Fair enough. You "sight" along the cue, but you seem to "aim" based on your perception of the contact-point-to-contact-point line. I was trying to keep the focus on "sighting" in this thread.
Thanks,
Dave
Sighting ... which method do you think is best?
- Thread starter dr_dave
- Start date
Thanks,
Dave
Sighting/Aiming/Parallax
It seems there is a lot of confusion here about what Sighting is and what Aiming is. This is Dr. Daves poll so maybe someone can tell me the difference or at least define what it is "they" mean.
Sighting along the cue makes a lot of sense to me. Im a contact point aiming line person. I m not a systems person when it comes to aim, im a perceptions person, but Im curious about some of the systems but definitely not into the systems thing for aim.
Mark made a comment above I believe about the contact points being in the same place be it a long or short range shot.
While I agree with you in a general sense the parallax on a shot will cause you to mis-judge the shot grossly at times. I found that going to wikipedia and reading the explanation of the term can clear up a lot of what is going on there.
Aint Pool Great!!
Yes I'm from the South!!! Can you tell! I just wish North Carolina were a suburb of Kentucky!!
336Robin
It seems there is a lot of confusion here about what Sighting is and what Aiming is. This is Dr. Daves poll so maybe someone can tell me the difference or at least define what it is "they" mean.
Sighting along the cue makes a lot of sense to me. Im a contact point aiming line person. I m not a systems person when it comes to aim, im a perceptions person, but Im curious about some of the systems but definitely not into the systems thing for aim.
Mark made a comment above I believe about the contact points being in the same place be it a long or short range shot.
While I agree with you in a general sense the parallax on a shot will cause you to mis-judge the shot grossly at times. I found that going to wikipedia and reading the explanation of the term can clear up a lot of what is going on there.
Aint Pool Great!!
Yes I'm from the South!!! Can you tell! I just wish North Carolina were a suburb of Kentucky!!
336Robin
FYI, here's how I define "sighting" in my sighting FAQ document:
Regards,
Dave
By "where do you sight," I mean: where do you align your "vision center," which may or may not be through your dominant eye? By "vision center," I mean the head alignment that allows you to see a center-ball straight-in shot as straight, with the tip appearing to be at the center of the CB. For some people, this might be with the cue under their dominant eye. For others, it might be with the cue under their nose, or somewhere else between their eyes (or even outside of the eyes?). For more info and resources on this topic, see dominant eye summary and resources.
Regards,
Dave
RD3P
Banned
i dont think about my aim much....let alone what system i might be using.
i didnt read the whole thread because i didnt want it to mess me up...during practice or games thinking about this.
i dont know if anyone said it already....i think the best way to describe my aiming is instinctive...i sight down the cue then after that i use my instincts on the rest.....you cant really use a sighting system unless your gona hit the cueball dead center with the same english all the time.
there is too many variables to try and use a constant system in my opinion...i use whats most comfortable to me for anygiven shot.
to sight using the edge of the cueball doesnt make any sense imo....then you dont have any idea how your cue is ligned up.
this is how i shoot, im not the best player in the world by any means. but i play fairly well when im able to get into my stroke. im an 8 ball player comfortable with anyshot on the table...good with paterns and can runout at anytime or miss at anytime....my biggest problem is focus/Target Panic by target panic i dont mean nervouseness but having the feeling that your never quite settled in/focused at the table.
i didnt read the whole thread because i didnt want it to mess me up...during practice or games thinking about this.
i dont know if anyone said it already....i think the best way to describe my aiming is instinctive...i sight down the cue then after that i use my instincts on the rest.....you cant really use a sighting system unless your gona hit the cueball dead center with the same english all the time.
there is too many variables to try and use a constant system in my opinion...i use whats most comfortable to me for anygiven shot.
to sight using the edge of the cueball doesnt make any sense imo....then you dont have any idea how your cue is ligned up.
this is how i shoot, im not the best player in the world by any means. but i play fairly well when im able to get into my stroke. im an 8 ball player comfortable with anyshot on the table...good with paterns and can runout at anytime or miss at anytime....my biggest problem is focus/Target Panic by target panic i dont mean nervouseness but having the feeling that your never quite settled in/focused at the table.
Last edited:
How you aim, and whether or not you use a "system" (consciously or not), are separate issues from "sighting," IMO. Although, sighting is very important during aiming also. All I wanted to know is: after you do whatever it is you do when you aim, where is your "vision center" when you are down on the shot? Most people probably don't think about this (and you probably shouldn't), but I still think it is interesting to know what different people do. Also, I think some people could improve if they had better alignment and sighting for different types of shots.
Regards,
Dave
Regards,
Dave
RD3P
Banned
i guess you could say i try to extend my eye down the shaft throu the cueball and to the point of contact....during setup i look at the cuball, take my ready strokes alternating between cueball-cutip contact and cueball-object ball contact (also ill imagine the ball going in the pocket a few times....important for me to do) and then during my actual shot not really looking at the cueball but im looking throu it with the cueball in my secondary focus. at the actuall time the cuetip makes contact with the cueball the only thing im focused at is the object ball. but i still see my cuestick, cueball and the rest of the table around me.
determining where the cueball needs to make contact with the object ball (aiming)for me is instictive for the most part. (Ghostball only works so much)
i also shoot Traditional archery.......and i kindof use just about the same method...at the exact moment when its time to shoot..all focus is on the target
Last edited:
I will confess I didn't read all 85 or so posts in this thread, but .... I posted this about a year ago and I strongly suggest giving it at least an hour of effort.
After that I believe you will see it beats aiming at imaginary ghost balls or waving your stick side to side.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=123408
After that I believe you will see it beats aiming at imaginary ghost balls or waving your stick side to side.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=123408
Sighting
That was a great link above to a previous post. Thankyou.
Here is what I do: I use whatever method that tells me where to hit the ball best. I may pick out a contact point if the shot is far away or I may see and area to hit where I know the shot is on.
I believe in a equidistant contact point to contact point properly placed but I realize that distance and stance may distort that some so once I see that relationship I get down on the ball, aiming down the cue stick aligned in such a way that with a center ball hit the shot would go. If I have to make adjustments for spin I do it at that time.
I double check some shots by mentally placing the ghost ball and also noting the cut on the ball and the realtionship of the angle to the pocket. I use the cut on the ball to a channel I place to the far side of the pocket. You only have to cut that shot a fraction wider to hit the center of the pocket so its a good re-check.
I may see an immediate match with any of these methods immediately and when I do and I know Im on target I let it rip on the 3rd stroke as my fire stroke only when all of the decisions have been made and the only thing left is to choose my feel for the length of travel is on the shot. I use spin mostly for the reaction off the cushion but it does add or subtract to the speed.
So I sight down the cuestick shooting for an equidistant contact point, correct cue ball cut and sometimes image of the ghost.The Ghost is a larger imagine and once you have placed the contact point if you have placed it wrong then you will be able to correct it or adjust to speed induced throw.
On top of all of that if my body is in a bind on the shot I realize the end of my stroke may not be completely straight and if youre paying attention you can make an allowance for that that will result in the cue ball being pushed off center of the stance alignment line to the correct position.
No this doesnt take that long, you incorporate all of this into your preshot and shot routine, you see it and immediately adjust it. You are just using a trilogy of methods as a check to prevent a miss. The stroke allowance is something you will know based on how many times youve missed that shot the same way. You either get it and make an allowance or you just keep missing. You are firing from feel but this gives you something technical to check your feel with.
336robin
That was a great link above to a previous post. Thankyou.
Here is what I do: I use whatever method that tells me where to hit the ball best. I may pick out a contact point if the shot is far away or I may see and area to hit where I know the shot is on.
I believe in a equidistant contact point to contact point properly placed but I realize that distance and stance may distort that some so once I see that relationship I get down on the ball, aiming down the cue stick aligned in such a way that with a center ball hit the shot would go. If I have to make adjustments for spin I do it at that time.
I double check some shots by mentally placing the ghost ball and also noting the cut on the ball and the realtionship of the angle to the pocket. I use the cut on the ball to a channel I place to the far side of the pocket. You only have to cut that shot a fraction wider to hit the center of the pocket so its a good re-check.
I may see an immediate match with any of these methods immediately and when I do and I know Im on target I let it rip on the 3rd stroke as my fire stroke only when all of the decisions have been made and the only thing left is to choose my feel for the length of travel is on the shot. I use spin mostly for the reaction off the cushion but it does add or subtract to the speed.
So I sight down the cuestick shooting for an equidistant contact point, correct cue ball cut and sometimes image of the ghost.The Ghost is a larger imagine and once you have placed the contact point if you have placed it wrong then you will be able to correct it or adjust to speed induced throw.
On top of all of that if my body is in a bind on the shot I realize the end of my stroke may not be completely straight and if youre paying attention you can make an allowance for that that will result in the cue ball being pushed off center of the stance alignment line to the correct position.
No this doesnt take that long, you incorporate all of this into your preshot and shot routine, you see it and immediately adjust it. You are just using a trilogy of methods as a check to prevent a miss. The stroke allowance is something you will know based on how many times youve missed that shot the same way. You either get it and make an allowance or you just keep missing. You are firing from feel but this gives you something technical to check your feel with.
336robin