finding the degree of your eye dominance

Z

z0nt0n3r

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi everyone, i know i've made way too many threads on eye alignment but i noticed something recently that has made me reconsider some things about my alignment.
i've done many dominant eye/vision centre tests and some tests were showing that i was right eye dominant while others were showing that i was left eye dominant and some others were showing that i was even-sighted so i was confused, but i recently i found out that i was doing some tests wrong, particularly the one's where you're standing and making a circle or triangle with your hands and you're looking through an object. these tests were showing that i was right-eye dominant but was doing it wrong, i wasn't forming a tight enough circle/triangle around the object (so that there isn't any space visible around the object). as soon as i did that it showed that i'm left eye dominant no matter how many times i did it.
now that i know for sure i'm left eye dominant since most vision tests and ball pocketing results verify it, my question is how do you find the degree of your eye dominance? what tests should you do?
 
WobblyStroke said:
isn't that what all the vision center stuff is about? Just find where u see it str8 and use that alignment seems str8frwd enough.
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Yes, and your personal vision center can tell you the degree ("strength") of dominance you have.

Your vision center is the position of your eyes over your cue where "straight looks straight". If you don't have a dominant eye that'll probably be with the cue centered between your eyes, and if you do have a dominant eye the cue will probably be closer to that side, maybe even directly under the dominant eye. Which direction from center you have the cue indicates which eye is dominant, and how far off center indicates how "strong" the dominance is.

pj
chgo
 
WobblyStroke said:
isn't that what all the vision center stuff is about? Just find where u see it str8 and use that alignment seems str8frwd enough.
Click to expand...
well if i use the vision center method, the cue looks straight somewhere around center chin. i have played center-chin for years and the problem is that in that position my results are very inconsistent, sometimes i play horrible and i also have optical illusions which cause me to cue across the ball very often. i play much better under the inside corner of my left eye or even directly under my left eye. this is why i don't believe in the vision center theory that much anymore.

i need a more reliable test to find the degree of my eye dominance.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
well if i use the vision center method, the cue looks straight somewhere around center chin. i have played center-chin for years and the problem is that in that position my results are very inconsistent, sometimes i play horrible and i also have optical illusions which cause me to cue across the ball very often. i play much better under the inside corner of my left eye or even directly under my left eye. this is why i don't believe in the vision center theory that much anymore.

i need a more reliable test to find the degree of my eye dominance.
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I hear what you're saying, but VC doesn't always make the cue stick look straight, it makes the shot picture correct. That is, a perfectly straight shot appears dead straight without any cut angle.

There are players who see the shots well but when they glance down, their cue stick looks off or even blurred.
 
BilliardsAbout said:
I hear what you're saying, but VC doesn't always make the cue stick look straight, it makes the shot picture correct. That is, a perfectly straight shot appears dead straight without any cut angle.

There are players who see the shots well but when they glance down, their cue stick looks off or even blurred.
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yes, with the cue under the center of my chin which seems to be my vision center there isn't any cut angle but i play very incosistently. yet with the cue under my left eye it seems that i'm going to cut the OB to my right yet the results are way better and more consistent. very strange.
 
are you aware of when behind the shot line and you are aligning (standing)
if you are lined up to the shot with your chin in the middle
and when you come down your chin is in the middle
and when you line up standing is the shot line to the left of your nose and you come down with the cue to the left of your nose
or do you mix those 2 ?
 
First of all, be aware that your dominant eye isn't necessarily the eye that sees the most accurately. But it's the eye that receives the information first. Therefore, without realizing it, you will tend to drift your cue under that eye. If it's severely dominant and you try to place your cue where your so-called vision center test tells you in a place that's not under your dominant eye, you will struggle.

Most players allow the cue to be placed somewhere under their dominant eye and then they make the small aim adjustments. The aim adjustments become second nature after awhile and the player doesn't even consider them anymore over time. Fighting your own natural eye dominance when it comes to aiming will be a constant battle, even if it's not the place where you see best. You can adapt to your dominant eye to make it work.

Of course there are exceptions, like if you have a major pathology in your dominant eye where you see very poorly out of that eye, you will have to change your cue placement.

It sounds like you may still be unclear about which is your physically dominant eye. If you're not sure or if you're unclear of the severity of it, a visit to an ophthalmologist will clarify it for you.
 
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bbb said:
are you aware of when behind the shot line and you are aligning (standing)
if you are lined up to the shot with your chin in the middle
and when you come down your chin is in the middle
and when you line up standing is the shot line to the left of your nose and you come down with the cue to the left of your nose
or do you mix those 2 ?
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i don't worry too much about that stuff anymore. when i'm in the standing position i place my back foot on the line of aim without aligning my head, and as i come down i bring my left eye under the cue/line of aim naturally without thinking about it.
 
FranCrimi said:
First of all, be aware that your dominant eye isn't necessarily the eye that sees the most accurately. But it's the eye that receives the information first. Therefore, without realizing it, you will tend to drift your cue under that eye. If it's severely dominant and you try to place your cue where your so-called vision center test tells you in a place that's not under your dominant eye, you will struggle.

Most players allow the cue to be placed somewhere under their dominant eye and then they make the small aim adjustments. The aim adjustments become second nature after awhile and the player doesn't even consider them anymore over time. Fighting your own natural eye dominance when it comes to aiming will be a constant battle, even if it's not the place where you see best. You can adapt to your dominant eye to make it work.

Of course there are exceptions, like if you have a major pathology in your dominant eye where you see very poorly out of that eye, you will have to change your cue placement.

It sounds like you may still be unclear about which is your physically dominant eye. If you're not sure or if you're unclear of the severity of it, a visit to an ophthalmologist will clarify it for you.
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thanks for clearing this up fran. it seems that i will have to go to an ophthalmologist to find the degree of my eye dominance. im 99% sure that it is my left eye but i'm not sure about the degree of it.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
thanks for clearing this up fran. it seems that i will have to go to an ophthalmologist to find the degree of my eye dominance. im 99% sure that it is my left eye but i'm not sure about the degree of it.
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IMO knowing to what degree your eye is dominant (if that's even possible and will be an estimation at best) will have little if any bearing on playing better pool.
This is hardly my area of expertise but one thing I've noticed when people have these types of problems is that their tip is not at center CB even though they'll insist it is. Might have someone check that for you.

FranCrimi said:
First of all, be aware that your dominant eye isn't necessarily the eye that sees the most accurately. But it's the eye that receives the information first. Therefore, without realizing it, you will tend to drift your cue under that eye. If it's severely dominant and you try to place your cue where your so-called vision center test tells you in a place that's not under your dominant eye, you will struggle.

Most players allow the cue to be placed somewhere under their dominant eye and then they make the small aim adjustments. The aim adjustments become second nature after awhile and the player doesn't even consider them anymore over time. Fighting your own natural eye dominance when it comes to aiming will be a constant battle, even if it's not the place where you see best. You can adapt to your dominant eye to make it work.

Of course there are exceptions, like if you have a major pathology in your dominant eye where you see very poorly out of that eye, you will have to change your cue placement.

It sounds like you may still be unclear about which is your physically dominant eye. If you're not sure or if you're unclear of the severity of it, a visit to an ophthalmologist will clarify it for you.
Click to expand...

What I've highlighted in Fran's post would probably be more beneficial than worrying about degrees of eye dominance.
 
FranCrimi said:
First of all, be aware that your dominant eye isn't necessarily the eye that sees the most accurately. But it's the eye that receives the information first. Therefore, without realizing it, you will tend to drift your cue under that eye. If it's severely dominant and you try to place your cue where your so-called vision center test tells you in a place that's not under your dominant eye, you will struggle.

Most players allow the cue to be placed somewhere under their dominant eye and then they make the small aim adjustments. The aim adjustments become second nature after awhile and the player doesn't even consider them anymore over time. Fighting your own natural eye dominance when it comes to aiming will be a constant battle, even if it's not the place where you see best. You can adapt to your dominant eye to make it work.

Of course there are exceptions, like if you have a major pathology in your dominant eye where you see very poorly out of that eye, you will have to change your cue placement.

It sounds like you may still be unclear about which is your physically dominant eye. If you're not sure or if you're unclear of the severity of it, a visit to an ophthalmologist will clarify it for you.
Click to expand...
Fran, have you tried finding/using your vision center?

NV J.133 – AIM MORE ACCURATELY by Finding Your Ideal Personal VISION CENTER - Dr. Dave Pool Info

billiards.colostate.edu billiards.colostate.edu

NV C.1 - "Vision center" alignment drill, from VEPP I - Dr. Dave Pool Info

billiards.colostate.edu billiards.colostate.edu

pj
chgo
 
sparkle84 said:
IMO knowing to what degree your eye is dominant (if that's even possible and will be an estimation at best) will have little if any bearing on playing better pool.
This is hardly my area of expertise but one thing I've noticed when people have these types of problems is that their tip is not at center CB even though they'll insist it is. Might have someone check that for you.



What I've highlighted in Fran's post would probably be more beneficial than worrying about degrees of eye dominance.
Click to expand...
Yes, to the bold print. The farther out on your dominant eye that you place your cue, the less accurate you will be in perceiving center ball, and the bigger the adjustment. A severely dominant eye likes to pull the cue far outside. It just happens naturally without the player even realizing it sometimes.

I have that issue which is identical to Earl's. If you watch him play, his cue is placed on the outside of his eye. Earl just goes with it and has made the adjustments. I try not to let mine drift out too far, and I can catch myself when it does, from experience, and bring it back a little and still be in my comfort zone. It can get tricky when your cue placement passes the side of your face because then your chin can go below the cue line which is a whole other ball of wax to deal with.

So, in this long roundabout way, I'm trying to say that it could be helpful to know the severity of your eye dominance.
 
A very difficult situation to control, that is seldom discussed, is how vision distorts under pressure.
 
z0nt0n3r said:
my question is how do you find the degree of your eye dominance? what tests should you do?
Click to expand...
I know theres a lot of different theories on this but what I found works best for me and the players I teach is to disregard where the cue looks straight and focus on the balls.

Lets say I have a 30° cut and thinking about either playing it with max outside or inside spin. I want my eyes looking down the same path on both shots. If you want your eyes to always point in the same way relative to the cue you would have to stand in very different positions in order to play the same pot.

So I think that the best way to find your alignment is to have a ball in front of a mirror at a similar height as a pool table (an ironing board in front of a mirror works great). Then lower your head at a similar height as it is in your pool stance. Then shift your head left and right and stop where you feel you have a total overlap of the ball and the mirror image. Then take note of where your eyes is relative to the ball and that should be your preferred alignment.

The cue moves around in order to compensate for squirt and swerve so it's better to focus on having the alignment with the cue ball and object ball (or ghost ball) intact since it will move way less (with SIT and CIT). Since you don't see the hand that controls the cue anyway is better to develop a proprioceptive sense of where the cue points and where straight is. The only part if the cue I would focus on with my sight is the tip and where it is on the cue ball.
 
FranCrimi said:
How does vision distort under pressure? What changes when the player feels pressure?
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A simple Google search will describe that is does happen, however it is above my pay grade to discuss various effects of flight or fight anxiety such as kaleidoscope vision. Many folks miss easy shots when the pressure is on. We can feel the effects of adrenaline in our stroke but I haven't seen much professional discussion of how it effects eyesight.

Since 'sports medicine' has changed sport training in many ways I am hoping there may be some insight among this group.
 
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