The Dominant Eye Theory Is Totally Wrong!

[Nic Barrow]

Does anyone have a different opinion to me on this, which I share on the 3 minute video below??
I am always happy to be proved wrong myself, so lets get the conversation running guys!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXEzWmhm5z0

[guernseygooner]

I believe the head falls where it needs to and isn't something you should stress over.

An example of this; a good friend of mine, countless tons, top junior and now in his thirties. He is left handed and cues below his right eye/right side of the chin. Photos from his junior days show he cued dead centre. I pointed it out to him and he has no clue when it happened and didn't do it consciously.

[Nic Barrow]

Great answer

I believe the head falls where it needs to and isn't something you should stress over.

An example of this; a good friend of mine, countless tons, top junior and now in his thirties. He is left handed and cues below his right eye/right side of the chin. Photos from his junior days show he cued dead centre. I pointed it out to him and he has no clue when it happened and didn't do it consciously.

That is a great point.
Sometimes, a player's eyesight does shift over time, and one eye may become weaker.
This may not be the case with your friend, in which case a players can simply develop or slide into a habit over time and simply adapt to it.
More usually though, slipping off the vision centre will give huge problems, and getting back to it usually makes a massive difference.

Players can also still play well even though they are not in their vision centre, meaning they could play even better if they found it.

Overall, though, 'if it ain't broke, why try to fix it?'

[lennon11]

Really like the way you explain it to be a preferred eye rather than dominant eye,and also I've noticed in myself as you explain in the video.. That my preferred eye is my weakest too(in terms of clarity of vision..even tho I don't need glasses).... Right handed but left eye preferred ....

[guernseygooner]

That is a great point.
Sometimes, a player's eyesight does shift over time, and one eye may become weaker.
This may not be the case with your friend, in which case a players can simply develop or slide into a habit over time and simply adapt to it.
More usually though, slipping off the vision centre will give huge problems, and getting back to it usually makes a massive difference.

Players can also still play well even though they are not in their vision centre, meaning they could play even better if they found it.

Overall, though, 'if it ain't broke, why try to fix it?'

Thanks for answer. Do you suggest that baring major eyesight issues you should try and cue centre chin? I would have thought that would help with consistency when you adapted to it.

I have never really bought into the whole eye dominance theory. I'm sure I have read somewhere that this can change from day to day - stress, tiredness, hangovers etc?

[tetricky]

Personally I have a strong dominant right eye, which is also the eye that requires most optical correction (weaker). I've watched Nick's piece. I have to say I find it confusing. I don't understand the difference he's trying to make between preferred and dominant eye. To me it seems that what he is describing is a dominant eye, and it being important!

Dominant eye is nothing about strength of vision. It's the one your brain chooses to frame (or sight, if you prefer) with in that particular scenario, the other eye follows....your brain takes the line of sight from the dominant eye. I have tested a range of scenario’s for me....I'm pretty much always strongly right eye dominant, and putting that eye over the cue makes a big positive difference to me. I first came across this as a result of Frank Callan's coaching, and it made a step difference in my potting consistency (for the level I'm at).

I understand that it might be different for other people, but I have no doubt that for me this is a significant factor.

[Leo]

Well doing the eye dominance tests etc I'm left eye dominant but I've always cued up in the centre of the erroll

[tetricky]

Well doing the eye dominance tests etc I'm left eye dominant but I've always cued up in the centre of the erroll

I know that other people can, and do, set up differently. I think if you have a way that's natural, and works, that can be fine. It's just not that way for me. My eyesight is a big problem for my game, and this definitely helps. I think it can be a factor for at least some people. I always credit Frank Callans view on this, because it was his opinion that made me look at it. I do think people tend to get confused about it, and muddy the waters with what is a dominant eye, or preferred sighting. The thing is a dominant eye can be easily defined, and it MAY help some people. What our brains do with the information that we collect may be different for everyone. What works for you, might not work for me, and vica versa. I have astigmatism and partial vision correction, someone else may have perfect sight, a contributing factor may be how different people aim, and get down. There are lots of factors where line of sight comes in to play, or may not so much because other aspects of technique and practice mean that you get down in the right place, where I may not.

I'm not saying that it's a universal panacea, but it's something that helps me.

[Steve748]

I am guessing this thread has been started because of what I wrote in another thread.
I have been playing snooker from 1972 and from 1990 I started wearing contact lenses up to 2007 when I went to an eye surgeon about laser.
He said I was too old for laser reshaping and suggested I was best suited to replacing the lens inside my eye.
He explained that we are either right eyed or left eyed as with feet and hands and that as I am left eyed he would treat my right eye first.
I moved here and started playing 8 and 9 ball pool in teams and my consistency was poor, sometimes I played well and sometimes I was missing easy shots and all my team mates blamed it on my MW cue with the 'tiny 10mm tip'!

I knew the cue was perfect so it had to be me and talking to another player about it he asked me if I was cueing over my dominant eye.

I cued up a few balls with my left eye directly over the cue and cue ball and the ball went exactly where I was looking and into the pocket....Kerching!

Since then I have always sighted with my dominant left eye but I don't close my right eye, I don't really notice much through it when I'm down on the shot.

It works for me and I'm not saying it will work for everyone but if you are always missing or you always has to compensate when aiming give it a try.

[shafter]

ive just done that test and my left eye seems to be the stronger one, but im right handed! ill try it out later but this combination to me sounds a little awkward! im sure it would be a lot easier if i was right handed and right eye dominant, has anyone else found this opposite combination tricky?

[Steve748]

I am left eyed, right handed and left footed and I have adapted quite quickly to the move to the left!
I'm glad I discovered it now and I'm sad I tried so hard for so long for nothing.

[bolton-cueman]

and more magic to put into peoples heads...

If having your cue under your dominant opthalmic body part had any true importance it would mean that Graham Miles sighted with his ear. Nuff said.

[Shockerz]

I'm still sitting on the fence with the dominant eye issue.

At different times I've been on the forum raving about the coach found my perfect position and form is now improving, other times my form hasn't improved quick enough and after seeing one of Nick video's (the one with the German fella in it who came over) I swapped to the centre of the chin with really good results.

I've then struggled on particular shots and put the cue right under my right eye (which is way over from the chin) and potting them off the lampshades.

Each time as been for a few months so the brain has ample time to adjust, what am I doing now?

I'm back to the centre of the chin and form is pretty good. What's the answer? I haven't the foggiest as each has worked at different times and I know the brain has probably made allowances so I really don't know.

If there were some way of proving it by certain shot's I would certainly give it a go but not convinced either way.

[GeordieDS]

ive just done that test and my left eye seems to be the stronger one, but im right handed! ill try it out later but this combination to me sounds a little awkward! im sure it would be a lot easier if i was right handed and right eye dominant, has anyone else found this opposite combination tricky?

Yes I had been playing for years before Andy Hunter pointed out i was hitting the left hand side of the CB when it looked to me like i was hitting the centre, this was because I'm right eye dominant and i play with my left hand.
I tried cueing over my right eye but it felt awful so I'm stuck with playing with unwanted side

[MattB147]

Hi thread. I honestly believe the whole "dominant or "sighting" eye is a load of BS. I you set up the shot correctly with a fairly "normal" stance, grip etc, your natural sighting will find itself......there are way too many variables in trying to perfect your game to get what should be natural sighting involved. Just my opinion

Also, I have suffered from bad vision, corrective vision (contacts and glasses) and now have perfect vision. Both my eyes are still the same but I still however look the same on the shot....