Playing better your there closer than most. Repetition..
This is just another log on the fire I suppose, but I'm in awe that thread is still pulling in the comments.
I'm also in awe at the notion that simply adjusting your line of view relative to the cue will instantly make you 3 balls stronger. There's so much more going on, but somehow this one element is the keystone to making all of players of the world take a quantum leap in skill. I admittingly know nothing of eye dominance, but like anyone else who's spent real time being decent at this game can do, I can walk through a pool hall and usually point out why guys miss and/or are inconsistent.
Here's the thing... I've done the diy home eye dominance tests, (use your thumb, make a circle with your fingers, hole in a piece of paper, stare at the blurry picture until you see the boat) and according to all of them, I'm right eye dominant. Enough that when I do that circle finger test the object lands nearly all the way to the left of the circle. Not sure how bad that is...
Now my stroke and stance are locked down, and snooker based. During any shot, I have an open bridge, center of my chin resting on my cue, the side of my chest also rests on the cue.
Now that the stage is set here are my tendencies... I very rarely (I am human) miss open shots that do not require having some added element of difficulty. Meaning, if it's a roll in, straight follow, straight draw, stun, length does not matter, then it's in. That said, I'm talking about just making the ball here. In game play there are many added elements of difficulty and I suffer from them as much as any other at my level.
How do I have the ability to sight shots and make them so consistently, if I have right eye dominance but center the cue under my chin...? Now you could easily just say that I'm lying, and that in truth I miss open shots all the time. Well I'm not going to post 24hrs of video proving my claim, so just take my word for it. Here's the thing, assuming I do have a dominance "problem" (in quotes for a reason), my years of play have corrected for it.
Roll back to my first months playing:
-sight a shot
-miss the shot (to the right?)
-set up the shot again and adjust
-make the shot
-make mental note that I need to contact the object ball at this point to make it follow this path.
-move on
The above is no different for any player. Whether you have a dominance "problem" or not. No one breaks out a compass, ruler, and whatever math you would need to determine the contact point prior to ever hitting a ball. The whole game is trial and error.
Eye dominance can be correct in two ways. Either shift your head alignment, or adjust or aim. I'm going to hazard a guess and say most adjust their aim. I know I did, or at least I must have, or I shouldn't have ever made a ball...lol. The idea of someone who honestly wants to get better at this game, but has continually missed shots in the same manner and not tried to correct for it prior to learning about eye dominance is insane. Because that's the definition of insanity. To continually do something in the same manner but expecting different results.
For me..., my fundamentals are so ingrained in my game that I'd rather continue to subconsciously correct my aim then sort out my eye dominance "problem". Not having my chin on center on the cue would be way too distracting for me.
So if any are wondering... I kept putting "problem" in quotes, because I don't believe it is indeed a problem to the magnitude that is portrayed in this thread. It's merely a variable that needs to be corrected for. Most adjust their aim and learn consistency with practice with that adjustment. Based on this thread, I suppose some will flounder for eternity until someone else gets them to shift their head in a given direction.
Thanks for your constructive comment here.
First of all I used this eye dominance test for the first 3 months on the road teaching. Because I was doing allot of lesson, about 20 to 25 per week, I was seeing the same thing over and over. This test just flat out didn't work for everyone. I would waste allot of time trying to get the player under that eye thinking I could help them and it was a disaster until we went with the other eye. Finally I just gave up on it and learned how to find ones dominant eye on the pool table that was totally fool proof.
Playing at a higher level, you are a perfect example of how the dominant eye gets there naturally to a certain extent. It's a combination of you making the shot with the eye prefect many times with sometimes not so perfect. it only takes about 1/8 down on the shot the wrong way to the right or left and the correct picture is a little distorted. You can still make the ball most of the time bit it just didn't quite look right.
Stance and stroke are usually a big reason the better player can play better. From repetition and playing allot their stance and stroke are in a better place naturally getting the eyes there also. Our bodies and brains are trying to get it done for us naturally.
Kind of like in the wild west. If you would jump on a buffalo with a knife and stick it's neck trying to stop it and you get blood in your eye your would hardly notice that you could not see out of that eye. The other eye would just pick up the load and get it done. This is what the body does. it just tries to get it done. One eye or not.
On the pool shot. If you have the wrong eye working like the dominant eye the brain will just try to get it done. It might be saying to your brain, I suck , but I will try to get it done. This is why lower level players play so bad. For them it's like trying to aim a gun with the barrel right in the middle of the nose. You either have to be to the right or the left a little so the brain can do what it does and help you sort this out naturally.
But, if you know where this position is you can get there manually. Now you have something to work with. Now you can work at making it better instead of just making it a little better. Now you can adjust the stance to follow this more perfect position of the eyes and this will also put your stroke in a more perfect position also.
To someone like yourself, your naturally getting there, whether by repetition or just one of those players that just got there right away, you got there and can play better. But you don't know where the most exact perfect position is. This is that spot you get down on a shot and it looks so perfect you could never miss it. You would bet 1 million dollars on that shot.
This is where I teach the players to get with Perfect Aim. And once they get there now we have to adjust the stance and the stroke to follow the new position of the eyes.
For the better player like yourself that is already close the adjustments are much smaller because everything else is already pretty close to being there.
I hope this cleared it up a little.
When I do this lesson i have total confidence that the player will be in awe about what they just learned.
Are they going to play 3 balls immediately...Probably not. But depending on the player the improvements are huge as far as how they can see the shot. Now they can improve instead of having that 3 level stuck on their head seemingly forever.
One young man in the Twin Cities. His name is Joe. He was one of the worst players in the master league. 9 foot tables 2 years ago. Now he is in the running to be the top player. I see stuff like this all the time and I expect it.
Some of the kids I taught this to in the Twin Cities and around are playing as good as anyone in the country. They could play professionally but they are raising families and have great jobs. Pool is not on the top of everything list for them. But they play awful good.
I'm 68 and can still play at a pretty high level. I still to this day after years of playing have to start with the eye and fit everything around them Otherwise it's a real struggle.
Got to go. Got a tournament to win today and a lesson later on. Gave a great day my friend. .:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: