Aim under dominant eye.

[ChrisKaba]

Hi.
I am Chris and I am a beginner. I am left eye dominant, right handed player. I encounter inconsistent view when I walk in to the line of aim.
My question is, when shall I move my dominant eye on the line, at the stage of walk in and approaching the table?
Is it from the beginning when I stand and start looking at the shot? If so, how can I move my right foot on the line where my left part of the body is blocking....
or
Is it after I step in my right foot on to the line? Then move my head align my left eye on the line where my right foot is on? With this method I feel lots of head movement from the starting position.
When should I aim the shot?
Please feel free to give me your advice..
Thanks

[Terry Davidson]

There have been lots of heated discussions on this point on here, do a search and you will find the answer but it will take a lot of reading. Basically you aim when standing behind the shot and in the process of getting down into the address and sighting position you align your head the way you want it.

However, the main discussion points on this have been whether it's necessary to align the cue under the dominant eye. Some coaches and players say centre-chin all the time (like myself and Nic Barrow) and others disagree and advise changing the set-up to align the cue under the dominant eye.

In some of the research it turns out players will have one eye they use to sight the shot (usually called the preferred eye) and this is not necessarily their dominant eye.

Just choose something and keep it consistent.

Terry

[cyberheater]

There have been lots of heated discussions on this point on here, do a search and you will find the answer but it will take a lot of reading. Basically you aim when standing behind the shot and in the process of getting down into the address and sighting position you align your head the way you want it.

However, the main discussion points on this have been whether it's necessary to align the cue under the dominant eye. Some coaches and players say centre-chin all the time (like myself and Nic Barrow) and others disagree and advise changing the set-up to align the cue under the dominant eye.

In some of the research it turns out players will have one eye they use to sight the shot (usually called the preferred eye) and this is not necessarily their dominant eye.

Just choose something and keep it consistent.

Terry

Yep. Everything that Terry has said especially that bit. Which sadly I don't follow as I'm constantly tinkering with my technique.

[ChrisKaba]

Thanks for your answer Terry. Below is how I walk into the shot under my left eye. Please correct me if I am doing any mistake.
First I put my right foot on the line.
Then I tilt my body to the right until my left eye is directly on the line.
Then I move my right foot forward follow by left foot to the side.
Then I place the cue on the line (under left eye), as my grip hand aiming to the shot.
Then I lower my body until my chest touches the cue.
Thanks

[Terry Davidson]

Thanks for your answer Terry. Below is how I walk into the shot under my left eye. Please correct me if I am doing any mistake.
First I put my right foot on the line.
Then I tilt my body to the right until my left eye is directly on the line.
Then I move my right foot forward follow by left foot to the side.
Then I place the cue on the line (under left eye), as my grip hand aiming to the shot.
Then I lower my body until my chest touches the cue.
Thanks

Good God man, you're worrying about something you shouldn't even be thinking about (but at least you're doing it when standing behind the shot). So let me re-emphasize here...IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!!! What you're doing I find to be just a little too much of a control freak thing. Relax and let your natural technique handle things so you don't even have to think about it.

Don't get yourself all wound up over these very minor nitty-gritty details and look at the different pros and you will see they all do a lot of things differently but they all get there in the end, no matter what technique they use. So stop worrying and just do something consistently and get practicing.

Terry

[ChrisKaba]

Thanks for your advice Terry.

[MikeTheBigMonster]

Good God man, you're worrying about something you shouldn't even be thinking about (but at least you're doing it when standing behind the shot). So let me re-emphasize here...IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!!! What you're doing I find to be just a little too much of a control freak thing. Relax and let your natural technique handle things so you don't even have to think about it.

Don't get yourself all wound up over these very minor nitty-gritty details and look at the different pros and you will see they all do a lot of things differently but they all get there in the end, no matter what technique they use. So stop worrying and just do something consistently and get practicing.

Terry

now i think i can practice better. thanks

[vmax4steve]

Your own eyesight will determine this naturally. If you have a very dominant eye then that eye will lead you, if you don't then the cue will fit somewhere between your eyes where your brain perceives the line of aim best.

If you have a very dominant eye and you consciously override it to fit into some centre chin cueing ideal of perfection, then you could very well have sighting problems.

Simply allow your arm to follow what your eyes perceive and stand in the correct place that makes this natural and comfortable.
If you find yourself cueing directly over one eye, and it feels good and you can see clearly then all is well and good, if you don't and you can see clearly then all is well and good also.

Don't overide what is natural to you because some pro player does it differently to you or some coach says this is the way to do it. Everyones eyesight is different and how you yourself perceive the line of aim dictates where the cue is placed.

[ChrisKaba]

Thanks for your guidance. For centre eye players, they use their nose as a guide to stay on line of aim. Is there any part of face can be used as a guide for left eyed player?

[Terry Davidson]

Thanks for your guidance. For centre eye players, they use their nose as a guide to stay on line of aim. Is there any part of face can be used as a guide for left eyed player?

I am right-handed and right eye dominant but because of eye surgery my left eye is stronger. I aim (standing behind the shot) using my nose as a guide and when I get down into the shot my head is turned slightly to the right which places my left eye (preferred for sighting) closer to the cue. I don't believe I do this in a conscious effort and I think it's more to relieve any strain on my lower neck since I'm an older geezer.

As vmax has said above ^^ do whatever comes natural and don't worry about it as how your eyes are aligned to the cue is not really important however what is important is doing something consistently in order for your brain to get trained to sight correctly. If you worry about your eye alignment then you're not thinking of the right thing, which is sighting and delivery technique.

Terry

[ChrisKaba]

Thank you so much. I ve been learning so much from your articles. My main problem is my potting, which is inconsistent. I think I am having problem of not able to keep the cue on line for every shot. Hope I can improve and get higher break after this practice.

[Ramon]

Thank you so much. I ve been learning so much from your articles. My main problem is my potting, which is inconsistent. I think I am having problem of not able to keep the cue on line for every shot. Hope I can improve and get higher break after this practice.

Place 15 balls in t line up position along the length of the snooker table. DO NOT use the CB for this practice. choose a pocket in the cnr of The table (does'nt matter wich one, but you need to aim each time to the same pocket). just try to sent ( pot ) these 15 balls, one at a time in the same pocket !!!!. In this training, the pocket is the contact area of the RED BALL (target)., This practice gives your brain an idea which eye is dominant and helps you cueing in the line off the aim., And to concentrating on target while cueing. !!!!! You have to see it this way : next time you play, and you want pot the red ( Red ball is the pocket voor you. ., I'm not a coach. but this was told me by a coach. Some people find this practice useful and some do'nt. You may want give it a try . Hope work for you. Btw , Great Posts f Terry and Vmax.

[Catch 22]

Place 15 balls in t line up position along the length of the snooker table. DO NOT use the CB for this practice. choose a pocket in the cnr of The table (does'nt matter wich one, but you need to aim each time to the same pocket). just try to sent ( pot ) these 15 balls, one at a time in the same pocket !!!!. In this training, the pocket is the contact area of the RED BALL (target)., This practice gives your brain an idea which eye is dominant and helps you cueing in the line off the aim., And to concentrating on target while cueing. !!!!! You have to see it this way : next time you play, and you want pot the red ( Red ball is the pocket voor you. ., I'm not a coach. but this was told me by a coach. Some people find this practice useful and some do'nt. You may want give it a try . Hope work for you. Btw , Great Posts f Terry and Vmax.

I like this idea

[itsnoteasy]

Your own eyesight will determine this naturally. If you have a very dominant eye then that eye will lead you, if you don't then the cue will fit somewhere between your eyes where your brain perceives the line of aim best.

If you have a very dominant eye and you consciously override it to fit into some centre chin cueing ideal of perfection, then you could very well have sighting problems.

Simply allow your arm to follow what your eyes perceive and stand in the correct place that makes this natural and comfortable.
If you find yourself cueing directly over one eye, and it feels good and you can see clearly then all is well and good, if you don't and you can see clearly then all is well and good also.

Don't overide what is natural to you because some pro player does it differently to you or some coach says this is the way to do it. Everyones eyesight is different and how you yourself perceive the line of aim dictates where the cue is placed.

This is how I feel about it as well , very nice post Vmax.

[ChrisKaba]

Thanks Ramon. I got clearer view and better understanding of the line after that practice.