For the last couple of weeks I've been practicing 9-ball and banks at about the same rate, trying to come up with a physical style of play that suits both games well.

So far I've not had a lot of success.

A big part of the problem lies in my cue selection, and I'll talk about that in another post. What I want to address here is my actual stance - specifically as it relates to the position of my eyes in relation to the shot - and the effect that stance is having on my shooting.

Every serious player has read about dominant eyes and what they contribute to the aiming process. Most books tell you to find your dominant eye and then to keep it directly over the cue.

I don't have a particularly dominant eye. I also, unfortunately, don't have equal vision in both eyes. My testing tells me that the "midpoint" of my vision is between my eyes, but shifted about 1/4" towards my right eye. This point is what I call my third eye, and this point is what I try to line up when I shoot.

I can check this alignment pretty accurately by making sure that the right side of my chin is over my cue.

What I've been noticing lately is a little unsettling. My third eye is moving. Its position seems to be dependent on how HIGH my head is above my cue.

I've basically been shooting with two different stances lately. The first is probably a more textbook-style stance, and the second is more of a Truman Hogue/Louis DeMarco combination.

Both work fairly well at times, though I've been having more success with the latter method lately. My head is just a little higher, and my accuracy on shots that are cut to the left increases. On shots where my head is lower my accuracy on shots to the right increases.

This has become pretty annoying. I'm certain that my head is aligned with my cue at exactly the same angle in either case - remember, I can use my chin to check this. I've also checked to make sure that my head is not tilting or turning to either side.

Everything seems the same except for that extra inch or so between my chin and my cue.

It's quite possible that I'm going insane. I'll report more on this if I ever get a better handle on it.

In the meantime I'm banking very well and hitting "regular" shots like a chump. Just like I have for the past few years.