How can you determine your dominant eye?

[dr_dave]

I do think that the eye dominance and parallax correction problems can be overcome by training the brain with a particular sight picture. The eye dominance may be present but the shooter has taught the brain that this is the consistent sight picture. Obviously it works because so many pros have one sight picture that is near the center line of the head.

None-the-less, if one were attempting to become a pro I think it would be best to work with the eye dominance problem to develop an optimal sight picture for that brain using its preferences.

Part of the problem here is that in real life, outside of pool, most of us do not need to develop this type of ability and so we can train in whatever way we want to. Using the brain’s natural ability and preferences would be “better.”

Joe and Sean,

Excellent posts. I thank you and others for creating such a good thread. We've had many threads like this over the years, and I think this is the best I've seen.

3D visual perception, applied to aiming in pool, is certainly a complicated (and not fully understood) topic. However, I think the most important advice on this issue is for each player to find his or her personal "vision center." This isn't always directly related to which eye might be dominant or not. It is also important to create consistent alignment at the table so the "sight picture" is always the same for the same type of shot. I personally think that using the same sighting alignment (with the "vision center" in the same place) for all shots is a good approach for training the brain, but I don't think it really matters very much as long as one always aligns consistently for a particular type of shot.

If people want to find their own personal "vision center," a good drill and other resources for doing this (including a video demonstration) can be found here:

"vision center" resource page​

Good thread,
Dave

 

[genomachino]

Your dominant eye will work like the dominant eye until your about 80% blind in that

Hmmmm.....that explains something for me.
I had days when I swear I was using my left eye more, and my left eye
is 'lazy'.....can't read a book with it.
On those days, my touch was better and I had some of my best runs.

From what I have seen out there the dominant eye will work like the dominant eye until you are about 80% blind in that eye.

We are all stuck with whichever eye is dominant and can not change this no matter how hard we try. Our own eyes and brain are just hardwired like this.

We just need to find out which is which and learn how to work with it.

This is what I do with my lessons. Once a person learns how important this is when shooting pool they are almost still in disbelief but are also in relief because now they can see the shots correctly.

If it looks good it is good. If it looks bad we all know the results.

 

[genomachino]

The sub does sort it out.....

It is my opinion that the dominant eye plays no particular role in executing the pool shot, but rather the subconscious mind sorts out all of the necessary information and accomplishes the task. :smile:

But the sub would also sort it out if you shot a rifle from the hip.

We can override the sub and with great result by putting the gun under either eye. We are overiding the sub but for the better.

The same with finding the pool shooting dominant eye and learning where the most effective way is to envision the shot.

Not knowing the dominant eye and not learning where it needs to be is like shooting the gun from the hip trying to trust your natural sub to get you there.

Why would you just want to try to count on the sub when you can tweak it with knowledge and put the cross hairs right on the target?

 

[genomachino]

You are so right. 100%

I think you're not applying it right. When you're sighting a gun (or a pool cue), your body's relationship is with the gun, not the deer. With that said, you're always going to use the same eye when sighting a gun. However, if you were to pick up a cup of coffee sitting on your left, you're going to focus with your left eye. If you pick up the same mug on your right, you'll focus with your right eye.

My point is that eye-dominance varies according to your body's relationship with the object. People often think that you always use your dominant eye for any hand-eye coordinated action and that's simply not the case.

And we can do so many tasks and the eyes just work like miracles because they are. They just auto focus.

But it's this same miracle that causes us so much trouble on a pool shot. This auto focus thing. If the non dominant eye is in the dominant position it just tries to do the job anyway. It's just trying to help.

it's kind of like putting the gun under the right eye, keeping the gun under the right eye and close it and try to shoot with the left eye keeping the gun under the right.

You might still hit the target but probably not. Especially if you try to adjust to what the left eye is seeing.

With a pool shot it is the same way but it just has to be a little off to ruin the aim. The eyes will auto fucus and do the best they can but usually in this case good enough just doesn't get it done .

After 4 years of intense teaching and studying how all this works on hundreds of players I really have learned how all this works and trying to share this with players everywhere.

It all has to do with the retinal field of view...The whole secret is there. But you need to know how to find it.

But you are so right. it's the eyes ability to just auto focus with the right or left to do everyday tasks that we do.

But at the same time even reaching out and grabbing a cup of coffee with out spilling it varies from person to person. But by having the eyes in the most correct position we can narrow the gap on this task also.

Excellent point here though. You hit the nail right on the head.

 

[Mikjary]

But it's this same miracle that causes us so much trouble on a pool shot. This auto focus thing. If the non dominant eye is in the dominant position it just tries to do the job anyway. It's just trying to help.

Understanding the auto focusing of the eyes can answer a lot of questions for players that play great and then can't make a ball. A slight change in head/eye alignment will give you an incorrect blending of the picture. What looks right sends the object ball inches away from the pocket and you scratching your head. Even on easy shots this happens.

I aim straight in shots with a simple method, thanks to Geno. I move my dominant eye for a center to center alignment, cue ball to object ball. I use my other eye to line up the edge to edge. I don't really sight the edge to edge, rather I expect my brain to do it for me. It doesn't take much for the mind to pick up on this once you send the message. It becomes automatic after a few minutes and yours to keep forever.

This blending of the eyes can carry over into cut shots and aiming systems. I said before that the stick aiming system is not an illusion. It is a real, physical fact. Not psychological, but rather using your natural blending of the two eyes to get a shot line.

JoeW's point about a majority of shooters using two eyes was absolutely true. Watch Johnny Archer shoot. He's a poster boy for using both eyes. Take a look at any pro shooting a thin cut. Their eyes move out to the edges of the balls in both directions. One eye is directing traffic for each side of the object balls. Close one eye and the physical picture moves and looks completely wrong. Use both eyes and it looks good again.

Best,
Mike

 

[naji]

Joe and Sean,

Excellent posts. I thank you and others for creating such a good thread. We've had many threads like this over the years, and I think this is the best I've seen.

3D visual perception, applied to aiming in pool, is certainly a complicated (and not fully understood) topic. However, I think the most important advice on this issue is for each player to find his or her personal "vision center." This isn't always directly related to which eye might be dominant or not. It is also important to create consistent alignment at the table so the "sight picture" is always the same for the same type of shot. I personally think that using the same sighting alignment (with the "vision center" in the same place) for all shots is a good approach for training the brain, but I don't think it really matters very much as long as one always aligns consistently for a particular type of shot.

If people want to find their own personal "vision center," a good drill and other resources for doing this (including a video demonstration) can be found here:

"vision center" resource page​

Good thread,
Dave

In addition to the eyes alignment hands/elbow/position of but hand all has to be in line. For those that can bend and have chin touch center of shaft they will be most accurate since that automatically guarantee total alignment. If you cannot touch center of chin with regular shots, at lease make it a habit to raise cue butt high while you down to have shaft touch chin and then lower it to check your alignment with center of chin, or bring head down for a second touch shaft and raise head to know you are aligned.

 

[naji]

To follow-up on my previous posts, this is not the pic I remember (the one I remember was taken at an SBE Open 10-ball), but this one is good enough:

Notice in this pic, the cue is v-e-r-y slightly on the right-ish side of his chin, but yet the face is v-e-r-y slightly turned to the right to compensate, bringing the cue line back to the middle of his face.

Anyway, I do agree with JoeW that players will sometimes compensate, and they may even prefer a certain eye for "certain types of shots." This goes back to a piece of what Geno teaches in his "perfect aim" approach -- where certain cuts may "prefer" the eye on the same side of the face as the cue angle itself (i.e. right eye sees better the ball overlap that occurs on cut shots to the right, and vice-versa).

-Sean

This one for Dennis O..

 

[dr_dave]

In addition to the eyes alignment hands/elbow/position of but hand all has to be in line. For those that can bend and have chin touch center of shaft they will be most accurate since that automatically guarantee total alignment. If you cannot touch center of chin with regular shots, at lease make it a habit to raise cue butt high while you down to have shaft touch chin and then lower it to check your alignment with center of chin, or bring head down for a second touch shaft and raise head to know you are aligned.

Another way to check is to glance down with the eyes (without moving the head) to see where the cue is relative to the eyes and/or nose (... it helps to have a prominent nose like me). I do this on elevated shots, where I don't have my chin as close to the cue.

Regards,
Dave

 

[J Soto]

The easiest way to find your dominant eye is to simply take a picture with a camera that has a viewfinder. The eye you use to take a picture is your dominant eye.

 

[J Soto]

Niels Feijen’s routine is an excellent example of what can be accomplished.

Just a tidbit FWIW, Niels is completely blind out of his left eye. That's why he plays with the cue directly underneath his right eye.