if you lean over the table (over the cue) and slowly move your head side to side until it looks like the cue is pointing perfectly at the corner of the chalk. Stop and see where your head position is relative to the cue.

Practice - 10 medium to long straight in shots. Make sure your head position is corrected from the test. Track how many are perfect stop shots, how many the cue ball drifts left and how many right.

RWOJO said:

I've found most people think that if they are right eye dominant then put the cue under the right eye (and vice versa for left eye).

Through years of teaching I've discovered there are all sorts of variations on how dominant someone's eyes are. Some players the cue is all the way under one eye, while others the cue only favors the dominant eye slightly.

Practice - 10 medium to long straight in shots. Track how many are perfect stop shots, how many the cue ball drifts left and how many right.

The Test:
Setup: Line up a cue laying from the one end of the table pointing toward a piece of chalk that you place on the opposite rail with the corner of the chalk pointing toward the cue.
Now if you lean over the table (over the cue) and slowly move your head side to side until it looks like the cue is pointing perfectly at the corner of the chalk. Stop and see where your head position is relative to the cue.

Practice - 10 medium to long straight in shots. Make sure your head position is corrected from the test. Track how many are perfect stop shots, how many the cue ball drifts left and how many right.

Click to expand...

Better yet.

Snap a chalk line from the center of a corner pocket to the opposite end table corner pocket.
Place an OB on that line and the QB 3 or 4 diamonds from the OB on the same line.

From a standing position align your body with the shot line as you see it.

Bend over (as your eyes see the shot line) into your shooting position.
Are you (as your eyes see it) still on the shooting line?

My guess is, you may not. The QB is closer to your face from the standing position than it is from the shooting position.

If, when in the standing position looking down the shot line, you can close either eye and the shot line never changes, you are on the correct shot line. While bending over into the shooting position it is very important that you never, ever take your vision off of the OB while getting down into the shooting position.

The cue will fall under or close to under your dominant eye naturally. Of course, you still need to make sure that your bridge, a point on your grip hand, shoulder and elbow are all also on the shot line.

Perception is everything. If we all had one eye in the middle of our foreheads we wouldn't have to worry about it.

Hope this helps some.

Thanks for the post. An interesting topic.

John

One Pocket John said:

If, when in the standing position looking down the shot line, you can close either eye and the shot line never changes, you are on the correct shot line.


John

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HOW CAN THAT BE IF ONE EYE IS MORE DOMINANT OVER THE OTHER????

bbb said:

HOW CAN THAT BE IF ONE EYE IS MORE DOMINANT OVER THE OTHER????

Click to expand...

Larry, take the test, try it.

The only time each eye is getting the same picture is when the object is approx. 30 feet away as viewed (as you are aligned to it). As the object being viewed moves closer the eyes (as you see it and are aligned to it) each eye sees a different picture as you see it.

Do not align shots (in the standing position) with your dominant eye. Align the shot from the standing position as both eyes see it (closing and opening each eye you will notice that your body is on the shot line).

Do the test. Snap the chalk line. It doesn't lie.

:smile:

John

Its weird how the eyes work. I'm left eye dominant but sight from the standing position with both eyes, then as I get down the cue is central, maybe a touch closer to my right eye. If I have it under or closer to the left eye I get blurred vision and see two cue tips when locked on the object ball. Weird, eh

One Pocket John said:

Better yet.

Snap a chalk line from the center of a corner pocket to the opposite end table corner pocket.
Place an OB on that line and the QB 3 or 4 diamonds from the OB on the same line.

From a standing position align your body with the shot line as you see it.

Bend over (as your eyes see the shot line) into your shooting position.
Are you (as your eyes see it) still on the shooting line?

My guess is, you may not. The QB is closer to your face from the standing position than it is from the shooting position.

If, when in the standing position looking down the shot line, you can close either eye and the shot line never changes, you are on the correct shot line. While bending over into the shooting position it is very important that you never, ever take your vision off of the OB while getting down into the shooting position.

The cue will fall under or close to under your dominant eye naturally. Of course, you still need to make sure that your bridge, a point on your grip hand, shoulder and elbow are all also on the shot line.

Perception is everything. If we all had one eye in the middle of our foreheads we wouldn't have to worry about it.

Hope this helps some.

Thanks for the post. An interesting topic.

John

Click to expand...

John, you're method seems to find the dominant eye but what my test will show is exact head position (not just which eye is dominant but how dominant it is).