Billiards tips and drills for better eye alignment 👀 

Hello Charles, Happy and safe Holidays. Some subjects you just get started down the rabbit 🐇 hole 🕳 and there's just no end to it! Thank you very much for watching and commenting. I know my videos are not as polished as other channels, but I do enjoy posting and corresponding with good people. Thanks again, Sir!

Thank you Mr. Eberle. You have to be paying pretty close attention to catch that drill at the end. Thank you so much for watching all the way through and also for the kind words of encouragement. Hope you have a safe holiday season. Kind regards, 6.5

Hello again Colin. Super happy that the alignment video was helpful for you, and I also apologize for not writing back right away. I had planned on dropping a video that coincidentally may have a couple of tips that directly relate to your footwork question and help you with the process of stepping onto the shot line. If you do end up checking it out, I would value your opinion and feedback if it proved useful. Your words are very kind and encouraging! Thank you much!!

Hey what's happening!! Thanks for commenting and for giving the card/mirror a try. As far as the position of my head, I've had similar comments from others and have responded with a short down in the comments. It's posted to the username BlueTechnology and currently has 7 replies. I also wrote out my response from the additional testing i did below the short. Basically, the laser beam will change the projected location on your face as the head turns. However, the visual cone also shrinks and your visual cortex auto adjusts your heads position to compensate. Check it out down in the comments and see if it makes sense.. Thanks again.

Thank you so much for your positive feedback. I'll be posting more related content shortly, keep an eye open for it. Have a great day.

Dexter, Thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words. Take your time when doing the reflection in the mirror. It's very important to move your head left and right of the reflected image as to be certain that you are truly aligned with the edge of the playing card. You're also saying all the right words regarding your stroke and routine. If possible, after you acquire your eye alignment and take it to the table; try to video yourself taking mid distance straight shots. Try to set the camera so you are shooting straight at it. This is a great way to expose any errors that may occur. I'd be happy to assist with any questions that you may have with the process. I wish you success!

Hello Chris, Absolutely, and thank you very much for commenting and for the valuable feedback. I'll continue to try and improve on video quality and bring content with a unique perspective. Have a great weekend.

Awesome Stefan!! Thank you for posting and for positive feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time to watch the video. Have a great day.

I like this, and I would call what you're describing as muscle memory. I remember my very first shooting school. We were made to stand with our backs to an electronic target and told a time in which we had to turn 180°, unlock/unholster , draw, press and complete a failure to stop drill (2 to body 1 to ocular cavity) in next to no time at all. At first, I couldn't even acquire the target before it was gone. A few hundred push-ups later, and I had time time to kill before that target was gone. Every sniper is a Pig before he becomes Hog . Aiming and alignment are very interesting subjects in pool! I greatly appreciate your input and for taking the time to comment.

I would have been content with mediocre, but Extra good makes me extra happy! Thank you so much for your positive feedback and for taking the time to write. Regards, 6.5

Hello Joe, To be fair, the hand test will be right 50% of the time. (Joke) It's an acceptable test to apply for bulk applications like Military Recruits and such. I agree with you that it definitely can be improved on and if you're going to spend all the time required to advance with pool, you may all well apply the best information you can towards a solid foundation. Understanding sighting in pool is pretty important I hear. 😁 Thank you for sharing your thoughts in the comments and also for watching. Have a great day.

The term the Military uses for people who are not dive certified is "Common Air Breathers ". Welcome to the underworld my friend! Now, that splitter you fashioned to the front of the Cat is top notch. Split those hydraulic lines so you could remote it standing from the ground and you could go production with that apparatus. Nicely done! My wife says to me; they never gonna watch your videos, you ain't wearing 11 patches on your shirt like them other guys. I says yeah well, I'll just blind myself with a laser...they gotta watch that! So the point there, don't be using a laser if you don't feel right about it. However, I know you're gonna so, just like standing by someone welding; don't look at the arc. Just focus on your shot and let that laser pass right over your eyes. The laser is there so that you can see the results from filming yourself. Play back the footage and see where the line is relative to your body, cue and eyes. You might see a little red (or green) light when you step into the shot but pay no mind. You should have it placed where you're not looking directly at the emitter. I'm sorry to hear about your health issues but you got strong mind and obviously a good heart ❤️. Days will be days but keep yourself occupied. I really appreciate you speaking up on here. We wish you a real good holiday.

Hi Jerry! Thank you for the supportive comment. I'll be posting up another video within the next two weeks. Hope the holidays treat you well. Thanks again. 6.5

You bet Kevin, glad you enjoyed it. Hope Christmas treated you well yesterday. Thanks much for the positive comment.

The above statement I made was directly related to shooting a handgun with open sights. During specialized shooting, schooling is taught based off worst-case scenarios. Missing a hand, Missing an eye, that sort of thing. Basically, your mind can be trained to understand how it sees the sights relative to the weapons placement. I was just using that example as a "variable" so people don't get 100% set on "it has to be". There's always wiggle room somewhere. Yes, I do agree with your great follow-up examples. Sorry for the confusion there by using that example.

Great to hear Glen! Thanks for the positive feedback. I'm writing you while sitting on the floor as my Lab has also taken over "my" chair. Have a safe Holidays.

forgot to mention that marking the nose is wrong, because if you move or turn ur head left or right, the nose tip always be the same. as you are down on pool table your head is turned but the laser line is still on nose tip, but the laser line on chin is to the right chin. but while u did on mirror the laser line was on center chin. *so that is why i am asking to make another video while bending infront of the mirror as it is a pool table thank you*

@@TheBlueTechnology yeah he should bent then do the mirror tnx, waiting for his video, lets see if he really want to grow his channel and accepts subscribers suggestions tnx

Hi, Thanks for posting concerns and suggestions about the video. I'll redo the test using your suggestions and decide based on the results of how to amend the original video. This will take me a little time... I will, however, respond directly to you with my results here in the comments. I especially appreciate constructive comments and enjoy helping others learn. Thank you for taking the time to post. I look forward to applying your theory to the test. 6.5

Thank you. I'll be addressing this and respond with my findings shortly. Thank you for posting and helping the community to grow. Kind regards, 6.5

@@6.5_Shooter tnx wil b waiting

Hello Arnie, Terrific observation!! How a person reaches their final position will be completely unique to them. The common teaching is to stand on the shot line, lean over, and set up. While this looks beautiful and very professional, it doesn't fit everyone's abilities. When you see me stand behind the ball and the laser is on my right eye, that is "my" shot line, or more accurately, me evaluating where to aim to send the ball towards the pocket. The truth is, when I step into a shot and you see that laser on my right eye, the cue and object ball will NOT look correctly aligned to me because they're not. However, as I bend over and my body comes to a rest; I've now settled into my correct vision center location, ensuring that my action of aiming the cue to OB is "naturally precise ". I use that term because I'm allowing my body the room it needs to accommodate my shoulder width, which in turn allows my arm to stroke correctly without forcing it inwards unnaturally. In simple form; I stand slightly away from the shot line(the correct eye alignment) and come into it on the way to my final stroking position. My thought has always been, aiming while standing is an overview of the shot (and shots to come). When down on the shot; here is where it needs to be naturally aligned and unforced. What route an individual takes is unique mostly based on physical makeup. Again, a wonderful question with a very complicated answer. Thanks for allowing me the time to answer it. Don't hesitate if you have any others. Thank you for watching. Respectfully, 6.5

Thanks for the elaborate response, @@6.5_Shooter, I follow it completely. Another thing I've noticed is that, when looking into the mirror, your face is square to the sight line, but when you're down on the shot, you were looking a bit to your left, similar to many top snooker Pro's. The shaft projects up almost to the edge of your chin. Since you have this great accuracy, but you don't touch the cue with your chin/chest, how do you find physical confirmation in your "natural" set up? Have you just got used to seeing the cue pointing to your left at a certain angle? I assume the head angle is for neck comfort. Thanks!

I'll start by saying, "Always build your own stance." The shafts relationship to my chin is a byproduct of where my vision center is. The shaft will be on the shot line (if stroking straight), and my face is lined up to see the balls correctly (per my visual cortex and how it perceives the image). The location of the shaft is just the sum of the two numbers added up if you will. The physical confirmation question..what the heck! Lol This is really good... Lets do this. Several physical and subconscious actions tell me when "I'm there " All working together are my hinge at the hips, my bridge and bridging arm, and the cueing angle relative to the shot. If I hinged forward slightly more rather than to the side, I would be squared up more to the shot. This cramps my stroke causing the butt to push outward and I swipe outside in on the cue. Not good. I always try to support the bridge arm if the shot allows, and I strive to keep the cue level relative to the table. So, while my confirmation is not the chin and definitely not the chest. I rely on the repeatability of my hip hinge, settling in with the bridging arm and keeping my cueing arm free from my body. Generally, you will see me settling an inch or so during the practice strokes as I'm always monitoring the stroking motion. Lastly, the head angle... As terrible as it looks, the position doesn't feel strained, and to be honest, it is not even something I think about. I'd agree with you that it is a physically natural position for me. I hope I was able to expand on most of the questions or statements you posted. While my stroke may not grace the cover of any magazines, it serves me well. Again, very observant with your questions. I really enjoyed them.

@@6.5_Shooter Thanks again. I'm not here to have an opinion on your form (as it may have appeared like), but rather quite opposite, I'm amazed by how you achieve this accuracy, thus curious. I'm still trying to find a balance between comfort and assured consistency (e.g. face squared + level cue touching the chin), as bending too much often cost me injury.

@Arnie.Y I was called an idiot the other day Arnie, so I in no way thought your post was insinuating anything negative whatsoever. Film yourself taking the same shot several times and compare your shot accuracy to your position consistently. You'll see the ultra small details that you can work on refining. Changes made in small increments generally work best and are less discouraging. I'm always looking to improve. Have a great evening Sir.

I like your screen name! First, thank you for posting up such positive advice regarding my offset or not squared head position. Believe me, I'm very jealous of those who drag their chin on the cue and have that picture-perfect squared off symmetry when on the shot. Because you hit me where it hurts, I'll flail at defending myself... The camera makes it look worse than it is!!!! I do hate that I'm not squared, but what you see is actually the result of a lot of effort to get that far. I have ankylosing spondylitis which affects the joints. Mine are fusing and limits my range of motion. Funny story... for me, when I twist my neck to a certain point, I can feel my vision straining and blurring. Lol Pay attention to my bridge hand. It's a complete disaster at best. I call my hands clubs. I sincerely appreciate the feedback as it is something I think about and work towards as I progress. The challenges are what keep me interested in pool 🎱. Kind regards, 6.5

I'm glad you took my comment as constructive criticism as it it was meant. I like your ideas, you give some new perspectives which can lead to innovation. I love the video of playing without a tip on your stick. I tried this once when my tipped popped off a break cue. It's extremely difficult but it can be a good learning tool. I setup your card on the mirror, vision center finder. It works great even though I already know my vision center from previous experiments, this is a simple and accurate method. Squaring my face to the shot didn't come easy. It didn't feel natural and I would get a sore neck after a couple racks. It eventually got better but I still have to check myself occasionally. When my aim is off it's usually because my head is out of position. You have other issues that make it difficult to square up. ( and btw there are many pros that don't square up but they learned to play that way ) Two things to consider is (1) changing your stance to an a open snooker stance. Or (2) do your vision center test again but keep your head at your exact shooting angle. I noticed when I did the test if my head turned to the right even a little, my vision center moved about and inch to the left. You seem to be a very accurate shooter but you be compensating without even realizing it. I did that for most of my previous pool life before learning about dominant eyes and vision centers. Btw since I got my table and getting back in stroke after a 25 year layoff, I'm thinking of resurrecting my old pc gaming channel and turning into a pool channel.

the mirror test while standing is wrong, you should do it once again while bent because once bent the head position is totally different from straight, even if you force your self to make a straight face but while bent the mirror test should be done.............

Yes, I agree with it too, I have to try it. I ones tried to get perfectly square to the shot line - ended up with a pain in the neck. Since then I don't even think about it.

Yo Riff, thanks for posting... I would like easier questions please!! Every video is going to tell you that building your foundation on the shot line is the most efficient and effective process to becoming a proficient shot maker. If you can get your lead foot, cueing arm, and visual convergence location all on that line/axis; you should. Most of us can't, myself included. I'm in the process of making a video on this as we speak. Due to your cross-eye alignment, I want you to break the shot line into 2 parts. Aiming line and shot line. One is visual and one being physical. The visual is you sighting the shot with the proper understanding of vision center and of course, having correctly chosen the proper contact point by whatever aiming system you're using. Easy enough; you line up the shot. The physical is when you step into the shot, which changes the aiming line into the shot line. Here is where it's breaking down for you... This transition from visual to physical is pushing the visual off of the axis, making room for your body. Now you're looking at the CB and OB from a weird perspective and start to second-guess the shot. Here is what you rarely hear... Your cueing arm takes priority once you go into the physical or step in. It has to be allowed to naturally fall where it can move unaffected by your body ( or mind) along that predetermined aim line. The more consistent you are about positioning your body to allow the cueing arm to function freely along the shot line, the less dependent you'll become on the fact that your eyes are off axis and screaming at you YOU'RE GOING TO MISS... I'll be posting a Shorts comment response with a really extreme example of what I'm talking about directly related to your axis question. The drill for you is to do your normal visual alignment of a shot. When you transition to step into the shot, I want you lock focus 100% onto the CB, never looking at the OB or scanning back and forth. This removes your eyes subconscious input into the shot. If you take the shot and miss, you are not lined up on the natural point of aim. Make a take notes of the minor changes that you do each time you step in until you make the OB. Once you start naturally making the shot, stop just looking at the CB and bounce your gaze back and forth CB to OB like normal, and I'll bet they look incorrect to your brain. Take note of this and understand that separation process. In the Shorts video I align the shot visually and lock that into my mind. I step in, only focusing on the CB so as to not introduce a second aiming image in my mind. Now, I only care about the cueing process and that "assembly " properly resting onto the shot line. My example is extreme and ridiculous but shows exactly what you're dealing with. Separate and process both functions separately. You will have success. I really hope this limited description helps you.

Cross-eyed dominance. Separate visual from physical.

@6.5_Shooter lmao you do understand desperate times tale desperate measures. One day I can play like a solid 9 and thw next a solid 6 . That's to extreme Il look for your video and thanks for work and help

The golf tee will definitely mask Shooter mechanics errors and show you if the alignment is an issue. If you have a table that returns the balls, make sure to stuff a rag in the pocket to keep stray golf tees from getting down in there. Another test would be a stop shot from a distance of 20". (Cue to object) Object ball about 30" from pocket. A stop shot can quickly tell the story of where the problem is. It's pretty easy to see if you're aligning wrong or striking wrong. Having that extreme dominance, you may also try a more upright body position, allowing your head to cross over the cue while giving more room to stroke without being crowded by your body. (as you would be from bending over more) When you get down on the shot, (perfectly lined up straight shot) Focus 100% on the OB point you want the cue to hit. Try making that the last thing you see before taking the shot and see if that helps. Sometimes, we just overthink things. Lastly... do not try the head spot foot spot shot right now. Lol Save that for tomorrow! A lot of world class players have the same heavy cross-eyed dominance as you. Knowing and understanding is the first step! Let me know if any of these tips helped your alignment when you get time to try them. Thanks for taking the time to write, and if all else fails, become a lefty.

​@@6.5_Shooter Don't over think things. The story of my life! Become a lefty. I've thought about it. I've realized late in life I have astigmatism in my right eye, but I've never worn glasses until now that I need reading glasses. I wonder if I wore glasses if my vision center would change? I remember when I was a kid I was struggling with a lazy eye. I remember doing exercises like your pencil test keeping focus on the pencil with both eyes as I brought it closer to my nose. Now I wonder if it was that lazy eye or astigmatism later in life that has shifted my vision center to be so left eye dominate. Interesting how the brain works. I wonder that since my brain appears to be virtually ignoring my right eye how that affects my binocular vision? I've been noticing that there are scenarios where I just can't seem to see straight. Like aiming at a distant object ball but barely being able to clear a ball that's close by. I've learned I just can't rely on my eyes for that clearance. I hit that close ball every time even though my brain is telling me I have the clearance. I was making a tricky shot the other day. I missed and people on my team watching knew I was going to miss because they could see I wasn't aligned. It looked dead on straight to me, but it was obvious to them it wasn't. I definitely think my binocular vision is in some way degraded and it's affecting my game.

seeing if it's alignment or fundamental issue

I posted up a drill for you to try. Treat it as a stop shot, but pay close attention to the reaction of the cue. First, we should verify if it is your eye alignment causing missed shots or if it is unwanted action being applied to the cue unknowingly. We'll get this figured out.

@@6.5_Shooter I'll take a look. I had already done the mirror test for finding vision center, and that's where I came away trying to shift my alignment so far left. However, the scheme of all the things I was working on, everything went to shit! I couldn't even hit the ball in, which is where I started! So, last night, I shifted my vision back to the right. Much closer to what I was doing naturally. That straightened things out quite a bit, but not completely. Interesting what I was thinking the other day. If my vision center is truly so far left, I asked what that meant for binocular vision? Maybe this live shooting test is indicative that I still need that right eye. Or maybe it's just another wild goose chase chasing some combination of problems and trying to compensate by changing the wrong thing! The madenning search continues!

Vision center wouldn't change as per your example. I'll use this example.. Take someone who shoots with their chin touching the cue, then put them into a jump shot or jacked up over another ball situation. That person doesn't have to have a special elevated vision center to proceed with those shots. Another example... If vision center differed based on height, what would be the point of looking down the shot line prior to getting down into the shot..?? How did my answer compare to others' opinions? I thank you very much for watching and am happy to hear it kept your interest. Especially grateful you took the time to post. 6.5

I know a teacher who works with some of the worlds best players. He is way too smart for me to debate. He says it changes but "common sense tells me it should not matter.@@6.5_Shooter

One top teacher says you can change vision center by changing how far your head is from the shaft. He is way smarter than me so hard for me to debate him. Common sense tells me it should not matter. If you were landing an airplane, if you come in at 10 degree or 20 degree angle, the center of the runway should be the same, imo.@@6.5_Shooter

Thank you very much!

Nice idea, but you need a perfect 90 degree card to test this, it will change the results drastically with a slightly different angle

Hello, and thanks so much for watching and writing. I've watched quite a few videos on CTE but have never once attempted to apply it at the table. Due to my lack of knowledge about the system, I have no authority to offer any opinions or comparisons to it. Poolology has worked very well for me, and I hope you enjoy it and have the same outcome. If you have questions about any parts of the system that you can't find answers for, feel free to ask. Brian would be the number one go to, of course. I am, however, very confident with the workings and tricks that can speed up the learning curve associated with the book. Best of luck towards your goals! 6.5

After watching several videos on your channel, I've come to the fact that I should just hire you to commentat my videos. You're so charismatic while I'm more relatable to; let's say a, Caveman. Stay warm over there, and thank you so much for subscribing and commenting. Keep on being 😎 🆒️ .

Good morning, I completely agree with you. Vision center is the term that coexists with aiming in the billiards world. I only used the example of eye dominance in the beginning of the video to clearly explain why it doesn't work for pool as it does for something like target shooting. The video does go into finding Vision Center, the importance of why, and also some challenge drills. Thanks for watching and commenting. 🎱

@@6.5_Shooter oh I wasn't disagreeing with you. Just commenting before knowing what you were getting at.

Wow Chuck, I knew a question like this would come up. I just did a bunch of research on double vision. I sure you know medically why you have it, but to give a recommendation on how to overcome the issue related to pool would be way beyond my qualifications as there are so many variants of the problem itself. Ironically, the VA called me today to schedule an eye appointment. From your thumbnail photo, I'll guess you're a Veteran. If this holds true; we could carpool to the clinic and find out answers together! I'm very sorry that I don't have a corrective answer for your question. Kind regards

@colincolenso Hi and good morning. Thanks for writing with constructive thoughts. I agree that position is played with angles and spin. I try to keep the information in my videos obtainable for players who are starting out or someone looking to fix a problem they may have on the particular subject. You know from posting videos that it is difficult to include every aspect to every skill level in the short period of time alloted. Your included video is an awesome representation of spin and position control. This is very inspiring to a rising player and something to strive for. However...there's always a however, to achieve many of those shots, your stroke required wicked amounts of elbow drop to get the massive amount or follow through required to travel the distance. Someone using a basic pendulum stroke would never make the speed required. There's just not enough time to show it all, especially on the super technical subjects. Your cueing and acceleration is super impressive! Thanks again for posting and sharing the impressive and informational video. Regards, 6.5

@@6.5_Shooter I get it, and even I at times went right back to basics on alignment, but we kinda work it out or we're cursed for our career, because the games are so much more complex. Usually while working out the other stuff, over time, the sighting becomes second nature. Appreciate your kind and considered response.

@@6.5_Shooter Regarding the pendulum stroke, it's mostly bunk. While top pros don't move much, as there is not need to on most shots, they can do so to extremes and still be accurate. It requires some knowledge of a cue's pivot point, whereby offset cueing is cancelled out by the swipe angle. For most cues this is around 12 inches bridge length for power shots, for low squirt cues nearer to 16 inches. I have a video on Back Hand English that demonstrates this. Dave Alciatore suggests this video on his website.

@@6.5_Shooter You're probably aware that hitting the CB onto an OB with sliding / stun creates significant thickening throw on the OB, especially if a grain of chalk is at the connection point. Hence pros almost always use gearing outside english on the CB for soft shots with angles. These shots are ubiquitous and tend to make amateurs develop a swipe (off center hit) to compensate, albeit unaware, and hence they learn to aim incorrectly.

@colincolenso Sweet goodness man....the knowledge bomb 💣 you just dropped in two replies covers about 8 years of coached learning for the average player! 🙈🙉🙊 I read all the information you listed, but I want to ask specifically about what you meant regarding the Pendulum Stroke and your brief thoughts on it as I'm making a video about it as we speak. Specifically; your thoughts on what aspiring plays may NOT know about it. Don't write forever. Just a few highlights. I'm putting together some stuff you rarely hear talked about. Also, don't feel obligated to answer if you're busy. I ask because you seem to be through and meticulous about the subject. You can even give something opinionated less than factual if you like. Thanks much!