The Dominant Eye Theory Is Totally Wrong!

[Nic Barrow]

I have not recomended having the cue directly under one eye at all, I said only one eye is being used by the brain, those with a very dominant eye will cue under that eye, like Neil Robertson, others will have the cue closer to one eye as the brain uses the info from only one eye to sight along the line of aim although both eyes are open and are being used for depth perception, the brain blocks out the info that isn't needed from the other eye, but switches it on again when needed.

I also didn't say players look at the cue, I simply used this as an example for players to test out what I'm saying is true, if you look at only the cue you will see one, but in your peripheral vision when looking at the balls there will be two, one of which is pointing at the centre of the cue ball, the other outside of it.

As for what you describe as the vision centre, well it isn't the centre at all really, it's where your eyesight percieves the line of aim best and therefore where your brain has decided which eye to use to place the cue on the line of aim.

Do the finger test and you can focus on the finger and see only one finger, look at the target your finger is pointed at and you can see two, one from each eye. In between the two fingers there is nothing at all, the brain will not use this central point between the two eyes for aiming a finger or a single shaft of wood along a line of aim for the simple reason that there is nothing there at all to aim.
This is why only one eye is used, only one eye can be used, so for pity's sake stop using phrases like central when talking about aiming, otherwise beginners will be thinking that everything has to be central and will try to aim along this empty centre between the eyes.

If the head isn't positioned directly over one eye, it will be tilted or turned slightly to one side, or because of the position of the stance, to favour one eye over the other.

Please stop reading things in my posts that aren't there, what I posted was pretty simple and self explanatory and nothing you posted in the above quote has anything to do with it.

You did and do seem to be advising that all players should play with the cue under one eye or the other by your arguments.
So either I am not understanding, or you are not explaining.
This one eye theory is clearly is not the case which can be seen from watching the players on tv.
Advising the 'cue under one eye' theory to players is one of the biggest disservices given to a player.
Although it does provide me a lot of work to help players sort the mess out if they get into that loop, I would rather never have to.
Vision centre does NOT mean your cue should be perfectly in the middle between both eyes.
Neil Robertson's vision centre is directly under his right eye for example.

[alabadi]

The question is not 'How can I miss that pink after potting such a blue', but 'How can I pot that blue when I am still able to miss those pinks'. Start by getting consistent on the easy ones first (which also need a great level of concentration to make consistently) and then build out the skills. Also, a great pot may in fact be three mistakes cancelling each other out so it is unfair to judge yourself negatively when you miss anything less than your best pot of the day.

fair point, with regards to potting the colours i have improved immensely. i now can pot them off their spots 70-80% of the time . i can clear the colours 5-6 out of 10 attempts, however when it comes to the blacks from high i just don't seem to get enough consistency.

i have practiced them regularly and eventually after an hour or 2 seem to be getting the majority, but then in a match or practice i land in a similar position to one i have potted numerous times and miss.

i have a theory that i am not approaching the shot consistently . when coming in at an angle , i think i am twisting to my right slightly (hence hitting thick) when i plant my left foot, which is a boxer stance and forward by around 10-12" of my right foot.

i need to look at this a bit more closely to see if this is the case, i might video my self from the side, front and back and check it out.

[Nic Barrow]

Vmax says trust your own eyes and let your brain do its thing, how is that wrong ? Shame I have to go into all the minutae of how the eyes work to actually spell it out, and BTW I have nothing I'm trying to sell, no money making schemes or devices or coaching courses, just saying it like it is for me, and as I'm as human as everyone else on this forum, it must be the same for all you two eyed homo sapiens as well.

Usually that is the correct thing to do.
But around ten per cent of all players have their eyes incorrectly aligned above the cue, so many find it useful to clarify this one way or the other.
If no one taught anyone anything, the world would not progress.
All I do is offer a product or service to people.
And would continue to do so even if I win £102m this friday!

[Nic Barrow]

I think I probably didn't explain myself very well.

When a person is on form you don't always have to see something with your eyes, your brain knows where it is somehow; on good days in snooker you haven't yet sighted the shot and the balls already in the pocket, your minds eye as some people call it, some players have it and some struggle.

I can tell you that after many years of football it's tougher to score in the top left hand corner than get a snooker ball the length of the table in the corner pocket.

My point was just about we don't just see things with our eyes (maybe not the best example from me).

And, for the golfers on here (please tell me if you disagree); once you take your putt you should be looking at the ground and may lift your eyes toward the hole after the ball has been hit (and only then) or you will drag the putter face offline, If your seeing golfers look at the hole then the balls already left the putter face or they're doing it wrong, you should just rock the shoulders in a pendulum motion (have a golf pro in the family that used to scold me over this for years).

Stop Stop Stop! You got me onto golf.

Back to snooker......

I think the brains a wonderful thing and we sometimes suppress some great things by too much technique.

Yes very good points.
Aiming is more to do with peripheral vision and memory than what ball we look at and when .
That said, we also should track the balls to the pocket/cushion - otherwise there is no feedback or learning to build our memory bank

[Nic Barrow]

Quite wrong, you have seen it because you have looked, you just don't realise it as it was a subconscious thing. You can't hit anything without looking at the target.

I agree.
I would say peripheral vision gives the majority of aiming ability, and eye movements between both balls the remainder.

[Nic Barrow]

I'm teasing - I don't usually like messing with my sighting or even being aware of it - I prefer the natural approach - last time I did it really messed with my marbles my timing went and I could not pot a ball but I will give it a go and report back if you explain further - I am not really sure what you mean here though buddy?

I am not really sure if you mean you are not really sure what I mean?!

[Nic Barrow]

I happen to agree with you Matt as after my eye surgery I had to change to sighting out of my left eye (head turned right slightly) and previously it was my right eye (head straight ahead, centre-chin). I believe everyone develops a natural sighting line which might not be 'perfect' but the brain will eventually correct for this 'imperfect' view.

By the way...you ain't in Canada anymore so change that frikkin flag over to the Union Jack or something (maybe the flag of Bristol?).

Is that where Matt is now?!

[Nic Barrow]

I think thats normal, spectacle wearers only see one lens,at least i do

What do you mean see one lens?

[Nic Barrow]

I know that is your approach. I just don't understand it. To me your 'clarification' adds confusion. Dominant eye is a technical description with a specific meaning. One might as well use it, as learn what you mean by 'preferred eye'. I don't understand how that makes things any easier.

That is a good point.
What I have found is that most people I see misinterpret the phrase dominant eye for stronger eye - which are mutually exclusive.
This results is so many players doing the chalk on the table test, getting the result, and then cueing under that eye only - when that is the wrong position for their eyes to view the shot.

[Nic Barrow]

fair point, with regards to potting the colours i have improved immensely. i now can pot them off their spots 70-80% of the time . i can clear the colours 5-6 out of 10 attempts, however when it comes to the blacks from high i just don't seem to get enough consistency.

i have practiced them regularly and eventually after an hour or 2 seem to be getting the majority, but then in a match or practice i land in a similar position to one i have potted numerous times and miss.

i have a theory that i am not approaching the shot consistently . when coming in at an angle , i think i am twisting to my right slightly (hence hitting thick) when i plant my left foot, which is a boxer stance and forward by around 10-12" of my right foot.

i need to look at this a bit more closely to see if this is the case, i might video my self from the side, front and back and check it out.

Most players twist to some degree when approaching.
The key is to allow the cue to remain straight on the line of aim even if you do so.

[golferson123]

The Dominant Eye Theory Is Totally Wrong!

depth perception has nothing to do with sighting,that's all done before you get down,you allready know how hard to hit it,vmax has it spot on,you aim with one eye

[Byrom]

Agreed - Stuart never looked at the lines on the cue during the world... and it would be a distraction to a player to do so... Better to find out your correct vision centre, and 'set and forget it'.

Well how could he see it on a cue anyway its not in his sight line? - Surely World snooker would not have allowed it if they thought it gave an advantage to him? So to me sight right on a cue is just a bit of a marketing gimmick rather than an aid to snooker - I am not slating the principle totally as it does give feedback to help a coach and a player initially find the right line but I do think it quite pointless to put low down on a cue if you ask me except for rest play where it maybe might maybe have some use.

[vmax4steve]

Well how could he see it on a cue anyway its not in his sight line? - Surely World snooker would not have allowed it if they thought it gave an advantage to him? So to me sight right on a cue is just a bit of a marketing gimmick rather than an aid to snooker - I am not slating the principle totally as it does give feedback to help a coach and a player initially find the right line but I do think it quite pointless to put low down on a cue if you ask me except for rest play where it maybe might maybe have some use.

Yeah, the sight right lines on the cue are purely advertising as they happen to be in a place where they're visible to the spectating public, not the player.

[Nic Barrow]

Well how could he see it on a cue anyway its not in his sight line? - Surely World snooker would not have allowed it if they thought it gave an advantage to him? So to me sight right on a cue is just a bit of a marketing gimmick rather than an aid to snooker - I am not slating the principle totally as it does give feedback to help a coach and a player initially find the right line but I do think it quite pointless to put low down on a cue if you ask me except for rest play where it maybe might maybe have some use.

agreed .

[Nic Barrow]

depth perception has nothing to do with sighting,that's all done before you get down,you allready know how hard to hit it,vmax has it spot on,you aim with one eye

Depth perception has everything to do with sighting.
Which is why players with the use of one eye generally (there are exceptions) find it hard to play, as they cannot judge distances so well.
2 inches away from a straight pot, you have to swing the butt around maybe 2 feet to get to a half ball angle.
10 feet away from a straight pot, you have to swing the butt around maybe 2cm to get to a half ball angle.
Perceiving the distance to balls accurately helps the brain make the above calculations.