Where do your eyes look?
- Thread starter dakaratestar
- Start date
I wonder how many peoples have train there stroke with a bottle. I think most of the peoples knows the trick. Just stroke a few times with your tip/shaft into the bottle without touching the bottle. I really want to know what the results are for the most of the players, when looking at the opening of the bottle and looking behind the bottle.
WesleyW said:
If you have a really good pendulum stroke then that method of training is pretty much useless because after you strike the cue ball the tip of the cue should be starting to head downward towards the table. Therefore you will hit the bottle every time if you are doing the pendulum stroke properly.
The only time the cue needs to be level in a normal shot is when you actually strike the cue ball!
A better stroke trainer is Joe Tucker's system!
I don't think so. Do you have any written reference? The other factor is that people don't always do what they say (or believe that they do). How about youtube videos of snooker champs in which eye movement is clear?WesleyW said:
One could do far worse than have the fundamentals of Alison Fisher. She is very, very methodical in her eye movement. She plays snooker fairly well. She does not do as you claim.
If I were to say 'Absolute bollocks' would you know what I meant? Your cue follows your eye. Look where you want to send the ball and there it goes. That's how snooker players do it. You absolutely must look toward the object ball if you want to be accurate. Forget potting anything over 3 foot on a snooker table otherwise. This is actually rule 2 of snooker - "Always look at the object ball at impact". Rule 1 is 'Never look at the cue ball at impact'.WesleyW said:
Boro Nut
Boro Nut said:
Look at the first shot of John Higgins:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TB0_7f5ft4&mode=related&search=
When John takes the trigger, his eyebrow went down. After he pulled the trigger, hit eyebrow follows the CB and went up. You can argue if he is really looking at the CB. But if he is looking at the OB, his eyebrow need to get up.
I see things differently from you. It sure looks to me like on the first shot of his break his eyebrows do not move from striking to ball being potted, which means he is looking up-table during his final forward stroke. On all the other shots where I feel I have a reasonable view of his eyes, I do not see what you claim.WesleyW said:
Scott Lee said:
Here's yet another rationale for object ball last over cue ball last.
You're in position, you've aimed, you've taken a few practice strokes, and all systems are go. The only thing left is to stroke straight. And that's what all of this is about. Whether you focus on the OB or the CB isn't really about the OB or the CB, it's about stroking straight.
Here's an analogy. Let's say you're a baseball pitcher who can fairly consistently throw a ball and hit a 12-inch wide target that is 60 feet away. This target is equivalent to a 6-inch wide target that is 30 feet away, and it's equivalent to a 2-inch wide target that is 10 feet away. Now put a hole in a wall that is 10 feet away from you that can fit a baseball with 1 inch of play all the way around. Now, are you--the good pitcher--consistently going to be able to throw the baseball cleanly through the opening? Sounds to me harder than hitting the glove 60 feet away. It is easier to aim at the further away object.
With this in mind, I've been experimenting with something lately that takes the CB/OB focus thing one step further. Imagine a long tough shot with CB on the head rail and OB in the middle of the table. Instead of focusing on the OB, I actually look past the OB to a point on the far rail (or even on the next table or out the window down the street) where my aim takes me. I really think this has been helping me to pocket these balls. It could be working for me for a number of possible reasons, including (1) the baseball pitcher effect, or (2) I have no tendency to want to "steer" the fire extinguisher, or (3) I've distracted myself sufficiently that I actually stay down, or (4) I and I alone have some unusual stroke problem that happens to be helped by this.
This technique can also be used for a long shot when the cue ball is close to the object ball and the shot is nearly straight in. Instead of aiming at the object ball, you can shoot towards a point in or near the pocket -- a distant target.mikepage said:
Seconded. At 1:10 where you can see his eyes he is not looking at the cue ball.Bob Jewett said:
I know of no professional snooker player who advocates looking at the cue ball at impact as Wesley claims. Nor of any decent local players. I may be wrong, but I doubt it. Frank Callan disagrees with him too Yes I do
This can be:-
1 - Before you begin your backswing,
2 - After you complete your backswing,
3 - As you complete your stoke.
In all instances the eyes are on the target at impact.
If you can't hit the cue ball at the exact point you set up to hit it without looking at it then the problem isn't with your eyes.
Boro Nut
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one thing that gets me about this subject is people keep making analogies to other sports like darts etc. Pool is different though. there are two elements. where you send the cue ball, and where on the cue ball the cue contacts. i find that when i need to be very accurate about where on the cb i am striking, it's better to look at the object ball last. so i can hit exactly where i want. as long as i've lined up properly and am aiming in the right place, as has already been mentioned, it shouldnt matter where your eyes are looking. your eyes arent taking the shot.
Bulls eye pistol shooting
In bulls eye pistol shooting, having established the sight alignment, the front sight picture is slightly blurred as you focus on the target as you pull the trigger.
Would the Cue & CB be the sight alignment & the OB the target?
The eye can not focus short distance & long distance simultaneously.
Forget about point shooting in close combat.
Scott Lee said:
In bulls eye pistol shooting, having established the sight alignment, the front sight picture is slightly blurred as you focus on the target as you pull the trigger.
Would the Cue & CB be the sight alignment & the OB the target?
The eye can not focus short distance & long distance simultaneously.
Forget about point shooting in close combat.
berlowmj said:
Shooting guns and shooting pool have nothing in common. Agreed that you cannot focus short and long at the same time. That's why you focus on each target (CB & OB) separately for a period of time (2 seconds). This allows the brain to receive the visual information from the eyes, process it, and provide some kind of feedback (go or don't go, for example).
Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
look when
I've found what works best for me is
2 practice strokes looking at the cb, ~2 sec.
set, visualize cb path from prior calculations
look to ob, verify cb & ob action on current aim ~2 sec.
if my comparison isn't grooving, stand up start over
if it looks right, backswing, pause, finish, freeze, smile
Thanks go out to Scott and everyone else who teaches
good pre shot routines.
Timing is key and not everyone has to do everything
the same way.
Don't take anything away from consistency either.
-cOOp
ps. don't forget to breathe
I've found what works best for me is
2 practice strokes looking at the cb, ~2 sec.
set, visualize cb path from prior calculations
look to ob, verify cb & ob action on current aim ~2 sec.
if my comparison isn't grooving, stand up start over
if it looks right, backswing, pause, finish, freeze, smile
Thanks go out to Scott and everyone else who teaches
good pre shot routines.
Timing is key and not everyone has to do everything
the same way.
Don't take anything away from consistency either.
-cOOp
ps. don't forget to breathe
DrCue'sProtege said:
Exactly. Well said. I've won tons of money at the bars lining up on the eight....and then having a short convo with my opponent asking if they want to make a side bet on a no looker eight ball shot. They get suckered in not knowing I have already took aim and with a straight stroke will pocket the ball 95% of the time.
I look at the ob last unless it's a shot that requires extreme precision as to placement of the tip on the cb and on these shots I'll look at the cb last. I include break shots, masse, jump, sometimes off the rail, and when I need table length draw in this catagory.
I can't prove it but I believe that I'm more accurate when I look at the ob last.
I can't prove it but I believe that I'm more accurate when I look at the ob last.
PoolBum said:
Every player whom I have ever watched the first thing I look for is what their eyes are doing.
Watch Earl on TV or tapes or whatever. You will see. It is very obvious.
Allison Fisher is sort of a modified 'looking at the cueball last'. One of my best friends took a lesson from her and just before she shoots, her eyes are clued to the cueball. Then as she draws the cue back on her final stroke, her eyes shift up to the object ball.
I also forgot to mention that Keith McCready looks at the cueball last. Noticed on tapes/TV/ and in person at various pool halls in the DC area.
whitewolf said:
So I guess with that long pause she has at the back of her back stroke, her eyes are fucused on the object ball for a couple of seconds before she actually shoots.....which is exactly what Scott was saying...look at the object ball last.
Steve