Eye eye

[reverse_side]

Just something I found out only a couple of months ago.... if you're watching someone playing snooker and the cue seems to be more under one eye than the other, it's going to be because that eye is more dominant than the other and it may help budding and not so effervescent players to improve their game.

The test is to point a finger (index is fine) at anything in the room or through the window and then close one eye while continuing to point at the peacock's feather, altoids tin or whatever!

If you're still pointing at the item, whichever eye is still open is your dominant eye, if you're not, swap eyes and if your finger's pointing directly at what you're looking at, it's your other eye. If it's smack in the middle, both eyes are of equal dominance, slightly towards one or the other shows the sliding scale of priority.

I suppose it's similar to marksmen (although they're probably taught to keep both open... maybe, any SWAT/SAS amongst the fold!!??) or whenever you've had chance to fire a gun, which eye would you offer to the sights? Your dominant eye.

How it can help your snooker will depend on how much you want to improve and how much time you've got to experiment. By spotting which eye is dominant (I'm left eye dominant) you can move your head so that eye is further over your cue than the other and see if it helps you play better eventually. Equally dominant and keeping the cue in the midle of your chin with you staring straight ahead is the way ahead for you.

TTFN.

[Nat5guns]

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?

[reverse_side]

Nah, you're a mutant Nat.... only joshin, there's some that say, "normal is a cycle on a washing machine".... whatever you're comfortable with is what's most important I'd guess, unless of course you experiment and you to change your cue position and smack in an unbelievable string of breaks and feel born-again... what happened when you tested your eyes btw? you can be first on the poll when you've done it. (this seems a bit like playing with fire as it's such a fundamental element of the game, but hey wtf, we wouldn't be very advanced as a human race if we hadn't've messed around with the flaming hot stuff )

[Nat5guns]

Exactly as i thought, my left eye is the most dominant. But as long as it works for me its ok. Do u think that their is any paticular shot that will be more difficult with the left eye most dominant?(like a cushion shot)

[reverse_side]

Hi Natty, nothing'll be more or less difficult because you know you might favour one eye more than the other. I haven't really experimented too much on how it would affect me, if anyone does they can relay their findings..... the dominance of one eye over the other may just allow some improvement if it's in the right environment, i.e. with a coach that has some experience of what to do about it, or if you can have a practice knockabout and see if it improves your game.

Looking at some photos that a mate took of me, it seems I slightly favour my dominant eye, so maybe I derive some extra accuracy.

http://sportvue.com/support/dominance.php has another version of the test. It also gives some stats as to the spread of dominance in the average population. (I'm in the very small minority!)

Depending on which eye you favour, this eye is called your, "Master Eye"..... apparently. There's also a dominant side for hearing but I'm struggling to put this to use... apart from making sure you hear someone when they say, "wanna drink?"

I guess (without Googling) that athletes will say they are leftside dominant or rightside; think of high hurdlers, being equally dominat would help the 400m hurldlers that get their stride pattern wrong!

btw; poor old left handed people amongst us seem to be prone to all manner of ills after looking round the net, and in English the word left comes from 'lyft' meaning worthless and Italians use 'sinistra' or sinister.

Keep voting and posting.

[Robert602]

I'm strongly right eye dominant (I have good vision but if I close my right eye, I can barely see), and that's reflected in the way I play. Unfortunately it never really seems as solid a stance as locking the cue around the other side of the chin or under the chin, which might be why you don't see many pros playing with their right eye.

I definately find that I'm much more accurate playing the way I do than when I position the cue as an even sighted player would. Playing with the cue under my chin I can think I've struck the ball exactly how I wanted to and end up miles off the pot. I'm not talking about 12ft diagonal blues either, I couldn't pot a black off the spot with my cue out of place.

[Semih_Sayginer]

dominant eye

anyone on here have one?

if so, do you cue using it, or both equally together?

just wonderin'

[davis_greatest]

I find it easier using my hand / arm. More control.

[Semih_Sayginer]

I find it easier using my hand / arm. More control.

would have been funny if id posted asking if you cued using ONLY your eye/eyes.

[GilgamesH]

I would like to hear opinions about this too!

My dominant eye is right and when shooting right handed pots(ob has to cutted to the right side) I cue under my right eye and left handed pots I cue in the middle! and straight pots in the middle too!

Anyone else who does this?

Actually Alan Bell told me to do that and it´s been working for me!

But in almost every coaching manual tells you that it is obligatory to cue under your dominant eye!

This is an issue what troubles me, spesially when i´m playing badly.

[Semih_Sayginer]

imho

it is preferable to cue using your dominant eye, but far from a requirement.

if your dominant eye is "very" dominant, then the need to do so, to be as accurate as you can increases.

theres lots of players who have dominant eyes who cue using both equally, so its not needed in a lot of cases to do so

[MattWilson]

I cue slightly under my right eye. I never realised I was doing this until a couple of years ago, and I believe it's the best way to see your shot.

If I try to put my cue directly under my chin now, it does seem so strange and Iit feels like a different game.

If you've never tried it, then give it a go, it may be the reason you're missing!

MW

[Semih_Sayginer]

if your eyes are "equal" then id doubt very much whether cueing under one of them more than the other, even slighltly, would improve your game.

of course there could be exceptions, but a handful in thousands imho

[MattWilson]

Most people think they're eyes are 'equal' as you put it, but it's worth trying just in case you're unaware of your dominance of one eye or the other.

MW

[Semih_Sayginer]

matt, the way your post was worded it was as if you thought players should just start cueing under one eye, and seeing if they got better

first off, if you think you will do better, you need to check to see if you have a dominant eye, and if so, what one

you would then need to sight using that eye, not just the right one, if you felt like it

you may need to alter your stance and bridge etc too

lots of things to consider, before just battering about cueing under one eye to see if you play better

all imho