Gene Albrecht's "Perfect Aim"

Clark_the_Shark

Has 9-Ball-itis
Silver Member
I am going to divide this DVD into 3 parts for this review. I have his second updated version, not his original version.

Part 1 - Basics on dominant eye, and basics of pool stroke.
Part 2 - Explanation on how the eyes see pool shots on thin cuts, thick cuts, and straight in shots.
Part 3 - A description of how to determine whether the shot is 1/4 ball, 1/3 ball, 1/2 hits and a way to practice them.

First, a review on this DVD can't go without mentioning the HORRIBLE production quality. Scenes were cut short several times, and the audio jumps levels from one scene to the next. Hard to hear one section... super loud the next. Camera movements were jerky in some spots transitioning from one view to another within the same scene.

Onto the content.
Part 1 - Basic information found EVERYWHERE. Nothing new here.

Part 2 - The meat and potatoes of the whole DVD. In this entire section there is only ONE, (possibly two) piece(s) of information that is useful in any way about how the eyes percieve pool shots. And he takes most of the time to explain this information, but very unclearly. So unclearly, that I had to call Gene himself to offer additional clarification, which he did to his credit.

Part 3 - This section was completely useless as it involved more guessing and crappy measuring than is involved in actually just pretending there is a ghost ball, or aiming for a contact point.

Summation... The only valuable part in my opinion is the middle part which could have taken two minutes or less to explain. However, he took 30 minutes to explain it poorly. Personally, spending $80 plus on this DVD for the one or two interesting points in the middle section was nowhere near worth it. I was a very dissapointed customer.
 
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iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I bought the DVD. I have the first version. I highly recommend it.

1. I agree the production quality is poor.
2. Although the production quality is poor, Gene was able to communicate his message to me.

3. The meat and potatoes is about head and more precisely eye positioning on:

a. perfectly straight in shots
b. razor thin cuts to the left
c. razor thin cuts to the right
d. normal cuts to the left
e. normal cuts to the right

Gene advocates a different eye position for each of the above 5 shot types. He shows you a way to know if your eye is in the right place for each of the shot types.

This information has helped me personally tremendously. The difference is the shot looks much clearer to me. It feels like I won't miss a shot, where as before, there was uncertainty on many shots. I of course still miss, but my pocketing has improved. And, my confidence especially has improved.

This has especially helped my weak side, which was cutting a ball towards the left. I understand now due to learning the information, that my eyes were WAY off on cuts to the left in the past. That is why that side was always very weak to me. Now that I know where to place my eyes, cuts to the left are almost as good as cuts to the right.

It has also helped my straight in jacked up shooting tremendously.

Once you understand the concept and practice it, it comes very fast and natural. It took me about a week total to use his methods on every shot. I've been playing for 15 years now, and had no trouble relearning the game in that week's time.

I would recommend the dvd. It did not help everyone who tried it, but it did help many people. And Gene will work with you over the phone if you have trouble. I think especially if you have one side much weaker than the other, this information will be most beneficial to you.

I do wish Gene would make a new (3rd) dvd to help get his message out better.
 

Fastolfe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A review of the Perfect Aim method (installment 1)

Hello everybody,

As some of you may know if you have followed this thread, Gene, the author of the Perfect Aim method sent me his DVD for review.

First of all, I want to thank Gene for taking the trouble of sending the DVD, especially since I live in ole Europe, and for letting me cast a critical eye on it. Gene has written many rather cryptic posts here, hinting at a hidden but powerful way of aiming, contained in his method. Therefore I was rather curious about it.

So, I am going to review the DVD itself, then the method it contains. To evaluate the method, I originally planned to play 10 frames of 6 pockets, view the DVD and try to apply the method, then when I'm comfortable with it, play 10 more frames of 6 pockets and see if there is any difference. Of course, I am rather doubtful of methods that claim to work instantly, so if I didn't see any difference, I'd give it more tries and try 10 frames of 6 pockets again when I really feel good with it.

The test plan has changed somewhat, but I tried to stick to it as much as possible. As for the review of the method itself, I will not go into details. Gene sells the DVD and accompanying lessons to teach his method, and I have no intention of short-cutting his income source. It makes it hard to say what I think of it of course, since I can't put forward arguments to explain what I like or dislike about it, but I will try.

Review of the DVD

It is a 15 part, 60 minute long video of Gene in his pool room (I suppose), either showing his method at the table, or showing Gene as a talking head. 7 minutes worth of video at the beginning and at the end are useless (intro scene, thanks, etc...), and 6 minutes are a review of the various things Gene shows in the video, which is nice. The 47 minutes remaining are the meat of the DVD.

The DVD was obviously shot with a camcorder and does have a few sound problems, but nothing terrible at all.

In the DVD, you will learn (in no particular order):

- Useful shooting tips,
- How to determine your dominant eye,
- The Perfect Aim method, applied to straight in shots, thin cuts and shots in between, jacked up shots, jump shots and shots with the cueball frozen to a rail,
- Two methods to determine how full you need to hit the object ball, the "fractional aiming" method and the "reflective measurement" method, neither of which I had heard before

The shooting tips are nothing earth shattering but they are useful. I didn't need them, but if you do (and you might not know you do), they alone might justify your buying the DVD.

Determining your dominant eye is a no-brainer. 5 seconds of Googling tells you how to do it. Still, it's good info.

The "fractional aiming" method is new to me. If you're a complete beginner, you may find it useful. Without going into details, it's a method to turn angle reckoning into distance reckoning. I'm not sure it's very useful, since I think judging angles directly is better than goofing with your cue to end up judging a distance, but to each his own. If it works for you, you'll be glad to have learnt it.

The "reflective measurement" method is the real surprise of the two: it's a rather clever optical trick to determine how full you need to hit the object ball without any calculation, that works mainly from half-ball to full cut shot. If the object ball isn't clean, you won't be able to use it though. Again, I felt no need for it, but more information from the table is better than less, so if I ever feel blind on a shot, I might use it.

And finally, the perfect aim method: that's what you want to know, right? :)

Okay, first of all, and this is the real bummer with this video, Gene's discourse to describe the method isn't scripted, and Gene is too verbose and doesn't focus on what he's trying to explain. What's more, he makes right/left mistakes when he explains what he does (such as "if you're left-eye dominant, you need to go to the left, but if you're right-eye dominant, you need to go to the left." huuh?). The information to describe the method is spread thin over the entire video, instead of being described rigorously once. As a result, my first impression when I watched the DVD was a big "what the f**k". To be honest, if I had purchased the DVD and if I was short on patience, I'd have been slightly miffed.

But, I promised a fair review, and since I have an analytical mind and enough patience for an army of ADD sufferers, I pressed on. I went back home and watched the DVD 4 or 5 times, hit the rewind button much, tried to watch was Gene was doing and tried to correlate it with what I thought he was trying to describe, and eventually managed to deconstruct the information in the video and piece the method back together.

In the end, the method does exist, and it makes sense. It is in fact a method intended to exploit the stereoscopic human vision instead of trying to work around it. It also does seem to run contrary to Gene's assertion, at the beginning of the video, that you need to know your dominant eye, since he then explains how to play right shot and left shots symmetrically. But in the method, the dominant eye information determines from which side you approach the zone in which you're supposed to see the shot properly.

Sorry I can't describe it anymore without giving the method away, which I won't do. But for other naysayers on the forum, no Gene isn't trying to scam you, and no, what he says isn't BS, it's just *how* he says it. If the DVD was professionally made and properly scripted, it would cut through the crap and get to the point, which isn't complicated or magical.

Using the Perfect Aim method

With my own style of playing, I originally ran 105 points over 10 racks of 6 pockets. After decoding the DVD at home and thinking over the method a bit, I went back to the poolhall, I tried a few shots trying to line up what Gene says should be lined up (again, no details, sorry...) and it felt awkward. I did that for a while, then tried 10 more racks of 6 pockets with the method. I ran 25 points. Oops...

Okay, so maybe I wasn't used to it. I did some basic 3/4 ball, half ball, 1/4 ball drills, marking the table with sticky dots to be sure the shots would be right, and I brought a construction site laser to line things up as described in Gene's DVD, but as hard as I tried, lining up the shots as Gene described, it felt wrong. VERY wrong. My cue wasn't in the "right place", I had to force the shots in to accomodate for different viewpoint. But no matter, after I could sort of get the balls in, I tried some ladder drills, and I didn't get very far. Finally I tried 10 more racks of 6 pockets and scored 32. Bummer.

I don't think I got the method wrong. I spent a lot of time trying to understand it, and I know I do now. To be fair, there is one thing that prevent me from using it correctly: the Perfect Aim method is designed primarily for players who play with their chin on the cue, but I usually play much higher than that. I only go down all the way when I play super-long straight shots, and that's not too often. My stance is more of a billiards player stance. Also, for short thin cuts, I move my cue back a foot a more, fold my bridge arm, and I watch the shot from above, so I don't need to know how full I will hit the object ball, I can see it perfectly like a bird would. As for jump shots, I haven't even tried the Perfect Aim method, as I shoot underhanded and my cue is always under my right eye by definition.

Also, I don't see how you can benefit from the Perfect Aim if your body mechanics are off. This is a purely visual method, so if it helps you see better, it can't possibly help you shoot straighter if your cue doesn't travel straight. Gene's fundamentals look correct, so he may have overlooked that aspect of the game. This then would be more a method to help someone with proper fundamentals get better.

I have tried the Perfect Aim method for 2 hours and it pretty much felt as if I was trying to solve a problem I didn't have. But maybe I haven't given it enough time, so I will again tonight. This review is only my first impression working with the DVD and the method.

I lent the DVD to one of my students. He's right-handed but left-eye dominant, like Gene, so maybe he'll benefit from it. Unlike Gene however, he plays crooked. I'll report what he thinks about it.

Finally, a word on value: is the DVD worth buying? I think it is, if only for some of the techniques and advises you will find in it. And remember, many people report to have benefitted from the Perfect Aim method, so you may too. I can't seem to make anything out of it myself so far, but it may work for you. It seems to compete against my baggage of 20 years of playing carom and pool, and what I know works for me, but it may complement your own experience instead of fighting it. Anyway, it's not snake oil, so if you want your game of pool to be complete, I reckon you shouldn't pass on the opportunity of learning what Gene has to say.

Stay tuned for more on this review as I try to use it again, and as my friend gives it a whirl. I'm not done with it yet, if only to show Gene that I appreciate his gesture.
 

Fastolfe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
A review of the Perfect Aim method (installment 2)

Hello again,

I spent more time trying to use the Perfect Aim method, and I may be warming up to it (slowly).

The main problem I have when I try to apply is is, it requires to know how much of the object ball is hidden by the cueball, to line up the proper eye, the edge of the cueball and the right section of the object ball. Personally, I just don't play like that, I aim mostly instinctively, unless I recognize one of the standard shots (3/4, 1/2 and 1/4 ball).

So, I changed my way of testing the method: instead of trying to force the Perfect Aim method on all my shot, like I did in the first installment of this review, I kept playing like I'm used to, and only "lightly" tried to do the Perfect Aim, solely on standard shots and thin cuts. By lightly, I mean that on these shots, I'd go down on the shot and line things up my own way, then quickly checked if doing what Gene prescribes yielded a better view of the shot. If not, I'd just forget it and carried on playing normally.

And strangely, today I found myself looking down a long shot with my cue dinstinctly shifted to the right. I noticed this because I shooting arm felt more "off-center" than usual, and so I stopped, close my left eye, then my right eye, and realized I wasn't playing centered at all. So I played some more and checked all shots like this. I found myself off-center in 4 or 5 shots out of, say, 100. Apparently I saw shots better this way in certain conditions.

Now, I only found myself playing with my cue shifted to the right, never to the left, so it may or may not be the Perfect Aim working its way into my brain. However, one thing is certain: I never played with my eyes other than dead centered before, so I guess something happened. I don't think it made me a better player so far, but I'll keep doing this and I'll see what happens.

As for my friend, he hasn't given the DVD back to me yet, but he said he watched it and he didn't really understand it. He's not a native english speaker though, so I'm not sure whether he meant that he didn't understand Gene talking, or the information in the DVD. I'll ask him again when I see him next week.
 

Fastolfe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
bump! thanks for the updates! are there anymore coming up?

Yep. I'm still working on it, and so is my friend (I hope, I haven't seen him for a while :)). I'll also be calling Gene in a few days to make sure I'm doing things right.

Stay tuned!
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
I think the first post said most of what I would say.

bump! thanks for the updates! are there anymore coming up?

I think the first post said most of what I would say. Yes I saw the Perfect Aiming First Generation DVD, that would only Play on a Computer CPU! Friend lent it to me,

I honestly was SHOCKED on what I saw as I was personally think I was going to find the HOLY GRAIL of POOL, but it was like a box of product that said "NEW AND IMPROVED" in the Grocery Story, and the only thing that was new was the packaging.

Gene like Billy Mays is a GREAT SALESMAN, and I am sure he can Hustle Pool with the best of them in a Bar. Plus play Pool retail well. But like I said READ the First Post, and you have it in a nut shell.

If I find my notes I took when I watch my friends DVD, I may do a inning by inning report on what the break down of the information is.
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think the first post said most of what I would say. Yes I saw the Perfect Aiming First Generation DVD, that would only Play on a Computer CPU! Friend lent it to me,

I honestly was SHOCKED on what I saw as I was personally think I was going to find the HOLY GRAIL of POOL, but it was like a box of product that said "NEW AND IMPROVED" in the Grocery Story, and the only thing that was new was the packaging.

Gene like Billy Mays is a GREAT SALESMAN, and I am sure he can Hustle Pool with the best of them in a Bar. Plus play Pool retail well. But like I said READ the First Post, and you have it in a nut shell.

If I find my notes I took when I watch my friends DVD, I may do a inning by inning report on what the break down of the information is.

I find it interesting that you have been putting down Perfect Aim forever now, but you think CTE is the end all be all after it has become the hot topic this past month. You are basically calling the guy a con man trying to sell junk dvd's when you use the words "Billy Mays, GREAT SALESMAN, and Hustle Pool" like you did together in your third paragraph. On all of these aiming, sighting, and english application techniques, there are going to be those who it helps, and those that it does not.
 

stljohnny

knowledge > execution. :(
Silver Member
About 8 months ago I put something together from one of the threads about this DVD and my own experimenation. It significantly helped my game and I attributed it to the thread about this DVD. I've been tempted to buy this DVD for well over a year now - watching the threads, reading the info here, etc. I knew it had some questionable reviews, but every product will have questionable reviews. I finally had some extra cash and I decided to go head and bite the bullet. I just received/watched Gene's DVD yesterday.

Boy do I feel like a chump today.

1) $70 (plus $10 shipping!!) for a home-made DVD with a label stuck on it put in a $0.50 jewel case with not even another printed jewel case cover.

2) The "meat and potatoes" information was 85% repeat of what I've read in the various posts Gene uses to promote this disc (and the following discussion). ... Reviewer's note: I should make it clear that nowhere have I read the exact method he describes on the DVD - not from any post I've seen. I will say there was some guiding hints in one thread that lead me to experiment a lot at the table and kinda stumble across what Gene talks about on the disc. Still, what I discovered in my own experimentation isn't exactly what Gene is doing; he has a more precise method whereas mine is still a bit general.

3) Production quality? eh, it's a *hair* better than the VEPS, but not by much. Someday I hope people will learn that they can not rely on the on-camera-room-mic for instructional materials. 6/10

4) Step 8 or 9 or whatever that crazy section on figuring out if it's a 1/2 or 1/4 ball hit is ... pretty much pointless. Yes, it's a neat way of determining that information; but it's entirely unusable in a game setting.

Okay, there's my short-list of first-impression opinion/gripes. Here are my objective thoughts:

Considering I did fork over money for this DVD, I might as well try the info out. After all, the meat'n'potatoes section that I had picked up from the threads here was VERY helpful to me when I learned it. That said, if I had never heard of someone talking about eye-location before and no idea what it was... I would likely be writing this to sound like one of his testimonials. That tidbit, when I first put 2 and 3 together from the bits and pieces of the threads, was really a key to pushing my game to my next level. So, he's not selling bad information.

When the DVD was over, I was shocked - utterly shocked it had ended so quickly. One thing I would strongly suggest to Gene is to put some "Case Studies" on there - show yourself teaching this to someone and let us see the student learn it; and become enlightened. Don't script it - just film a lesson you give somewhere with good lighting and no background noise. Hearing the instructor say and demonstrate a concept is nice, but watching a student work through it and seeing the results of before/after comparison is really really important for future students/consumers.

To the people who've been playing a long time and try this method ... I don't expect it to work for you. You have trained your brain a certain way, so *anything* other than the sight-picture you have trained for is going to look incredibly wrong and I'd be surprised if you played half as well as normal trying this. I liken this method to using a super low deflection shaft ... those who learned and grew up with the old high deflection cues cannot make a ball with the OB2 or Z2; and no wonder! They have to relearn how to aim entirely! This system is similar to that, in my opinion. Great for the beginning intermediate player who has a mostly straight stroke but trouble with consistency, seeing the shot.

Objectively though, I'd still only give it a 6/10 overall. There was a lot of fluff and not enough demonstration. Simply shooting a single shot on each side of the table isn't enough variation to adequately demonstrate the point; especially as those examples were supposed to be some of THE most important shots to know/learn.

I will still experiment with the method in it's entirety (likely tonight) to see if I can't fine-tune the method for me, but there's a good chance this disc just collects dust on my shelf. I might, should I really find myself unable to do anything with it take Gene up on his phone offer. I do really like that he stands behind his product and makes himself available for questions.

Sorry Gene, I had really high hopes for this.
 

stljohnny

knowledge > execution. :(
Silver Member
I have to update my review. As it happened Gene walked into the pool room last night and I decided to say hello and ask him some questions about the DVD.

You can read the bulk of my updated review here but the short version is that the DVD without the personal interaction with Gene isn't going to get you very far. I consider myself quite an intelligent fellow, and I will admit that I didn't put 100% into his DVD and at-the-table-training, but I never felt the DVD was strong enough on its own.

However, after talking with Gene for the better part of an hour and him showing me, specifically what he's talking about on the video (and most importantly, catering that information for me and my adjustments directly) I am a believer!

So, with that I will say that his DVD is worth it - IF AND ONLY IF you also get some time with him either in person or on the phone. The DVD comes with a free lesson, so the first one won't cost you the $200.

In just 30 mins he had given me the small adjustment I've been missing lately to feel very confident in shooting some of my most hated and "guess-worthy" shots cutting to my "weak side".

Thanks Gene!!
 

CocoboloCowboy

Cowboys are my hero's
Silver Member
Maybe one should ask if Perfect Aiming is the holy grail of Pool Instructional DVD, why hasn't someone like Pool Dawgs, Mueller's, or one of the other big Pool & Billiard Supply jump on this item for their retail catalog????

I would think the potential sale by having this item at one, or two of these retailers would be enormous.

Could it be that the retailers have seen the product and worries about the potential of offering a money back guarantee, like many do on everything they sell. Plus IMHO the DVD is over priced in a market were there is great instructional material offer under $40.00.

Last if you do not have a great stroke, and fundamentals, not IMHO will make you a word class Pool player.

Having seen the DVD Twice from start to finish I will say I was not impressed or awed by anything I saw. JMHO.

Maybe Gene is a better instructor in person, and has some great stuff to show in person. MAYBE?????
 
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