Cross-dominant and having difficulty getting my head and feet in the right place

BlueRaider

Registered
I'm left-handed, right-eye dominant. My vision center (tested) is on the inside of my right eye.

After a few years of playing, I trained myself to stand behind shots favoring my grip hand (left side) to more easily step into shots and pivot my back foot along the shot line. As a result, I had a tendency to miss shots, especially straight-ins or almost straight-ins, to the right, as I flat-out wasn't seeing them properly. Improving my fundamentals across the board reduced this issue, but it still pops up from time to time.

When I stand more to the left to get my vision center on the shot line, I see the shot line more accurately, but my back foot will then be WAY past the shot line. From this stance, doing Jerry Briesath's "chin lock" and following Mark Wilson's advice of having the shot line run in front of or along my toes on my back foot is almost impossible.

It seems like I can either choose to get my eyes properly aligned with the shot or my body/grip hand, but never both. To get my back foot on the shot line from my vision-centered stance, I have to bring it really far in and to the right, which takes my head off the shot line, then I have to twist my body while stepping forward. At that point I've completely lost that laser-lock on the object ball with my eyes because my head moved to the right while getting my body into position.

Another interesting conundrum is that seeing the shot accurately while standing (and therefore when down on the table) means I don't perceive center ball correctly, presumably because my grip hand is off-kilter, but getting my stance right means finding center ball is obvious, but then I won't see the shot correctly.

Not sure where to go from here. Would I be better off adopting an already sideways stance at address (i.e., back foot on the shot line, head on the shot line, but body turned almost parallel with the shot line) before getting into my stance? Right now I stand completely square to the shot to size it up.

Any ideas or advice is welcome. Thanks!
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm left-handed, right-eye dominant. My vision center (tested) is on the inside of my right eye.

After a few years of playing, I trained myself to stand behind shots favoring my grip hand (left side) to more easily step into shots and pivot my back foot along the shot line. As a result, I had a tendency to miss shots, especially straight-ins or almost straight-ins, to the right, as I flat-out wasn't seeing them properly. Improving my fundamentals across the board reduced this issue, but it still pops up from time to time.

When I stand more to the left to get my vision center on the shot line, I see the shot line more accurately, but my back foot will then be WAY past the shot line. From this stance, doing Jerry Briesath's "chin lock" and following Mark Wilson's advice of having the shot line run in front of or along my toes on my back foot is almost impossible.

It seems like I can either choose to get my eyes properly aligned with the shot or my body/grip hand, but never both. To get my back foot on the shot line from my vision-centered stance, I have to bring it really far in and to the right, which takes my head off the shot line, then I have to twist my body while stepping forward. At that point I've completely lost that laser-lock on the object ball with my eyes because my head moved to the right while getting my body into position.

Another interesting conundrum is that seeing the shot accurately while standing (and therefore when down on the table) means I don't perceive center ball correctly, presumably because my grip hand is off-kilter, but getting my stance right means finding center ball is obvious, but then I won't see the shot correctly.

Not sure where to go from here. Would I be better off adopting an already sideways stance at address (i.e., back foot on the shot line, head on the shot line, but body turned almost parallel with the shot line) before getting into my stance? Right now I stand completely square to the shot to size it up.

Any ideas or advice is welcome. Thanks!

With a cross dominant eye you will have to stand more sideways to your cue (facing your cue more) so you can get your eye over the cue while not impeding your arm swing with your torso. Just make sure your weight isn't distributed forward in your stance or you could wind up putting a strain on your shoulder and you could develop chronic shoulder pain. I've seen it happen. Keep tweaking your stance until your weight distribution favors slightly towards the back leg and you should be fine. You made some good observations and did your homework. You're almost there.
 

BlueRaider

Registered
With a cross dominant eye you will have to stand more sideways to your cue (facing your cue more) so you can get your eye over the cue while not impeding your arm swing with your torso. Just make sure your weight isn't distributed forward in your stance or you could wind up putting a strain on your shoulder and you could develop chronic shoulder pain. I've seen it happen. Keep tweaking your stance until your weight distribution favors slightly towards the back leg and you should be fine. You made some good observations and did your homework. You're almost there.

Thanks, Fran. I've read quite a few of your answers to cross-dominant questions in this forum, and you seem to have a good grasp of the issues players like me face.

So in other words, standing square to the shot at address (i.e., body perpendicular to the shot line) is a no-go for me? Right now that's most comfortable, but I realize comfort doesn't mean much, especially when it's ultimately the product of a detrimental habit.

I also "walk into" shots. Would I be better off standing closer to the table with my body already turned/back foot on the shot line, and then stepping forward with my lead (right) foot to complete my stance? It seems like walking into the shot definitely favors the squared approach, and becoming parallel with the shot line from that initial head/body position requires a lot of twisting and contorting.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
Thanks, Fran. I've read quite a few of your answers to cross-dominant questions in this forum, and you seem to have a good grasp of the issues players like me face.

So in other words, standing square to the shot at address (i.e., body perpendicular to the shot line) is a no-go for me? Right now that's most comfortable, but I realize comfort doesn't mean much, especially when it's ultimately the product of a detrimental habit.

I also "walk into" shots. Would I be better off standing closer to the table with my body already turned/back foot on the shot line, and then stepping forward with my lead (right) foot to complete my stance? It seems like walking into the shot definitely favors the squared approach, and becoming parallel with the shot line from that initial head/body position requires a lot of twisting and contorting.
Have you tried "reverse engineering" your stance? Find the finished stance you like, then back out of it step by step: first lift your torso, then step back with your front foot, then (optionally) your back foot, making note of where they are, until you're standing upright, and take careful note of where/how you're standing in relation to the CB and shot line. That might be the position you want to find first in your preshot routine.

pj
chgo
 

BlueRaider

Registered
Have you tried "reverse engineering" your stance? Find the finished stance you like, then back out of it step by step: first lift your torso, then step back with your front foot, then (optionally) your back foot, making note of where they are, until you're standing upright, and take careful note of where/how you're standing in relation to the CB and shot line. That might be the position you want to find first in your preshot routine.

pj
chgo

That's a great idea. I think my biggest issue isn't necessarily finding the right stance, because I can "feel" when my eyes, feet, hand, etc., are all lined up (it truly feels like I can't miss), but rather it's more about finding a way to get into that stance that isn't awkward and involves doing a jig on the way down to the table. The standing sideways at address thing is probably the key. I've noticed a few pros tend to do that on difficult shots, especially the ones with very closed stances. They step forward a great distance with their lead foot, but there's not a ton of body/head movement because their bodies are already aligned.
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks, Fran. I've read quite a few of your answers to cross-dominant questions in this forum, and you seem to have a good grasp of the issues players like me face.

So in other words, standing square to the shot at address (i.e., body perpendicular to the shot line) is a no-go for me? Right now that's most comfortable, but I realize comfort doesn't mean much, especially when it's ultimately the product of a detrimental habit.

I also "walk into" shots. Would I be better off standing closer to the table with my body already turned/back foot on the shot line, and then stepping forward with my lead (right) foot to complete my stance? It seems like walking into the shot definitely favors the squared approach, and becoming parallel with the shot line from that initial head/body position requires a lot of twisting and contorting.

I like the idea of walking into shots. I think players get a better perspective of the line of the shot by standing back from the table. The key is really in planting your back foot correctly. Think of it as your anchor.

On a few occasions I had to teach actors to be able to shoot pool like experts, and they couldn't play at all, and my time with them was limited. Not only did they have to shoot like experts, they had to deliver lines at the same time. I had to figure out a way to help them get into their stance quickly without thinking too much about it so they could talk at the same time. That's when I discovered the benefit of planting the back foot. Once you place that foot on the right spot, it would be hard for you NOT to be in alignment.

One actor, Oliver Platt, gave me a real challenge. He was prepping for the film 'Diggstown' and he had a scene where he was pretending to shoot pool drunk in order to hustle someone. Once I got Oliver to plant his back foot on the right spot, he could do all the swaying around to act drunk that he wanted. He was good to go.
 

BlueRaider

Registered
I like the idea of walking into shots. I think players get a better perspective of the line of the shot by standing back from the table. The key is really in planting your back foot correctly. Think of it as your anchor.

On a few occasions I had to teach actors to be able to shoot pool like experts, and they couldn't play at all, and my time with them was limited. Not only did they have to shoot like experts, they had to deliver lines at the same time. I had to figure out a way to help them get into their stance quickly without thinking too much about it so they could talk at the same time. That's when I discovered the benefit of planting the back foot. Once you place that foot on the right spot, it would be hard for you NOT to be in alignment.

One actor, Oliver Platt, gave me a real challenge. He was prepping for the film 'Diggstown' and he had a scene where he was pretending to shoot pool drunk in order to hustle someone. Once I got Oliver to plant his back foot on the right spot, he could do all the swaying around to act drunk that he wanted. He was good to go.

Thanks, Fran. Good advice.

Let's say my stance doesn't remain perfect consistently. In your opinion, is it better to err on the side of getting my vision center on the shot line or my back foot?

I feel like I can still aim properly even if my head isn't fully aligned throughout the entire "walk in,", but certain shots become iffy due to eye dominance (long thin cuts or long rail cuts in particular).

Likewise, I feel like I can deliver a pretty straight stroke almost all the time even if my footwork isn't perfect, but sometimes I'll miss a long straight-in randomly, and I think it's because of a slight, slight sideways contact on the cue ball (imparting a tiny amount of spin and deflection).
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks, Fran. Good advice.

Let's say my stance doesn't remain perfect consistently. In your opinion, is it better to err on the side of getting my vision center on the shot line or my back foot?

I feel like I can still aim properly even if my head isn't fully aligned throughout the entire "walk in,", but certain shots become iffy due to eye dominance (long thin cuts or long rail cuts in particular).

Likewise, I feel like I can deliver a pretty straight stroke almost all the time even if my footwork isn't perfect, but sometimes I'll miss a long straight-in randomly, and I think it's because of a slight, slight sideways contact on the cue ball (imparting a tiny amount of spin and deflection).

By 'vision center' I'm sure you mean 'line of sight' -- a term that has already existed for many years in sports before the made up term 'vision center,' which btw, sounds more like a store where you shop for eyeglasses.

To answer your question: You need to know your aim line or line of sight in order to know where to place your back foot. So of course, finding that line must always come first. Your back foot is your guide for placing your cue over the line of the shot, so planting your back foot correctly is equally as important.

As for missing certain types of shots, I call them 'tendencies.' We all have tendencies, some good and some not so good. It's important to know what your tendencies are. You have to pay attention to the shots you miss and look for patterns in your misses. For example, you may have developed a tendency to miss a shot at a certain angle. The reason can come from a whole list of possible reasons why. It would be nice to figure out the exact reason for the tendency, but while you're working on it, you still have to make the shot in match play, so thinking something like, I need to aim a little fuller or a little thinner on this angle is good enough to get you through it.

I have certain shots where I have to remind myself to be careful of my approach, as I tend to approach the shot wrong. Why? Who knows? Maybe I just created a bad habit at that angle. What's important is that I know my tendencies and that I'm able to make sure I include the correction in my approach whenever I come across that angle.

While it's nice to be accurate, try not to get too nitpicky with every single thing or you'll drive yourself crazy and you can get stuck in one place. Sometimes just telling yourself to hit the shot "a little fuller" or "a little thinner" is all you need.
 
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BlueRaider

Registered
By 'vision center' I'm sure you mean 'line of sight' -- a term that has already existed for many years in sports before the made up term 'vision center,' which btw, sounds more like a store where you shop for eyeglasses.

To answer your question: You need to know your aim line or line of sight in order to know where to place your back foot. So of course, finding that line must always come first. Your back foot is your guide for placing your cue over the line of the shot, so planting your back foot correctly is equally as important.

As for missing certain types of shots, I call them 'tendencies.' We all have tendencies, some good and some not so good. It's important to know what your tendencies are. You have to pay attention to the shots you miss and look for patterns in your misses. For example, you may have developed a tendency to miss a shot at a certain angle. The reason can come from a whole list of possible reasons why. It would be nice to figure out the exact reason for the tendency, but while you're working on it, you still have to make the shot in match play, so thinking something like, I need to aim a little fuller or a little thinner on this angle is good enough to get you through it.

I have certain shots where I have to remind myself to be careful of my approach, as I tend to approach the shot wrong. Why? Who knows? Maybe I just created a bad habit at that angle. What's important is that I know my tendencies and that I'm able to make sure I include the correction in my approach whenever I come across that angle.

While it's nice to be accurate, try not to get too nitpicky with every single thing or you'll drive yourself crazy and you can get stuck in one place. Sometimes just telling yourself to hit the shot "a little fuller" or "a little thinner" is all you need.

Thanks for all the advice, Fran.

Yes, that's what I meant about vision center. I had issues in the past with standing behind the shot in a manner that wasn't giving me a fully accurate picture of it. I suspect that I had accidentally stumbled upon a more solid approach/stance but wasn't making the proper adjustments to get my head on the shot line, because inconsistencies have plagued me throughout a lot of experimentation over the years.

However, I believe I have solved the issue, or at least significantly reduced it. Essentially, I was focusing too much on my body position and bringing my cue towards my body after setting up, rather than letting my eyes dictate my cue position and then building my stance around it. Sometimes that setup worked perfectly (which has to be the most maddening part of the game). But ultimately, I was delivering the cue a little crooked on many shots. Not enough to miss a ton, of course, but enough to make long (and sometimes not-so-long) straight-ins dicey propositions.

What I changed was, instead of trying to build my stance to accommodate my body/comfort, I'm now instead building it to accommodate my cue. Physically, it's just a small turn of my shoulders and a slightly longer step forward--nothing significantly different than what I did before. The difference is that I'm forcing myself to mentally "connect" what I'm seeing on the table (the shot line, with my chin locked onto it) with my cue, then building my stance around where my cue is.

I think this explanation from TH summarizes what I was doing wrong (of course, I watched this years ago and thought "nah, that doesn't apply to me!"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPn3Wzp4NT8

When done correctly, I feel really "locked in" on the shot, which tells me that before my elbow/grip hand/cue weren't always perfectly aligned with the shot or even with each other.

I'll keep tinkering, but this seems very promising.
 

FranCrimi

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks for all the advice, Fran.

Yes, that's what I meant about vision center. I had issues in the past with standing behind the shot in a manner that wasn't giving me a fully accurate picture of it. I suspect that I had accidentally stumbled upon a more solid approach/stance but wasn't making the proper adjustments to get my head on the shot line, because inconsistencies have plagued me throughout a lot of experimentation over the years.

However, I believe I have solved the issue, or at least significantly reduced it. Essentially, I was focusing too much on my body position and bringing my cue towards my body after setting up, rather than letting my eyes dictate my cue position and then building my stance around it. Sometimes that setup worked perfectly (which has to be the most maddening part of the game). But ultimately, I was delivering the cue a little crooked on many shots. Not enough to miss a ton, of course, but enough to make long (and sometimes not-so-long) straight-ins dicey propositions.

What I changed was, instead of trying to build my stance to accommodate my body/comfort, I'm now instead building it to accommodate my cue. Physically, it's just a small turn of my shoulders and a slightly longer step forward--nothing significantly different than what I did before. The difference is that I'm forcing myself to mentally "connect" what I'm seeing on the table (the shot line, with my chin locked onto it) with my cue, then building my stance around where my cue is.

I think this explanation from TH summarizes what I was doing wrong (of course, I watched this years ago and thought "nah, that doesn't apply to me!"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPn3Wzp4NT8

When done correctly, I feel really "locked in" on the shot, which tells me that before my elbow/grip hand/cue weren't always perfectly aligned with the shot or even with each other.

I'll keep tinkering, but this seems very promising.

Well you can't go wrong with any advice from Thorsten. He's one of the best ever in this game and one of the hardest workers, and he's not afraid to experiment.

You're on the right track in making your cue placement your priority and arranging your body position around that.
 

Patrick Johnson

Fish of the Day
Silver Member
You're on the right track in making your cue placement your priority and arranging your body position around that.
I’d add that there’s a body position that works best for each of us and we need to find it so we can arrange that best position around the cue. Finding it may involve some work with only the CB, or even with no ball, to find the stance most conducive to a naturally straight stroke along your sight line without the shot line’s influence.

pj
chgo
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think in a lot of cases accuracy may have less to do with eyes than stroke. You can line up exactly how you like seeing the shot and if your stroke goes its own way, you'll never make it.
couple things to try:

Shoot one handed

Shoot one handed at nothing. Follow though into the cloth just to see what your full stroke does.

Note you're not trying to develop a one handed delivery; just determine what your normal stroke is actually doing.
 

BlueRaider

Registered
I think in a lot of cases accuracy may have less to do with eyes than stroke. You can line up exactly how you like seeing the shot and if your stroke goes its own way, you'll never make it.
couple things to try:

Shoot one handed

Shoot one handed at nothing. Follow though into the cloth just to see what your full stroke does.

Note you're not trying to develop a one handed delivery; just determine what your normal stroke is actually doing.

I agree. As I've refined my fundamentals, I've noticed more and more often that certain shots felt more solid than others, almost like I couldn't miss. It felt like everything was just lined up perfectly. Now I realize that's the effect of getting my eyes and my body aligned just right.

I spent a lot of time working on getting my eyes aligned with the shot and then assuming that my grip hand/stroke would also be in line based on that. Not the case. For me, the slight sideways turn to connect my cue placement with the shot line is the key.

Seeing TH demonstrate what I did for years--standing square to the shot and then just dropping into my stance from that position--and saying it's wrong and won't get the cue on line was really eye-opening. And he's 100% correct. I think I developed that position after watching a lot of pros, who seemingly do just that, but they all turn at least slightly, and I suspect that turn is less about body position and more about body clearance to get their cues on the shot line.
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I agree. As I've refined my fundamentals, I've noticed more and more often that certain shots felt more solid than others, almost like I couldn't miss. It felt like everything was just lined up perfectly. Now I realize that's the effect of getting my eyes and my body aligned just right.

I spent a lot of time working on getting my eyes aligned with the shot and then assuming that my grip hand/stroke would also be in line based on that. Not the case. For me, the slight sideways turn to connect my cue placement with the shot line is the key.

Seeing TH demonstrate what I did for years--standing square to the shot and then just dropping into my stance from that position--and saying it's wrong and won't get the cue on line was really eye-opening. And he's 100% correct. I think I developed that position after watching a lot of pros, who seemingly do just that, but they all turn at least slightly, and I suspect that turn is less about body position and more about body clearance to get their cues on the shot line.

For a long time I leaned over the stick like John Morra. I didn't start this way but fell into it playing miniature pool of all things. At first I thought I was seeing better but after a couple years of "finally getting around to it" I realized my stroke had a hook at the end and leaning over the stick lined up the hook and the shot. It wasn't an eye thing at all. So, back to the drawing board to figure out the misalignments (there were many) in my shot routine.
Strangely I arrived at a "perfected" version of the text book form I had learned as a beginner; basically, same thing more linear stroke.

My solution to dropping in on the shot is to air shoot it; directly above the cue ball. This is hilarious. I can reshoot the shot 10 times if I like, nobody calls foul. lol
 

BlueRaider

Registered
So it seems that my "fix" wasn't quite a fix. Or at least, it didn't fix the root issue, which was cueing in a slightly diagonal line.

I used my DigiCue Blue for the first time in about a year a couple days ago and got horrible left tip steer scores on almost every shot. 1-3s out of 10 consistently. Tried a bunch of different grips and stances to see if they had any effect. No dice.

Finally stumbled upon the "cure." It involves making a much bigger step forward with my right (front) foot.

After a lot of experimentation, this seems to be my ideal shot approach.

1. Stand a fair distance away from the table, directly behind the shot as normal, with my head centered on the shot line and feet about shoulder width apart.

2. Bring my left foot in and plant it on the shot line (right next to my right foot), then make a big step forward and slightly out with my right foot to bring myself to the table/cue ball.

That's it. I noticed immediately that my stroking arm felt "freer" and every shot felt cleaner using that stance.

I think the big step forward properly rotates my shoulders. Previously I stood too square to the shot with no shoulder rotation and with my right foot not very far ahead of my left. Then, as described in this thread, I twisted my body a bit to meet my cue, but still wasn't rotating my shoulders enough.

Still a lot of work to do to make this stance second nature. But I suspect that will happen quickly as I begin to notice the benefits of it.
 

Imac007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Fixing the diagonal

So it seems that my "fix" wasn't quite a fix. Or at least, it didn't fix the root issue, which was cueing in a slightly diagonal line.

I used my DigiCue Blue for the first time in about a year a couple days ago and got horrible left tip steer scores on almost every shot. 1-3s out of 10 consistently. Tried a bunch of different grips and stances to see if they had any effect. No dice.

Finally stumbled upon the "cure." It involves making a much bigger step forward with my right (front) foot.

After a lot of experimentation, this seems to be my ideal shot approach.

1. Stand a fair distance away from the table, directly behind the shot as normal, with my head centered on the shot line and feet about shoulder width apart.

2. Bring my left foot in and plant it on the shot line (right next to my right foot), then make a big step forward and slightly out with my right foot to bring myself to the table/cue ball.

That's it. I noticed immediately that my stroking arm felt "freer" and every shot felt cleaner using that stance.

I think the big step forward properly rotates my shoulders. Previously I stood too square to the shot with no shoulder rotation and with my right foot not very far ahead of my left. Then, as described in this thread, I twisted my body a bit to meet my cue, but still wasn't rotating my shoulders enough.

Still a lot of work to do to make this stance second nature. But I suspect that will happen quickly as I begin to notice the benefits of it.

Having the same problem, with opposite handedness, led me to a similar process. The first visual I needed to solve was the diagonal sense of the cue. When you have a cue centred on your face the dominant eye is off the center of the cue line. With your right eye dominant eye you see more of the right side of the cue than the left. The cue also appears to angle from left to right.

My question was how do I see more of the non dominant side of the cue? In your case if you turn the cue so you are pointing more to the left, more of the left side of the cue comes into view. Sweeping the cue from left to right allows you to visually find the position where an equal amount of each side of the rounded shaft can be seen. At that point the eyes are aligned with the visual perspective position. That was true but hard to work with. Moving the cue to the head was awkward.

Instead I lined up like a carpenter looking down a board trying to see how straight it is. Walk to the shot line and extend the cue onto the line. Standing square looking down the line with your head and right eye opposite your left side and looking directly down the cue from above but still behind the extended cue is the starting point. Remain erect and move your left foot under the cue and on the cue line. I note that this is different from your description. You started square but somewhere along the way you seem to have gotten your right foot forward and left foot back, then brought the left foot ahead into a square position.

If instead you stay square behind the cue and bring the left foot forward first, the hips aren’t square, they are angled back to the right. Keep your head on line with the upper body feeling almost angled back from the cue line. By staying back it’s now possible to move the entire body straight forward and down the line. The forward stride is longer than the step forward with the left foot. The visual perspective moving forward and down is able to maintain a view where equal amounts of both sides of the cue barrel are visible the whole time.

If your right foot gets much ahead of your left the cue will become visually diagonal again. The first solution above, despite being awkward, had an insight about cue position relative to the body. The cue needs to point left relative to your head or a diagonal cue line perspective is the result. I also make a large stride forward but from a back position. My final bridge side foot position is about a half shoe length ahead of my cue side foot.
 
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Leigh

Registered
Glad this was posted!

I am so glad you posted this question as I have the same issue. My vision center is under my left eye (tested using Dr. Dave's method... once I found the correct vision center I no longer miss my straight in drills... huge difference). In order to have my left eye over the cue, my back leg (right) is over the shot line with my cue running slightly more under my body than most. I really tried to stand more sideways to my shot and open up my hips and shoulders, but the position caused major neck pain. But I wanted to give it my full effort before giving up. Finally, a guy at the pool hall told me to stop forcing it and go back to standing slightly over the line. The neck pain is gone and I am still making shots. He brought up Albin Ouschan on youtube. Cue under the left eye, foot slightly over the line, face square to the shot, and cue slightly under part of the body.
Thoughts?
 

Imac007

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am so glad you posted this question as I have the same issue. My vision center is under my left eye (tested using Dr. Dave's method... once I found the correct vision center I no longer miss my straight in drills... huge difference). In order to have my left eye over the cue, my back leg (right) is over the shot line with my cue running slightly more under my body than most. I really tried to stand more sideways to my shot and open up my hips and shoulders, but the position caused major neck pain. But I wanted to give it my full effort before giving up. Finally, a guy at the pool hall told me to stop forcing it and go back to standing slightly over the line. The neck pain is gone and I am still making shots. He brought up Albin Ouschan on youtube. Cue under the left eye, foot slightly over the line, face square to the shot, and cue slightly under part of the body.
Thoughts?

When you stand with arms hanging straight down, the arm is beside the body. If you hold a cue extended from the side it would make a right angle with the body. The foot on the cue side is pointed straight ahead but not under the cue. If you allow the other foot to move left the width of your foot and shift your weight towards that foot the cue side hip shifts away from the cue line. There is now room for the cue side foot to slide slightly towards the cue and under the cue line. The feet will be roughly shoulder width apart now. Shifting the bridge side foot about a half shoe length straight forward changes the hip angle slightly towards the tip end. Bending at both the knees and hips, the body can time how to hold the head visually looking down the cue line. During this coordinated lowering the head and the cueing shoulder descend directly down towards the cue, while maintaining a central vision perspective. The cue shoulder dropping straight down allows the hand to find itself holding the cue in a vertical cueing plane. Hold it with a sideways squeeze. The hand feels flattened not fisted. The arm can hinge from the elbow, or swing from the elbow and shoulder down that aligned plane. The cue plane created by the flattened hand must align with the elbow hinge plane.

I highlighted the part about the cue running under the body. Trying to position your head to be looking directly down the cue line while the cue runs under the body brings up a stooped stance picture. It also gives me a crick in the neck just thinking about trying to move my head over the right side of the angled cue plane in order to be able to look down and back. That is the only way to see enough of the right side of the cue. My head must now twist to the left in order to try to find a perspective that is looking down the cue line. I always feel like I’m looking left because I’m having to turn my neck left then twist it my eyes around to look down the left oriented cue. As a right handed, left eye dominant player, the cue angle must be such that the cue appears to extend directly forward. For that perspective to happen the perspective must see equal amounts of both sides of the cue. As you noted, when the cue runs under your body, the gyrations needed to arrive at a perspective that gets predictable results feels unnatural. Running the cue beside the body will also feel odd to start with. It’s not “wrong” though, it’s just different from what you have been doing.

This Dr. Dave link has three still photos. The center photo is the perspective showing equal amounts of each side of the rounded shaft.
https://billiards.colostate.edu/bd_articles/2011/july11.pdf
 
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