Ways To Keep Your Dominant Eye, Dominant

Mikjary · Nov 18, 2012

I'm right handed, right eye dominant. When I play, my left eye occasionally sneaks in on the shot and causes a miss now and then. Usually because I'm tired or just plain lazy.

I have a few different ways to keep this from happening. I'd be interested to hear about other player's methods if any. I heard Buddy said to keep your dominant eye, dominant. But I never learned how he did it.

Best,
Mike

8pack · Nov 18, 2012

Mikjary said:
I'm right handed, right eye dominant. When I play, my left eye occasionally sneaks in on the shot and causes a miss now and then. Usually because I'm tired or just plain lazy.

I have a few different ways to keep this from happening. I'd be interested to hear about other player's methods if any. I heard Buddy said to keep your dominant eye, dominant. But I never learned how he did it.

Best,
Mike

...............................

Neil · Nov 18, 2012

Mikjary said:
I'm right handed, right eye dominant. When I play, my left eye occasionally sneaks in on the shot and causes a miss now and then. Usually because I'm tired or just plain lazy.

I have a few different ways to keep this from happening. I'd be interested to hear about other player's methods if any. I heard Buddy said to keep your dominant eye, dominant. But I never learned how he did it.

Best,
Mike

The tired part you know how to take care of. The lazy part, well, that's one of the things that separate you from playing even better than you do. We all do it, and kick ourselves afterwards. And, that's all it really is, just plain too lazy to stop when we know we should, and correct it. We shoot anyways, figuring the ball will go anyways. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

The pros take the game a little more serious than "we" do, and don't allow that laziness to creep in. When they do, they miss routine shots too.

PaulieB · Nov 18, 2012

Arse weights, beekeepers suit, and a pirates eye patch, of course!

oldplayer · Nov 19, 2012

just the other night while practicing my long straight in shots, i had a series of misses always to the right of the pocket...not by much, more like hangers. i figured out my right eye dominate was "wondering" away from position and had to mentally focus on keeeping it in line. when the matches began i stayed more aware of the problem. guess it takes more practice but it was the first time i noticed it. i would much rather play than practice but it is the only way we get better and repair our problems.

One Pocket John · Nov 19, 2012

Okay.....dont start laughing. Give this a try.

In the standing position behind the shot:
on the OB place an imaginary dot (about 1/8" in diam, white dots for dark colored OB's and black dots for light colored OB's) on the contact point of the OB and focus on the dot. Let your dominent eye line you up for the shot.

Works for me when I'm having issues. :smile:

John

oldplayer · Nov 19, 2012

great idea,, i'll try that tomorrow! :thumbup:

FranCrimi · Nov 19, 2012

Mikjary said:
I'm right handed, right eye dominant. When I play, my left eye occasionally sneaks in on the shot and causes a miss now and then. Usually because I'm tired or just plain lazy.

I have a few different ways to keep this from happening. I'd be interested to hear about other player's methods if any. I heard Buddy said to keep your dominant eye, dominant. But I never learned how he did it.

Best,
Mike

When something goes wrong in my game I always start with my approach and stance.

That first step you take into your stance sets the stage for success or failure.

If your approach and stance are inconsistent, you may at times be crowding the line of the shot with your body, and you will literally have to throw yourself off-balance to get your dominant eye over the cue, which is why your head wants to drift to the right.

Mikjary · Nov 19, 2012

One Pocket John said:
Okay.....dont start laughing. Give this a try.

In the standing position behind the shot:
on the OB place an imaginary dot (about 1/8" in diam, white dots for dark colored OB's and black dots for light colored OB's) on the contact point of the OB and focus on the dot. Let your dominent eye line you up for the shot.

Works for me when I'm having issues. :smile:

John

I could see :smile: how that may work. How about things like approaching the shot from either the left or right only, or turning your head as you aim/start your PSR? Some players blink their non D eye or even close it briefly to get the brain working right.

These are a few ways I've trained my mind, but I think there are lots more.

Best,
Mike

Tramp Steamer · Nov 19, 2012

PaulieB said:
Arse weights, beekeepers suit, and a pirates eye patch, of course!

Like this one here.
You'll have to get used to the depth perception thing, but at least you'll be the coolest guy in the pool room. :smile:

chefjeff · Nov 19, 2012

This is THE issue I'm struggling with right now. Some nights, my left eye gives up and lets the right eye (my naturally dominant eye) take over, so I miss.

I shoot MUCH better with my left eye being the dominant one, as I recently discovered. But I'm naturally right eye dominant and have shot that way for most of my life. I'm having an eye battle in my brain and it doesn't like it.

Fran is right, the approach of the stance really helps place the dominant eye over he shot property. I use Gene's "wall" technique and that seems to help the most to get and keep my left eye over the shot. But that fails occasionally, too.

Another technique for me is to close my right eye during the stance set up so my left eye is the only one that can do the job. This is hard for me, though, because of all my other eye problems and it gets fuzzy sometimes before the stance is made properly. So, sometimes, I cover my right eye with my right hand and relax as much as I can.

One other thing that is helping....When I use the "wall" technique to get my left eye in position, to got into my stance I bend my knees first, instead of bending at the waist first, so my body goes straight down and can't wobble to the other eye, if that makes sense.

Another thing is BEFORE going into the stance, be sure to see the shot with the proper eye while standing! Take the time while standing to make sure it is ok. If you wait until you're down on the shot, you can't change much then. Always do the eye thing while standing and then figure out a way to go straight down on the shot. That's the proper technique anyway, but when in stroke, sometimes I tend to unconcsciously rush past that part.

Jeff Livingston

Cornerman · Nov 19, 2012

Mikjary said:
I'm right handed, right eye dominant. When I play, my left eye occasionally sneaks in on the shot and causes a miss now and then. Usually because I'm tired or just plain lazy.

I have a few different ways to keep this from happening. I'd be interested to hear about other player's methods if any. I heard Buddy said to keep your dominant eye, dominant. But I never learned how he did it.

Best,
Mike

I'm going to throw this out there. If we check a bunch of photos of great players, what percentage of them do we think we'd find have the cue over their dominant eye, their non-dominant (submissive?) eye or centered?

I'm seeing a lot of non-dom photos, some way out beyond the dom photos, and only a few centered.

Freddie <~~~ dominantly submissive

JoeW · Nov 19, 2012

I determined where my head should be for my sight picture. Next, I determined where my chin should be relative to the cue stick. I always step into the shot placing my right foot and the cue stick on the shot line with my chin in the same place for every shot (yeah right). Well at least that is what I try to do.

I know there are others who teach different techniques but I find that when my chin is in the right place relative to the cue stick my eyes calculate relative to that position.

Works for me, your mileage may vary.

Mikjary · Nov 19, 2012

chefjeff said:
This is THE issue I'm struggling with right now. Some nights, my left eye gives up and lets the right eye (my naturally dominant eye) take over, so I miss.

I shoot MUCH better with my left eye being the dominant one, as I recently discovered. But I'm naturally right eye dominant and have shot that way for most of my life. I'm having an eye battle in my brain and it doesn't like it.

Fran is right, the approach of the stance really helps place the dominant eye over he shot property. I use Gene's "wall" technique and that seems to help the most to get and keep my left eye over the shot. But that fails occasionally, too.

Another technique for me is to close my right eye during the stance set up so my left eye is the only one that can do the job. This is hard for me, though, because of all my other eye problems and it gets fuzzy sometimes before the stance is made properly. So, sometimes, I cover my right eye with my right hand and relax as much as I can.

One other thing that is helping....When I use the "wall" technique to get my left eye in position, to got into my stance I bend my knees first, instead of bending at the waist first, so my body goes straight down and can't wobble to the other eye, if that makes sense.

Another thing is BEFORE going into the stance, be sure to see the shot with the proper eye while standing! Take the time while standing to make sure it is ok. If you wait until you're down on the shot, you can't change much then. Always do the eye thing while standing and then figure out a way to go straight down on the shot. That's the proper technique anyway, but when in stroke, sometimes I tend to unconcsciously rush past that part.

Jeff Livingston

Dominant eye problems were the reason I quit playing 20 years ago. I never knew I had them until I started to play again and the internet provided the clue.

I don't miss with my right eye in the picture. When it's not, I can't run 3 balls in a row. If I miss a shot I freeze and look at my alignment. I look down and 99% of the time the cue is under my left, passive eye. I reset the shot and get my right eye in the picture and fire it in the hole.

Thanks for the approach info.

Best,
Mike

Mikjary · Nov 19, 2012

Cornerman said:
I'm going to throw this out there. If we check a bunch of photos of great players, what percentage of them do we think we'd find have the cue over their dominant eye, their non-dominant (submissive?) eye or centered?

I'm seeing a lot of non-dom photos, some way out beyond the dom photos, and only a few centered.

Freddie <~~~ dominantly submissive

That's very interesting....

JoeW said:
I determined where my head should be for my sight picture. Next, I determined where my chin should be relative to the cue stick. I always step into the shot placing my right foot and the cue stick on the shot line with my chin in the same place for every shot (yeah right). Well at least that is what I try to do.

I know there are others who teach different techniques but I find that when my chin is in the right place relative to the cue stick my eyes calculate relative to that position.

Works for me, your mileage may vary.

I've determined my best head/eye position, but was looking for a more reliable way to get there than what I'm using. I, too, use the chin touch method on some shots, but I don't get down so low on all shots. A good PSR is one weapon I use. I find that the first eye that sees the shot wants to take over the aiming job which complicates matters.

As I become more aware of my right eye being placed in the dominant position, I have noticed the stick gravitating farther to the right as time goes on. I wonder if my brain is trying to eliminate the influence of the left eye by moving more into right eye influence?

Best,
Mike

ENGLISH! · Nov 19, 2012

Mikjary said:
I could see :smile: how that may work. How about things like approaching the shot from either the left or right only, or turning your head as you aim/start your PSR? Some players blink their non D eye or even close it briefly to get the brain working right.

These are a few ways I've trained my mind, but I think there are lots more.

Best,
Mike

Hi Mike,

I have an asigmatism in my dominant eye (it's a long story).

On certain very tight shots I have to close my non dominat eye to make sure that I am seeing it correctly. Many times I am not. I adjust with my eye closed. Open my eye for depth perception & shoot. It works well for me. I do not understand why it is mostly just for tight shots, but it seems to be. Maybe 'blocking' balls cause some form of opticle illusion or distraction. I don't know.

I hope this helps a bit. At least you know you are not alone with the problem.

Best Regards,

s'portplayer · Nov 19, 2012

I use eye drops made from Chuck Norris tears.....makes my eyes perform flawlessly and also makes them bullet-proof. :thumbup:

Maxx · Nov 19, 2012

s'portplayer said:
I use eye drops made from Chuck Norris tears.....makes my eyes perform flawlessly and also makes them bullet-proof. :thumbup:

The only way you could get Chuck Norris to cry is if the ghost of the Duke kicked his a$$.

cookie man · Nov 19, 2012

Its very important to make sure your dominate eye goes across the shot line during psr, sometimes we get lazy and don't do this, but it is very important.

AtLarge · Nov 19, 2012

cookie man said:
Its very important to make sure your dominate eye goes across the shot line during psr, sometimes we get lazy and don't do this, but it is very important.

Do you mean this for people who shoot with the cue between their eyes, or for people who shoot with the cue under their dominant eye, or for people who shoot with the cue outside their dominant eye, or for all?

Edit: And what is the rationale for doing it?

Ways To Keep Your Dominant Eye, Dominant

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