Eyes not level

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z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi everyone,after taking a photo of my self playing i've noticed that when i'm down on the shot one eye is higher than the other.i wasn't always like that,in the past my eyes were level but i think when i started to make an effort to keep my vision centre online as i was getting down on the shot (because at the last few seconds of getting the cue in position as my bridge hand was touching the table the cue was moving offline slightly from the correct part of my chin), i think i subconsciously changed my head position in order to keep my head online easier and more comfortably. is this head position wrong or is it just personal preference?
 
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z0nt0n3r said:
hi everyone,after taking a photo of my self playing i've noticed that when i'm down on the shot one eye is higher than the other.i wasn't always like that,in the past my eyes were level but i think when i started to make an effort to keep my vision centre online as i was getting down on the shot because at the last few seconds of getting the cue in position as my bridge hand was touching the table,the cue was moving offline slightly from the correct part of my chin,so i think i subconsciously changed my head position in order to keep my head online easier and more comfortably.is this head position wrong or is it just personal preference?
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it would seem to me that forcing your eyes level would be strange/uncomfortable. i've never even considered this. i visualize/aim while standing then drop down and shoot. no thought of eyes being level. you playing pool or snooker? i play pool and don't aim/stand like the snooker guys i watch on-line. that squared-up stance makes my back hurt.
 

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answers to a pool players prayers by richard kranicki
is a great book that discusses head position and eye position as it relates to pool
ideally if i remember correctly
you want you want your eyes level or parrallel to the table surface
however your brain if it sees the same picture will work out the details.
try looking at something with your eyes level and not level and you will see the difference in what is being sent to your brain
i am not an instructor
 
garczar said:
it would seem to me that forcing your eyes level would be strange/uncomfortable. i've never even considered this. i visualize/aim while standing then drop down and shoot. no thought of eyes being level. you playing pool or snooker? i play pool and don't aim/stand like the snooker guys i watch on-line. that squared-up stance makes my back hurt.
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yes it's uncomfortable for me and i struggle to keep that same head position as i'm getting down on the shot,it's easier for me to do that with one eye higher than the other and with the head also a bit turned in favor of my left eye.
 
bbb said:

​

answers to a pool players prayers by richard kranicki
is a great book that discusses head position and eye position as it relates to pool
ideally if i remember correctly
you want you want your eyes level or parrallel to the table surface
however your brain if it sees the same picture will work out the details.
try looking at something with your eyes level and not level and you will see the difference in what is being sent to your brain
i am not an instructor
Click to expand...
i guess your brain adjusts and automatically works out the shot picture.i've seen pro pool/snooker players who play with their eyes not level but they are in the minority.
 
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z0nt0n3r said:
hi everyone,after taking a photo of my self playing i've noticed that when i'm down on the shot one eye is higher than the other.i wasn't always like that,in the past my eyes were level but i think when i started to make an effort to keep my vision centre online as i was getting down on the shot because at the last few seconds of getting the cue in position as my bridge hand was touching the table,the cue was moving offline slightly from the correct part of my chin,so i think i subconsciously changed my head position in order to keep my head online easier and more comfortably.is this head position wrong or is it just personal preference?
Click to expand...
I read your question about 10 times and I still don't understand what you think was happening. Can you shoot some video of yourself from the front and show us your approach and stance?
 
If you are using more of a snooker stance. Assuming you are right handed, right leg is on the line of shot, if you move your left foot too much to the left it will pool you of the line, also if you move the left foot too far forward it will tilt your head making eyes uneven.
If you are left handed everything applies in reverse.
 
bbb said:

​

answers to a pool players prayers by richard kranicki
is a great book that discusses head position and eye position as it relates to pool
ideally if i remember correctly
you want you want your eyes level or parrallel to the table surface
however your brain if it sees the same picture will work out the details.
try looking at something with your eyes level and not level and you will see the difference in what is being sent to your brain
i am not an instructor
Click to expand...
I did read this thing a bunch of times and really didn't get through when comes to actual application. Still interesting book.
 
One cool thing about double vision is you can tell if your imaging is level and you can tilt your head accordingly. This matters only if level vision matters to you.
 
FranCrimi said:
I read your question about 10 times and I still don't understand what you think was happening. Can you shoot some video of yourself from the front and show us your approach and stance?
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ph.jpg


if you look at this player,one of his eyes is higher than the other,his eyes are not completely level with the table.i do the same but it's the opposite from this picture, my left eye is lower than the right eye.

what i'm trying to say is that it's easier to keep this head position online as i'm getting down on the shot instead of the orthodox head position with the eyes level with the table.
 
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z0nt0n3r said:
View attachment 656028

if you look at this player,one of his eyes is higher than the other,his eyes are not completely level with the table.i do the same but it's the opposite from this picture, my left eye is lower than the right eye.

what i'm trying to say is that it's easier to keep this head position online as i'm getting down on the shot instead of the orthodox head position with the eyes level with the table.
Click to expand...
That's hard to do, my neck hurts from that exercise.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
i think i subconsciously changed my head position in order to keep my head online easier and more comfortably. is this head position wrong or is it just personal preference?
Click to expand...
I found that everything looks lined up better (arm, cue, shot line) when my eyes are level. Just try it and see if it helps. If not, then don't worry about it.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
View attachment 656028

if you look at this player,one of his eyes is higher than the other,his eyes are not completely level with the table.i do the same but it's the opposite from this picture, my left eye is lower than the right eye.

what i'm trying to say is that it's easier to keep this head position online as i'm getting down on the shot instead of the orthodox head position with the eyes level with the table.
Click to expand...
Ok. Got it. The photo helps. You said that this has been happening ever since you started focusing on your 'vision center' head placement. I think this is how your dominant eye views the shot from it's new perspective, particularly if it's a strong dominant eye. This has happened to me too, where my dominant eye causes a change in my head position/tilt to bring it closer to the line of the shot.

Using myself as an example, I have a very strong right dominant eye (I'm right handed). There were times when the cue drifted way out to the outer edge of that eye, so I decided to try to adjust that by bringing it more under the inside portion of my eye --- closer to my nose. The result was that I unconsciously started tilting my head to bring the dominant eye more into the shot. It's not just a sideways tilt. It's also a very slight head turn to move the eye closer to the line.

I think you will have to decide what's more important to you ---- a forced head position with a subconscious tilt that you will continually have to face, or allowing your old head position with your dominant eye in it's previous place with a few minor aiming adjustments.
 
FranCrimi said:
Ok. Got it. The photo helps. You said that this has been happening ever since you started focusing on your 'vision center' head placement. I think this is how your dominant eye views the shot from it's new perspective, particularly if it's a strong dominant eye. This has happened to me too, where my dominant eye causes a change in my head position/tilt to bring it closer to the line of the shot.

Using myself as an example, I have a very strong right dominant eye (I'm right handed). There were times when the cue drifted way out to the outer edge of that eye, so I decided to try to adjust that by bringing it more under the inside portion of my eye --- closer to my nose. The result was that I unconsciously started tilting my head to bring the dominant eye more into the shot. It's not just a sideways tilt. It's also a very slight head turn to move the eye closer to the line.

I think you will have to decide what's more important to you ---- a forced head position with a subconscious tilt that you will continually have to face, or allowing your old head position with your dominant eye in it's previous place with a few minor aiming adjustments.
Click to expand...
i tried to play with my eyes level in practice yesterday and it felt completely foreign, i'm not even sure how i was doing that in the past, but even back then, sometimes when i was getting down in the address position i was subconsciously moving/turning my head to get my dominant eye more into the shot. now i'm both turning and tilting my head sideways in favor of the dominant eye. anyway, without any bias in favor of the new head position, it has given me way more consistency in practice and tournament play than the old one, so i'll stick with it.
and also the new head position doesn't feel forced anymore,it feels natural,it's like that's how my head naturally wants to get down on the shot.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
i tried to play with my eyes level in practice yesterday and it felt completely foreign, i'm not even sure how i was doing that in the past, but even back then, sometimes when i was getting down in the address position i was subconsciously moving/turning my head to get my dominant eye more into the shot. now i'm both turning and tilting my head sideways in favor of the dominant eye. anyway, without any bias in favor of the new head position, it has given me way more consistency in practice and tournament play than the old one, so i'll stick with it.
and also the new head position doesn't feel forced anymore,it feels natural,it's like that's how my head naturally wants to get down on the shot.
Click to expand...
You have to see how it goes over time. You may experience some eye strain. But this is not unusual when you try to force your line of sight away from your dominant eye, particularly if it's a strong dominant eye. It will try to find it's way back to the line of sight. I chose to allow the cue to sit under the center of my dominant eye. My cue does occasionally try to drift out to the outer edge of that eye, but resetting it back under the center of the eye doesn't have a negative effect like before when I was setting it closer to my nose. You have to experiment. Maybe you can find a compromise that works for you.
 
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