Sighting the ball.
- Thread starter 8pack
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Only if everyone is properly aligned over the cue.
No. Many players have to retrain their brains to see these alignments correctly. It's not just a matter of head/eyes position - for some it's literally impossible without "brain training".
pj
chgo
Have you tested this? A straight line through all at different distances.
Different distances off the cue.Also if you did was it just through your eyes?
I haven't done a scientific study, but I have tested this out on myself and several students I've taught who had alignment issues.
In my experience, if a person is not visualizing the center of the CB properly (i.e., they often apply sidespin unintentionally), and can't see a straight-in shot as straight, it is usually because their vision center is not properly aligned. Finding the vision center has certainly helped both me personally and several of my students.
I also worked with one person who seemed to be able to visualize CB center and the straight line of a shot regardless of where their head was positioned (within reason). I certainly think (but know for sure) that this is uncommon.
Regards,
Dave
One of the BIGGEST mistakes I think most folks make with straight-in shots, is trying to view center to center (i.e. cue ball to object ball).
One of the reasons "I" think folks adopt aiming systems like CTE, Pro1, et al., is that unless you can view the "center" of something with accuracy, many folks find that the object ball, to them, is an "edge" on the left side, an "edge" on the right side, and "some stuff in between." Finding the center of that "stuff" is difficult for some folks, especially at distance.
When I aim long straight-in shots, I align the edges of the cue ball to the edges of the object ball. To me, once those edges line up, it's like runway lights, and I'm about to "land" the cue ball down that runway.
This is probably the only shot I aim in this fashion. Any cuts, I use the back-of-ball aiming technique. But I found the edges-aligned-with-edges technique to be intuitive and extremely accurate.
Hope this helps,
-Sean
One of the reasons "I" think folks adopt aiming systems like CTE, Pro1, et al., is that unless you can view the "center" of something with accuracy, many folks find that the object ball, to them, is an "edge" on the left side, an "edge" on the right side, and "some stuff in between." Finding the center of that "stuff" is difficult for some folks, especially at distance.
When I aim long straight-in shots, I align the edges of the cue ball to the edges of the object ball. To me, once those edges line up, it's like runway lights, and I'm about to "land" the cue ball down that runway.
This is probably the only shot I aim in this fashion. Any cuts, I use the back-of-ball aiming technique. But I found the edges-aligned-with-edges technique to be intuitive and extremely accurate.
Hope this helps,
-Sean
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If one see's a straight line at 2' and at 6' .(stick inline with both balls)
Will he need the same placement of his head(exact) to create both lines?
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I think this would be true in general, but the vision processing part of the brain is very complex, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were many difference among individuals.
Regards,
Dave
Agree. I've also seen people focus more on the bottom of the object ball, especially on longer shots, in order to see the center more clearly.
Another method is to focus on a part of the pocket being aimed into since it will be in a straight line extended from the CB and OB.
Scott
The answer is absolutely NO........
All means everyone. Unfortunately not all people can line up correctly and this is the major reason that there are so many different skill levels out there. Alot of it is because of not being lined up correctly with the eyes. Practice and time on the table are also a factor but if the alignment is not right your sunk from the beginning.
I know I keep preaching this and some on here are getting tired of it but the truth is the truth. It is what it is and I'm trying to help.
The eyes and the cue are 2 different situations all together. We don't aim with the cue for starters. The cue is like a spear that we are throwing underhand.
When the eyes are in the correct, most dominant position, the cue will naturally fall into place as far as the aim.
You can however use the cue to a certain extent to aim by using where the tip is as a reference. That doesn't really mean we're aiming with it though but for some it would appear that way.
On the straight in shot most players can naturally get the dominant eye in the correct position to envision the shot correctly. But I have seen players that have played for years have the truely opposite eye forced as the dominant eye.
Once this is turned around and the player understands this the difference is like night and day. Like a bowler that was trying to bowl left handed for years and all of a sudden found out they are right handed and go from a 130 average to a 160 overnight. This is how important this dominant eye thing is.
But like I said this is actually 2 parts to this. If the eyes are not in the correct position on the shot the cue has no chance of being right. How can you line something up straight when what you are lining up to isn't right in the first place. but this is the reason for some crooked strokes because our mind and body is just trying to adjust and make the shot happen.
First the eyes need to be right on the balls and envision the shot correctly. Then the eyes and brain are coordinating what the eyes and brain are seeing with the body.
Many players that have a crooked stroke can't even see that it is crooked because the eyes are so out of line. This is where the problem all starts.
I hope my explanation helps. It is the way it is.
Working with so many players each week I see it over and over and over.....
All means everyone. Unfortunately not all people can line up correctly and this is the major reason that there are so many different skill levels out there. Alot of it is because of not being lined up correctly with the eyes. Practice and time on the table are also a factor but if the alignment is not right your sunk from the beginning.
I know I keep preaching this and some on here are getting tired of it but the truth is the truth. It is what it is and I'm trying to help.
The eyes and the cue are 2 different situations all together. We don't aim with the cue for starters. The cue is like a spear that we are throwing underhand.
When the eyes are in the correct, most dominant position, the cue will naturally fall into place as far as the aim.
You can however use the cue to a certain extent to aim by using where the tip is as a reference. That doesn't really mean we're aiming with it though but for some it would appear that way.
On the straight in shot most players can naturally get the dominant eye in the correct position to envision the shot correctly. But I have seen players that have played for years have the truely opposite eye forced as the dominant eye.
Once this is turned around and the player understands this the difference is like night and day. Like a bowler that was trying to bowl left handed for years and all of a sudden found out they are right handed and go from a 130 average to a 160 overnight. This is how important this dominant eye thing is.
But like I said this is actually 2 parts to this. If the eyes are not in the correct position on the shot the cue has no chance of being right. How can you line something up straight when what you are lining up to isn't right in the first place. but this is the reason for some crooked strokes because our mind and body is just trying to adjust and make the shot happen.
First the eyes need to be right on the balls and envision the shot correctly. Then the eyes and brain are coordinating what the eyes and brain are seeing with the body.
Many players that have a crooked stroke can't even see that it is crooked because the eyes are so out of line. This is where the problem all starts.
I hope my explanation helps. It is the way it is.
Working with so many players each week I see it over and over and over.....
I think some players like Earl who plays with his cue rite under the eye does just that.I think its a big advantage.
I have a friend who would play pool with me all the time .He lost his eye in a accident ,anyways we still play some every once in a while.I ask him do you feel any different about the way you look at shots now with just one eye.His answer was its easier.
I think we do something very similar.