Ways To Keep Your Dominant Eye, Dominant
- Thread starter Mikjary
- Start date
You mean the non-dominant eye, right?
When all is said and done on this thread could you explain the findings in simple terms. I can usually understand your post pretty well
Using the 3rd eye trainer is a great idea but only to confirm your perception of the tip at address.... If you try to use it to create the base vision center focus you discount how the eyes work to create parallax which occurs at the object ball....
I have the 3rd eye trainer and highly recommend it for AFTER you establish your vision center to make sure you know where center is vs where it looks like it is....... Joe's 3rd eye trainer for the money may be the best training aid on the market to date out there.....
If you want bench marks Geno is your man.... He showed me several check points to the single one I use and showed him.... If I can get to a table over the weekend with a camera I can show you my trick but the video will be shorter than the time it will take for me to try and describe it in words.......
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He might be posing but there are many photos of him that the cue looks to be under his left eye, but someone could simply say the camera angle is misleading. This shot was the only one I could find where it was head on. And it wasn't too surprising that the cue was under his left eye.
To the earlier question of cross dominance, it looks like there ate two distinct head alignments : head square and head tilted. I would guess that one is cross dominance and the other is submissive alignment. Again, it'd be pretty easy to ask the pros to do a quick eye dominance confirmation for the forum members who know the ones I listed.
Freddie <~~~ submissively aligned
It should be little issue to find out.
My experience with players who tend to tilt their heads to view things (including myself) is because their dominant eye is severely dominant and they are viewing with their dominant eye.
Hi Fran,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Here's my $0.02. I've done alot of coaching in other sports, especially baseball. I've had players that were having problems hitting the ball. They might have been fouling off alot of balls or hitting them in play but not solid. Many times this was because their heads were 'tilted'.
We walk around everyday, all day, & do most everything with our head straight on top of our shoulders & our eyes level. When I got those players to position their heads level with level eyes, their hitting improved immediately both in frequency of hit & solidity of contact & with confidence came more power.
Try doing something like preparing a salad with your eyes tilted or even just walk around the house with your eyes tilted. It is not conducive to success. Most snooker players play with level eyes(for accuracy) because their more square snooker stance makes it easier to keep their eyes level.
I naturally gravited to a snooker like stance without any instruction. I believe I did so because it is more natural, at least to me.
Please understand, I know you know to what I am referring & this is more intended for anyone that may be having this type of problem than directed to you.
Again, Happy Thanksgiving & Stay Well,
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I don't know the answer to your question.
I do know that each of us has a "perfect aim" position and often, our dominant eye may be in a different location from what others use.
It wasn't long ago that the experts were saying that the dominant eye theory in pool is unimportant and all that you have to do is center your eyes over the shot line and cue.
As Stan Shuffett and Gene Albrecht have discovered, eye position matters GREATLY!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I do know that each of us has a "perfect aim" position and often, our dominant eye may be in a different location from what others use.
It wasn't long ago that the experts were saying that the dominant eye theory in pool is unimportant and all that you have to do is center your eyes over the shot line and cue.
As Stan Shuffett and Gene Albrecht have discovered, eye position matters GREATLY!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Many people (including some "experts") have and still do claim that it doesn't matter which eye is "dominant" (according to the standard generally accepted definition of ocular "dominance"). However, most people (especially "experts") have always known that how and where you align your eyes is extremely important in pool (regardless of which eye might be "dominant" or not).
In fact, visually alignment is probably the single most important of all pool "fundamentals."
For people who want to learn more about this topic, additional info along with supporting resources can be found here:
Regards and Happy Thanksgiving,
Dave
Stan and Gene certainly didn't "discover" the importance of eye position, but they most definitely have helped a great deal in making people more aware of how important it is to have a purposeful pre-shot routine to help ensure accurate and consistent alignment.
Regards,
Dave
Who was it that discovered the importance of eye position?
Mingaud??
Seriously - pool players have known about eye position for decades,
and likely decades brfore Stan or Gene were born.
With me - directly over the shaft is critical.
But, I think there is a good chance that having your eye(s) in the same
place every time might just be more important than where they are.
Dale
This isn't the sort of thing somebody "discovers." I'm sure good instructors and players many hundreds of years ago were just as aware of the importance of visual alignment as many are today.
Regardless, I am glad that Gene, Stan, and others stress the importance of this critical fundamental. FYI, Mike Page had many online videos out dealing with aiming and the importance of sighting many years before Stan and Gene came on the scene. However, that doesn't mean Mike "discovered" it either. For those who are interested, Mike's videos, along with additional supporting resources, are available here:
Regards,
Dave
Gene Albrecht seemed to be the only instructor talking, writing and publishing about the importance of the dominant eye position while aiming.
Maybe I've missed it but I've never seen any author or publisher write anything about the importance of the dominant eye position for certain shots prior to Gene Albrecht.
I know you've collected a lot of good material from various sources but I think Gene may be the first one to discuss and teach about the importance of the position of the dominant eye for various shots.
Maybe I give Gene Albecht the main credit for teaching people about the importance of the dominant eye because he has been able to reach so many of the interested students and the fact that he teaches pool players almost daily, about that importance or maybe it's because Gene was the first one to teach that the dominant eye should be in a certain position for each shot.
Regardless, Perfect Aim is something that Gene teaches and teaches well. I know many people have altered the way they look at shots based upon what Gene teaches and the results have been astounding. I know Gene takes phone calls at 715.563.8712 so maybe he could tell you how he came to know about the importance of keeping the dominant eye in certain locations for different shots. But on the other hand, maybe he enjoys teaching that one-on-one with his many students. No matter, it's all good, Gene's out there where the rubber meets the road, two men and a van. :yeah:
In addition to that, Gene keeps a chronical of his travels making a living playing and teaching pool ON THE ROAD which you can read about by clicking here.
If someone hasn't said it already, I strongly recommend calling Gene Albrecht. His whole perfect aim system is all about this topic. He offers a free phone lesson that is *very* helpful for this exact purpose. He is good about returning pm's. I think his az name is genomachino.
Good luck!
KMRUNOUT
Good luck!
KMRUNOUT
Agreed. Many people teach and write about the importance of having one's personal vision center in the right place, but Gene seems to place an emphasis on ocular dominance. He also seems to imply that the dominant eye should be placed differently for different shots. This is definitely different from what most instructors teach.
Regards,
Dave
Here is an interesting tidbit. I have played with the cue centered on my eyes for several years. After researching and studying the idea for a year or so I concluded that my brain has learned to compensate for my right dominant eye throughout life. There are times (long thin cut shots) when I use my right (dominant eye) over the cue but 90 -95 percent of the time I have the cue centered.
My vision was 20/40 in my left eye and 20/20 in my right eye. It was about 20/30 and 20/20 when wearing glasses. Last year I had cataract surgery on both eyes. My vision was corrected to 20/20 in both eyes and I no longer have to wear glasses. However, I have a convergence problem: At a distance I see four tail lights on a car rather than two. The optometrist prescribed a pair of glasses for driving that correct the convergence problem. So I wear glasses when driving but that is all.
It took about six months for my eyes to adjust after surgery and now I am pretty much back to playing as before: Pretty much because I had eye lid surgery two weeks ago to repair drooping eye lids and my eye lids are still swollen.
I tried to adjust my sight picture based on my new tri focal inter ocular lens with 20/20 vision in both eyes and slight right eye dominance. I found that after a month of trying to adjust I still play best with the cue centered on my chin. I conclude that for most shots a centered cue is best for me.
I conclude, as before, that your brain long ago learned to compensate for eye dominance in your everyday life. Playing pool is for the most part a three dimensional game when seen from above the table and along two or more lines of travel for the cue ball and the object ball. The brain has a preferred way to adjust for the disparities in your eyes and compensates as needed.
When extreme accuracy is needed over long distances the brain compensates by using one eye to line up three objects over a long distance. Try it with two small objects on your kitchen table and some small object outside your kitchen window and you will see that you “prefer” using one eye (20 feet is about where infinity begins for the normal human eye). Under these circumstances all perspective is lost for the enhanced accuracy. I think the same concepts apply when playing pool. Most of the times you need three dimensional accuracy using your brain’s usual processes to compensate for a dominant eye. Occasionally, when you are willing to give up three dimensional planning for accuracy then one eyed sighting is needed.
I think that people have a “normal” compensation for eye dominance. This can be determined by pointing at a door knob that is six feet away. Just point at it with your arm extended. Now look at where the tip of your index finger is relative to your eyes and you may find that the fingertip is located closer to one eye than the other. Some people compensate with their finger placement, some people compensate with the attention they pay to each eye. I would think this can change over time depending upon the person and their individual changes in vision. Hence Dr. Dave’s visual alignment procedures are useful.
My vision was 20/40 in my left eye and 20/20 in my right eye. It was about 20/30 and 20/20 when wearing glasses. Last year I had cataract surgery on both eyes. My vision was corrected to 20/20 in both eyes and I no longer have to wear glasses. However, I have a convergence problem: At a distance I see four tail lights on a car rather than two. The optometrist prescribed a pair of glasses for driving that correct the convergence problem. So I wear glasses when driving but that is all.
It took about six months for my eyes to adjust after surgery and now I am pretty much back to playing as before: Pretty much because I had eye lid surgery two weeks ago to repair drooping eye lids and my eye lids are still swollen.
I tried to adjust my sight picture based on my new tri focal inter ocular lens with 20/20 vision in both eyes and slight right eye dominance. I found that after a month of trying to adjust I still play best with the cue centered on my chin. I conclude that for most shots a centered cue is best for me.
I conclude, as before, that your brain long ago learned to compensate for eye dominance in your everyday life. Playing pool is for the most part a three dimensional game when seen from above the table and along two or more lines of travel for the cue ball and the object ball. The brain has a preferred way to adjust for the disparities in your eyes and compensates as needed.
When extreme accuracy is needed over long distances the brain compensates by using one eye to line up three objects over a long distance. Try it with two small objects on your kitchen table and some small object outside your kitchen window and you will see that you “prefer” using one eye (20 feet is about where infinity begins for the normal human eye). Under these circumstances all perspective is lost for the enhanced accuracy. I think the same concepts apply when playing pool. Most of the times you need three dimensional accuracy using your brain’s usual processes to compensate for a dominant eye. Occasionally, when you are willing to give up three dimensional planning for accuracy then one eyed sighting is needed.
I think that people have a “normal” compensation for eye dominance. This can be determined by pointing at a door knob that is six feet away. Just point at it with your arm extended. Now look at where the tip of your index finger is relative to your eyes and you may find that the fingertip is located closer to one eye than the other. Some people compensate with their finger placement, some people compensate with the attention they pay to each eye. I would think this can change over time depending upon the person and their individual changes in vision. Hence Dr. Dave’s visual alignment procedures are useful.