cutting to one side looks wrong
- Thread starter z0nt0n3r
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Zerksies
Well-known member
Probably your alignment
A wild ass guess: could you be facing the cue more one way than the other (closed vs. open stance)?
pj
chgo
pj
chgo
body or cue alignment?
very unlikely
Yes, that sounds like a strong dominant eye. You didn't say whether you were actually missing those shots to the left, or if it just looks like you will. If you're missing those shots, then you will have to make an adjustment, either in your aim or head placement or approach --- or a little of everything. Don't rule out your stance and alignment, either, as others suggested. A strong dominant eye can have a powerful effect on a player, and it can even cause you to approach the shot differently and face the shot line differently on certain angle shots. Lots of players have this and they either adapt naturally over time or make conscious changes to their approach to those shots.
You just have to experiment a little because you don't want to change your sighting on the shots that you can see well.
You just have to experiment a little because you don't want to change your sighting on the shots that you can see well.
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Zerksies
Well-known member
Body more like head
yes i'm missing them to my left most of the times,especially long slight cut shots with not much of an angle.i think the shot picture straightens out when i have my eyes level with the table instead of my right eye higher than my left.
Have you had your vision checked by an ophthalmologist?
no i haven't gone in recent years
OK, so let's review. You don't know why you're seeing shots angled to the left wrong, but when you don't tilt your head, the view seems okay. So what's the problem?
boogieman
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping.
I am not an instructor.
I feel that the eyes should be level on almost all shots, barring weird bridging situations or personal anatomy that doesn't allow it. Now "level" is not the same thing as not angled/turned. You may get some benefit from a very very slight head turn with your head/eyes still level.
Think like the turret of a tank. A horizontal turn without pitching your head off level. The turn is usually very little in the direction of the cut. A cut to the left is a slight turn to the left. A cut to the right is a slight turn to the right. Slight being the key word, much less than you think. On your "good side" you are probably doing it automatically already, the trouble side might benefit from a slight turn. Eventually you don't think about this stuff as the sight picture only really looks correct when you're doing it, but it will probably take some practice to groove it into your game.
Not sure if it applies here but it's a consideration.
got back from practice and i have changed my mind. the shot picture is correct with my current head position (one eye a bit higher than the other), but the cue seems angled sometimes due to optical illusions from the cue, balls, and the pocket.when i do visual alignment tests with the cue only without the balls and the pocket,the cue looks straight with my current head position but as soon as i bring back the balls and the pocket, the optical illusions come right back.
sorry if i waste your time sometimes people but it's really hard to diagnose technical problems on your own especially when you have OCD, which makes you very indecisive on what is correct or not and also makes you over-analyze because OCD keeps telling me that there is something wrong with the fundamentals.it's a serious anxiety disorder and way worse than just some 'hand-washing and keeping things in order' like many people think.
OK, I understand where you're coming from now. I think a better solution for you would be to be a little more result-oriented and pay less attention to the process. Try to simplify things so you don't get caught up in the details. If the ball goes in the pocket, don't worry about how you aimed. It went in.
Pay attention to your misses and observe whether you missed left or right of the pocket, then remind yourself that on that angle you need to aim either a little fuller or thinner the next time. That's all. Don't worry about anything else. Keep your adjustments small and simple and just focus on the result.
the bottom line is that i keep improving, it's a very slow process but i'm getting there. the two things that helped the most were: focusing more on keeping my visual alignment online as i'm getting down and taking anti-depressants to help with the anxiety in matches. since doing these 2 things a couple of months ago, i have had a handful of first/runner-up or third places in handicap or B' division tournaments. i feel getting to A level isn't far away at this point.
what you are saying is so simple yet makes perfect sense. i can't even count how many times i have changed my body alignment the last few years, literally from head to toe because i have tinkered with every part of my body and have experimented with changing every body part in a slightly different position. all this did was hold my game back. everytime i changed my body alignment my game was getting worse which was causing me to go back to my original alignment.it is a vicious circle. after years of trial and error i have to tell myself to stick with a particular body position and just get on with the game
I love that. Thanks for posting it.