With all this talk lately about dominate eyeballs I wanted to throw in my 2cents:
I believe that the dominant eye concept -- while interesting and of some value -- is superseded in importance by the setup that gives you your best stroke.
IOW, it's better to ignore your dominant eye and use the setup that gives you your optimal stroke. And a second thought is that what is truly important when it comes to seeing the table is just having the exact same view every time you setup. IOW, you can ignore the dominant eye thing because if you're seeing the balls the same each time, your wetware will learn what is center, though physically it may be a tad off.
Now here's another thought concerning seeing the balls. I think that some of the very hardest things to learn are what those things are that we alter in our setup when under duress. When we play more slowly, or more carefully, or more quickly, or whatever, there is a strong likelihood of changing the sequence of motions we normally use to get into shooting position. And when you do that, you end up changing the view of the table that you're accustomed to.
I know that when I start playing poorly, I have the feeling that I'm not seeing things right -- it's the old "I know I'm going to miss this shot" before you pull the trigger vs. the "there's no way I can miss this one" we enjoy when hitting the balls well. IOW, it's not a mental thing. You feel weak because you're not in your normal setup and your brain knows it's not getting the right view and it sets off all those little alarm bells. Consistency and being able to perform under pressure come to visit when you can ID those little changes you unconsciously make and eliminate them from creeping into your setup.
So in addition to learning all those good and wonderful things you need to know about how the balls react off each other and your cue tip, it is equally important, IMO, to learn about yourself and how to deal with that little gremlin that comes and sits on the wing of your Good Ship Lollipop while you're trying to fly through the storm.
Lou Figueroa
I believe that the dominant eye concept -- while interesting and of some value -- is superseded in importance by the setup that gives you your best stroke.
IOW, it's better to ignore your dominant eye and use the setup that gives you your optimal stroke. And a second thought is that what is truly important when it comes to seeing the table is just having the exact same view every time you setup. IOW, you can ignore the dominant eye thing because if you're seeing the balls the same each time, your wetware will learn what is center, though physically it may be a tad off.
Now here's another thought concerning seeing the balls. I think that some of the very hardest things to learn are what those things are that we alter in our setup when under duress. When we play more slowly, or more carefully, or more quickly, or whatever, there is a strong likelihood of changing the sequence of motions we normally use to get into shooting position. And when you do that, you end up changing the view of the table that you're accustomed to.
I know that when I start playing poorly, I have the feeling that I'm not seeing things right -- it's the old "I know I'm going to miss this shot" before you pull the trigger vs. the "there's no way I can miss this one" we enjoy when hitting the balls well. IOW, it's not a mental thing. You feel weak because you're not in your normal setup and your brain knows it's not getting the right view and it sets off all those little alarm bells. Consistency and being able to perform under pressure come to visit when you can ID those little changes you unconsciously make and eliminate them from creeping into your setup.
So in addition to learning all those good and wonderful things you need to know about how the balls react off each other and your cue tip, it is equally important, IMO, to learn about yourself and how to deal with that little gremlin that comes and sits on the wing of your Good Ship Lollipop while you're trying to fly through the storm.
Lou Figueroa