Pro aiming: Eyeball object-ball path & then cue-ball path with eyes near pool-table height

[Paul_#_]

Pro Moritz Neuhausen aims eyeballing the path from object ball to pocket with eyes not far above pool-table height and stands a couple steps behind pool table. His eyes go right and left of that object-ball path and back to pocket center. He then repeats this aiming but for the aiming line of cue ball to ghost ball.

This is not the more-common intuitive aiming of pros where aiming is done standing up with only a cursory check while down on the shot.

Sharivari discusses Moritz in his YouTube video suggesting that amateurs could benefit by spending more time setting up shots as does Moritz and the pros. Moritz told Sharivari that he uses his method because he just struggles to get the right perspective for cut shots and straight shots.

I have tried the Moritz' aiming method today and it seems to help. No problem in lining up the line of object ball to pocket center. I tend to lose the line of cue ball to ghost ball, however, when I move my eyes right and left of that aiming line. The cue ball I see when down on the shot, too, is different from what I see while doing the back-n-forth eyeballing. I am trying to figure whether I can find during eyeballing the aiming spot on the object ball or the amount of cue-ball overlap of object ball. And, then, use that to aim when I go down on the shot.

Times when to watch videos:
Sharivari: 0:50
Matchroom (he won the game): 6:30 starts shot,
16:35 stands a couple of steps back of table;
eyeballs the line the object ball travels, moves head back-n-forth from that pocket path
16:40 eyeballs aiming line, head moves back-n-forth from aiming line;
16:46 turns eyes up
16:48 stands and takes two steps forward while going down on the shot
16:55 takes shot
17:08 in the next shot he aims while standing up
17:35 last shot, he moves head back-n-forth to aim about 10 degree shot
33:30 does back-n-forth aiming
34:10 stands up to rethink shot, does back-n-forth with object ball and then cue ball
34:30 takes shot
35:45 last shot
35:50 starts back-n-forth with cue ball aiming line, then object ball pocketing line, and back to cue-ball aiming line

 

[boogieman]

View attachment 890743Pro Moritz Neuhausen aims eyeballing the path from object ball to pocket with eyes not far above pool-table height and stands a couple steps behind pool table. His eyes go right and left of that object-ball path and back to pocket center. He then repeats this aiming but for the aiming line of cue ball to ghost ball.

This is not the more-common intuitive aiming of pros where aiming is done standing up with only a cursory check while down on the shot.

Sharivari discusses Moritz in his YouTube video suggesting that amateurs could benefit by spending more time setting up shots as does Moritz and the pros. Moritz told Sharivari that he uses his method because he just struggles to get the right perspective for cut shots and straight shots.

I have tried the Moritz' aiming method today and it seems to help. No problem in lining up the line of object ball to pocket center. I tend to lose the line of cue ball to ghost ball, however, when I move my eyes right and left of that aiming line. The cue ball I see when down on the shot, too, is different from what I see while doing the back-n-forth eyeballing. I am trying to figure whether I can find during eyeballing the aiming spot on the object ball or the amount of cue-ball overlap of object ball. And, then, use that to aim when I go down on the shot.

Times when to watch videos:
Sharivari: 0:50
Matchroom (he won the game): 6:30 starts shot,
16:35 stands a couple of steps back of table;
eyeballs the line the object ball travels, moves head back-n-forth from that pocket path
16:40 eyeballs aiming line, head moves back-n-forth from aiming line;
16:46 turns eyes up
16:48 stands and takes two steps forward while going down on the shot
16:55 takes shot
17:08 in the next shot he aims while standing up
17:35 last shot, he moves head back-n-forth to aim about 10 degree shot
33:30 does back-n-forth aiming
34:10 stands up to rethink shot, does back-n-forth with object ball and then cue ball
34:30 takes shot
35:45 last shot
35:50 starts back-n-forth with cue ball aiming line, then object ball pocketing line, and back to cue-ball aiming line

If I'm not being lazy I will crouch/squat down and look at the OB into the pocket line on anything but dead easy shots. It helps. I can't help but think the act of standing up and seeing the perspective change helps avoid optical illusions. The more info you give your brain the better it can calculate.

I probably look like an idiot doing so but I get a few "good shots" at most league nights. Difficult shots can be easier if you give yourself the spacial data to know you're seeing what you think you see.

If you're playing on a shot clock and down to the money ball and have an extension left, take it and do this... I'd guess it's helped me eliminate 90% of the choke shots where I miss an easy money ball. Plus it keeps you from rushing an "easy" shot.

 

[Paul_#_]

. The more info you give your brain the better it can calculate

Despite no obvious improvement in the short time I have used the Moritz method, I like it because it seems I should be able to capitalize on it. What is not to like? How can assuring oneself that the object ball line to pocket and the cue ball line to object ball are true? Moritz seems to get a more definite advantage from the two aimings. I figure one aiming is solid (object ball to pocket) and the other, theoretical and goofy (cue ball to ghost ball with eyeballs going too far right and too far left of aiming line).

 

[Island Drive]

For me it's swinging straight thru my chosen contact spot on the cue ball with a Few practice swings If I like it..... I then look up at the obj. ball to confirm my aim.
If I don't' like it, I get back up off the shot and walk up a little more left or a little more right.
I KIS.

 

[Paul_#_]

For me it's swinging straight thru my chosen contact spot on the cue ball with a Few practice swings If I like it..... I then look up at the obj. ball to confirm my aim.
If I don't' like it, I get back up off the shot and walk up a little more left or a little more right.
I KIS.

"Walk up a little more left or a little more right" suggests its not that simple and may have taken some time to have figured that out.

Keeping it simple is what a lot, a lot, of people do. In the book on how to play pool "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool", the author does a super KISS and the only one true solution: Start Sinking Balls!

There are even professionals like Moritz, however, that don't keep it simple because it was impossible to have done otherwise to play good.

 

[garczar]

At 6'2" i've always been a 'above aimer'. No way i'd bend down/get up to aim shots. Find your own method, never a fan of copying others strokes/styles/methods.

 

[Island Drive]

"Walk up a little more left or a little more right" suggests its not that simple and may have taken some time to have figured that out.

Keeping it simple is what a lot, a lot, of people do. In the book on how to play pool "The 99 Critical Shots in Pool", the author does a super KISS and the only one true solution: Start Sinking Balls!

There are even professionals like Moritz, however, that don't keep it simple because it was impossible to have done otherwise to play good.
View attachment 891157View attachment 891158

I'm not understanding what ''suggest'' means.

 

[Sharivari]

This isn't an aiming system in the classical sense, where you're trying to find overlap, a ghost ball, or a fixed contact point. He's not calculating anything. He's building a clear picture of the shot before going down.

The left-right head movement cleans up perception. It gives the brain more depth information and removes doubt.

The sequence also matters. First he locks in the object ball-to-pocket line. Then he checks the cue ball-to-object ball line. After that, he commits without adjustments. He told me that since his fundamentals are well developed, trusting and executing his perception works very often.

So the purpose of this routine isn't to aim better in a technical sense. It's to remove uncertainty before the shot so you don't start steering or adjusting during the stroke.

 

[Paul_#_]

I'm not understanding what ''suggest'' means.

Usually all aiming is done standing up and double check down on shot. There is no go left and right if things feel wrong. Eyeballing the shot is as simple as that.
Someone smarter than me would know if you are suggesting something to do with visual issues of eye dominance, visual center, or other aiming issues.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Usually all aiming is done standing up and double check down on shot. There is no go left and right if things feel wrong. ....

I think that's mostly true, but some players, including Luther Lassiter, line up too full, then too thin and then go to just right. Goldilocks aiming. Lassiter played fairly well. Maybe this just makes the player really focus on the shot, which I think helps, regardless of the "reasons" behind the technique.

 

[Island Drive]

I process my stance as a three legged chair.... equal weight on 1. left leg (below left hip) and 2. right leg (below right hip) 3. upper torso/chest forward/rear end backward is part three.
When I get up off the shot to reset my three points of weight (torso/left foot/right foot)..... all three are.... exactly the same just slightly more clockwise or counterclockwise.... then I get back down.

 

[bbb]

@Paul_#_
interesting observation
thanks for bringing it up
if you know about sight right i bet he has issues with his "low planar"

 

[Island Drive]

This isn't an aiming system in the classical sense, where you're trying to find overlap, a ghost ball, or a fixed contact point. He's not calculating anything. He's building a clear picture of the shot before going down.

The left-right head movement cleans up perception. It gives the brain more depth information and removes doubt.

The sequence also matters. First he locks in the object ball-to-pocket line. Then he checks the cue ball-to-object ball line. After that, he commits without adjustments. He told me that since his fundamentals are well developed, trusting and executing his perception works very often.

So the purpose of this routine isn't to aim better in a technical sense. It's to remove uncertainty before the shot so you don't start steering or adjusting during the stroke.

Yep.... committing 100% and under cutting, or overcutting a ball, gives me immediate feedback on what I need to do to adjust to the play conditions.