Eye eye

[Snookeraddict147]

in jest? serious?

[wzrd]

You can play just as well wearing glasses, or preferably, contact lenses or special snooker "goggles". The problem with normal glasses is that you might be looking right over them when you're down on the shot.

[davyp26uk]

I find that my cue just seems to go to the left side under my chin, so it is "locked into place". Do u reckon this is perfectly normal?

Graham Miles used to play with his chin hanging over one side of the cue and he was a perfectly respectable player.

[Strickimicki]

JAMIE JONES, is another!

Brilliant player, I don't know why he's not in the top 32! Maybe nerves?

[Sini]

You can play just as well wearing glasses, or preferably, contact lenses or special snooker "goggles". The problem with normal glasses is that you might be looking right over them when you're down on the shot.

That's absolutely true, and especially now that the rim and therefore the lense design is less round and doesn't reach as high on the brow as it did before, so it's much more likely you'll be looking over the lenses instead of through. A slight disadvantage

[Phil]

yep, it's a problem playing with glasses. I can handle it, but I have to move my head a little bit.

right-eye dominant btw, left one useless...

[KeithinFrance]

Sighting: I've tried the little trick of pointing at something and then registering wich eye is dominant.

Problem 1) can you all point at an object and still see your finger(s) clearly?
or do they get slightly blurred. (I can only focus on the one or the other)

2) Are your finger(s) always pointing directly at the object everytime? (Mine seems to wander slightly)

3) If you are all having the same problems or know of them, how do you cure them?

Hi there,

Problem 1): How many fingers do you see? When I do this, I see 2 fingers, one on either side of my target. If I focus on one, I have to move my hand to get it on target.
2) No, they never point on target, I have to move my hand every time!
3) It's a common problem, it just means that you have a "convergence" problem, which means that you can't cross your eyes correctly(!!), because the muscles you use to do this don't function correctly or are atrophied.I went to see an ophtalmologist who recommended I see a specialist who does "eye physiotherapy"! This is quite simple and very efficient, the exercise you can do at home is you have to focus on an object and keep focusing as you bring it closer to your eyes (I use a pen) but there are other exercises that only a specialist can do as you need prisms etc.

Because I live in France, the land of the hypochondriacs, I was able to do all this on the social security, in the UK or Germany, I don't know, but it's only a simple muscular problem, you just have to get to see the right person.

I hope this helps, if you need any more info, pm me and I'll try my best!

Keith

[Phil]

Sighting: I've tried the little trick of pointing at something and then registering wich eye is dominant.

Problem 1) can you all point at an object and still see your finger(s) clearly?
or do they get slightly blurred. (I can only focus on the one or the other)

you mean with both eyes open, do you? yes, I do have the same problem. that's pretty normal I guess, because you try to focus thumb and object at the same time.

[Strickimicki]

Thanks Kiethinfrance,

I might just back to you on that.

I'm sure that things like that would be paid for over here in Germany it's still has a very good health system even though it is getting worse!

you mean with both eyes open, do you? yes, I do have the same problem. that's pretty normal I guess, because you try to focus thumb and object at the same time.

Yes I did mean with both eyes open! if I really concentrate I get both finger and object focused, but to do this I have to cancel out the picture my left eye is giving me or blend it in .

That sounds a bit strange I know but if I'm sighting like that I can really pot anything. The one problem is you are never queit sure if you are sighting properly over your right(dominant) eye until you've taken the shot.

[KeithinFrance]

Are you sure that your right eye is your dominant eye? I ask this as because you might have the same "convergence" problem as me then this can muck up the feedback your eyes are receiving.

I don't really understand what you mean by "cancel out the picture my left eye is giving me or blend it in" can you try to elaborate?!? This is going to be tricky!

[Strickimicki]

Yes I'm right eye dominant!

When standing at the balk end of the table and pointing at a piece of chalk on the top rail/cushion, with both eyes open. I then close my left eye! My finger is still on the chalk. When I close my right eye my finger is pointing around 20 -30cm to the right of the chalk.

Is that easy to understand?

When I say "cancel out the picture my left eye is giving me or blend it in"
I do that to get rid of the double finger problem when pointing, not when I'm trying to play.

I never had these problems until I started looking into this dominant eye thing, or maybe I did, and now know what it is but not how to cure it

when I point at something, the chalk on the cushion for example.
I sometimes find, that I'm pointing a little to the left of the object when I close my right eye.

Thats what I meant when I wrote: 2) Are your finger(s) always pointing directly at the object everytime? (Mine seems to wander slightly)

Most of the time it is on target (thats my finger pointing not my aim at snooker).

I know this sounds strange, I'm not overly happy about this myself.

[poolqjunkie]

Why do you need to put this "dominant eye" above the cue?

Is there any proven theory behind this?

Any link?

Isn't it true that one eye is more responsible for close vision and one for far vision?

Thank you.

[Strickimicki]

If you're potting well leave it alone!

If you miss balls and you can't explain why, then maybe get into it.

Most top players have thier dominant eye over thier cue, for a very good example of this, have a look at this.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_eY5FJ...eature=related

5:46 mins

He is a very talented player and I picked this because it's mentioned by the commentators and very good to see!

[KeithinFrance]

Yes I'm right eye dominant!

When standing at the balk end of the table and pointing at a piece of chalk on the top rail/cushion, with both eyes open. I then close my left eye! My finger is still on the chalk. When I close my right eye my finger is pointing around 20 -30cm to the right of the chalk.

Is that easy to understand?

When I say "cancel out the picture my left eye is giving me or blend it in"
I do that to get rid of the double finger problem when pointing, not when I'm trying to play.

I never had these problems until I started looking into this dominant eye thing, or maybe I did, and now know what it is but not how to cure it

when I point at something, the chalk on the cushion for example.
I sometimes find, that I'm pointing a little to the left of the object when I close my right eye.

Thats what I meant when I wrote: 2) Are your finger(s) always pointing directly at the object everytime? (Mine seems to wander slightly)

Most of the time it is on target (thats my finger pointing not my aim at snooker).

I know this sounds strange, I'm not overly happy about this myself.

Hi again,

OK, you're right eye dominant, now we know that for sure!

I still don't get how you can cancel out or blend in the picture you get from your left eye, though, can you help me to understand?

I think that the reason you point at something and find that sometimes you're off-target is because of this "convergence" problem.

Tell me, can you cross your eyes? Some people can focus on the tip of their nose and their eyes cross, some people have to focus on something, eg their finger, and bring the finger towards their nose, and at the end, their eyes cross. These people have no or slight "convergence" problems.

People like me can't do it at all! I've had to do "eye physiotherapy" to be able to focus correctly and it still takes a lot of effort. But, after a lot of sessions with my specialist, it's getting better, and making a huge difference to my game!!

Maybe you can make an appointment to see an optometrist, or an opthalmologist, to get your eyes checked properly. This is not a job for an optician!! Just so's you understand, if I do the standard eye test, reading off the lines, I'm perfect. I can read it all at 5 metres. However, with the more thorough tests of an opthalmologist, we discovered that I need glasses, because I'm astigmatic, which means that my eyes are not round but slightly oval; I've been like this since birth, I've always passed eye tests with flying colours and yet I can't see properly!! But my eyes compensate so well that nothing was noticed until I was 37. It's not because you can read all the lines on the board that your eyes are OK.

[Strickimicki]

As too being able to cross my eyes I'll have to wait until I've got somebody with me to tell!

I can't see them and cross them at the same time

If I concentrate I get a clean picture of what my right eye is seeing but it drifts in and out of clear vision (blurs, becomes a split picture and goes back to clear, over and over until I can't keep it up) for a short length of time.

This sounds daft I know but that's the way it is.

But this is not always the case.

Let me explain something, I'm a lower middle class club player.

I play in our club house and have played in teams over the years. The general thought about me by our better players is something they can only shake thier heads at: I can start to play very well, 10 ft long pots holding for the black like the pros on the telly, make breaks of 30-40 on a regular basis.
Just when I think I'm on the way out of this mess I'm in, I can not see where I should be aiming for. This happens in the middle of a break, in the middle of a frame and for no apparent reason.

I've had a trainer over last year, he said I was cueing straight but had a few technical problems, for example back swing to long, forearm not straight when adressing the cueball a.s.f. But my cueing was/is straight. He also said I'm on line on everyshot when I go down to it.

(I've just fitted this next bit in so if it's out of context sorry)

So standing behind the shot everything is fine, I get down on the shot (everybody who I've had look at me, and that's quiet a few say I'm on line) I'll be hitting the cushion about 5cm left of the pocket. So I end up cueing across the ball to hit for me the correct point on the objectball and that is about as bad as it can get

This is all very good but it's not going to help me out of this, when the point on the object for me is to the left of where it really is. I've tried allowing for this problem but that doesn't work.