Aiming, optical delusions?

[xpredatorx]

Hi mates, my problem could sound ridiculous but I would really be grateful with some help about it.

I practice a lot in last few weeks (4-5 hours per day) and I'm pretty satisfied with increasing of my potting skills, recognizing correct angles and hitting in exact point of object ball I want, even on long pots..... But ....

..it works good when there's any angle with object ball and pocket.
I realize that I am repeating miss balls which is absolutely straight to the pocket!? I thought for a few days it's just a fall of concentration because of easy pots or something like this. But yesterday I made all my training just of straight half-long pots... IT WAS A DISASTER!!! Then I realized that I always miss the object ball on the same side, never on the other side, I even try to correct that by missing a little bit point where I want to strike... and the cue ball again goes on same wrong point, so subconsciously I move it back in last moment. Than I analyze this all day and made many tests on today's training ... and I find most of problems.
First , because of the habit to aim on horizontal line throw center of ball for angle shots like 3/4, 1/2 or 1/4 ball, I find myself that I very often automatically on straight balls point on center of the object ball instead on top of the ball (like Steve Davis advising) ...and that really resolve part of a problem.
But, I also realize, which is why I am writeing this, that under no ideal lights ( clubs, one broken light ball, window with daylight from one side etc) make games on object ball with lights, shiny places and shadows. Brain expects that when half ball has shadow and half is on the light , that the line going through center of the ball..and it looks like that, but it's not. Darker places seem to look smaller than same surfaces on the light side, sometimes even top of the ball is hard to recognize exactly, because there's a shiny light with dark lines from some things from the walls. All in all there's for sure plenty of optical delusions.
Today I correct some of my mistakes but I want to ask you guys, if someone has any kind of good study of Aiming, tricks for corrections, especially if there is something about effects of light on the object ball, - in pdf or any other format to put on site or send me by email I'll be grateful

Of course any advices is welcome

[nrage]

I have a similar problem with straight pots, missing them to the same side, by the same amount, some days. I've found this is due to a cueing fault for the most part, but also due to not aiming at the center of the ball, due to being mislead by the lighting - as you've mentioned. Mentally "resetting" my brain to really aim at the center /and/ fixing the cueing fault and I'm back potting long straight ones. But, mostly it's a cueing fault and not an aiming fault.

[xpredatorx]

Tx for reply nrage,

Well, my first thoughts was that I start to do something wrong with cueing, there's for sure much to work on it, but I try to do some tests like sending cue ball along the long line or striking into line drawn on object which is no rounded etc, and I think there's little bit more problems than just cueing, but that's how I feel it.
But thank you for two very important things that you are mentioned:
1- "some days"..that's true, some days it's reasonable and some days it's total disaster
2- "resetting brain"..problem, whatever it is, somehow slip in conscious, and it's not enough to see it and make correction, it's need total reset of aiming, cueing, sighting points, thinking, movements...everything

[sydneygeorge]

This is a very familiar story to me.
On a good day I will pot 9/10 long straight Blues,the day after its 4/10,very very frustrating.
I have had good results so far,by adusting my stance,I play right handed and if I have the cue line further over to the left of my right foot I can provoke missing to to the left and visa versa.You may want to experiment with this to see if it is affecting you.
I have now adopted a more square on and wider stance in addition I have also found that slowing down the feathering proccess and focusing on a smooth delivery has helped me enormously to the point where over the last 3 sessions I have averaged 7/10, hope it lasts !
I now seem to be averaging 7/10

[nrage]

@sydneygeorge. I'll give that a go next time I'm practicing, thanks!

[xpredatorx]

sydneygeorge.... THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!

All those days I'm in battle with straight shoots because I try to liquidate the problem ones for all, and there was a points that I change something , for 3-5 shoots it seems to be better and then again...all cue-balls goes on the f...... left side of the object ball. So I try to take care on exact line (even with plumb-bob ) of cue and right foot like sydneygerge said.
I realise that I'm scare to go more on the right with body (and cue) because I somehow made premeditation that then all of my weight will be only on the right foot and that I start (on longer preparing for shot ) slowly swing a bit. Actually this really happens to me but more on the right from the middle line of the foot. Because of that scare I didn't know that my line of the cue goes throw the left edge of my right foot, maybe even more left . When I improve it to the middle (hardly from beginning).... straight long shoots start to potting one by one.

So, this for sure solve big part of problem, but I still think that shadows on bad lighting make problem about finding exact middle of the balls. As I said somethimes cheking with the highest point of the object ball can help but sometimes it's problem too. That I'm not only one who think about that and imagine things I find one practice lesson on "The Snooker Gym" school (which is supported by The Rocket). Lesson is not imported (straight shots to the top cushion and back) but they insist that you do it on three lines (throw the middle of the table, middle of left side and throw the middle of right side of the table...and there's explanation of why should you practice it from three points:

" It will test your ability to easily find the center of the cue ball from different lighting positions. The lamp shade is usually central along the length of the table which means that the shadows on the cue ball are slightly different when the cue ball is in different positions on the table. "
I practice in the morning and have strong daylight on one side of the table (no other choice)... and I'm sure that's not helping me.

[sydneygeorge]

I am a big fan of Nic Barrow and The Snooker Gym,on one of his dvds he suggests missing pots deliberately to both sides of the pocket in order to see what it takes for you to miss.
I have tried this and it was very helpfull.
I forgot to mention earlier that I am using a spotted Aramith cue ball in all my practice sessions and find it invaluable as it tells me immediately if I hit the centre of the ball. Some players in my club think I am a bit of a lunatic for practicing the same routine ( ie long straight Blues ) for hours at a time and perhaps I am but I have learnt so much about co ordinating aiming,stance and delivery from this exercise,there is just no margin for error in this practice.