Not aligning straight with the shot?

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maaudiosubs

New member
I am having trouble aligning straight with the shot. If I have someone stand in front of me and aligne me so I'm in line with the shot it looks to me like I'm not straight. How can I make sure I'm straight with the shot with out someone there telling me. And if I do it enough times will my eyes finally tell me that's straight? When I'm aligned straight my ball stops alot straighter with less side spin then when I trust my eyes or what I think is straight. Thanks in advanced.
 
maaudiosubs said:
How do I fix it. A friend said Im about 3 degrees off center but to me it looks straight. If he gets me so I'm straight it works great but to me it doesn't look straight. How do I know I'm straight?
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Not an instructor but this helped me.

Put one of those reinforcing donuts on the headstring center opposite the footspot where you rack the lead ball. Set an object ball on one of the spots, the cue ball on the other. Step into your shot and address the cue ball as if you are going to shoot it center ball.

Look down at your cue. If you are aligned correctly, the cue should be exactly directly over the short rail diamond under your cue. If not, you have some work to do.

If that looks right, very carefully set your cue down ensuring you are placing it down exactly where your tip is in relation to the cue ball.

Stand up and check to see that the tip is precisely in the center of the cue ball. If it’s not, you’ll probably need to find your vision center.

Hope this helps.
 
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maaudiosubs said:
I am having trouble aligning straight with the shot. If I have someone stand in front of me and aligne me so I'm in line with the shot it looks to me like I'm not straight. How can I make sure I'm straight with the shot with out someone there telling me. And if I do it enough times will my eyes finally tell me that's straight? When I'm aligned straight my ball stops alot straighter with less side spin then when I trust my eyes or what I think is straight. Thanks in advanced.
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"Vision center" or "visual alignment" means you see a straight shot as straight and a cut shot at the correct, actual angle between the balls.

Post some photos or a video here and we will all assist you--I find the "three degrees" comment very unlikely to be true.
 
I think the main issue is what I'm calling parallax distortion. Two eyes trying to focus on your cue, cue ball, and object ball, centered on an imaginary line. Can't happen. What I did is develop a means to "square off" a shot much like a carpenter would draw lines on the work to be cut. The carpenter doesn't scrutinize the ruled lines for congruence to 180 degrees even if they might appear otherwise. He sets the piece to the saw and makes the cut. Period.

Point is you should stop depending on the final image (the one you shoot) for congruence to the intended shot.
 
maaudiosubs said:
I am having trouble aligning straight with the shot. If I have someone stand in front of me and aligne me so I'm in line with the shot it looks to me like I'm not straight. How can I make sure I'm straight with the shot with out someone there telling me. And if I do it enough times will my eyes finally tell me that's straight? When I'm aligned straight my ball stops alot straighter with less side spin then when I trust my eyes or what I think is straight. Thanks in advanced.
Click to expand...
It sounds to me like you're experiencing a disconnect between your eyes and your arms. What you are seeing may be correct, and maybe you need to adjust how you step into the shot and how you set down over the line of the shot. Try using your grip hand to connect with the line of the shot that your eyes see. Think of it as a rudder that steers the cue into place over the line of the shot.

Remember, your eyes are just for seeing. You still need to take control over the movement of your cue over the line of the shot in your approach. Train yourself to do it as a conscious movement until you can correct your approach issue and until it becomes second nature.
 
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