Eyeglasses for One Pocket

keoneyo

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
2,883
Got a sporty new pair of glasses. Bifocals with transitional.
But its totally useless for pool. Bending over I have to look upwards to see a 9 foot shot straining my neck
Transitioning between close shots to far shots are hard to get used to.
Since I got rid of cataracts have not needed specs but now my prescription is changing with age.
Any one got some solutions?
Do you have a special pair just to play with?
 

Tobermory

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2017
Messages
1,881
From
San Francisco, CA
Experiment. Bifocals only give you close and far. Progressives will work better for pool, imo and experience. Maybe try adjusting the glasses lower on your nose. It might make it easier to see the distance out of the top of the lenses. Tell your optometrist that you play pool and see if they will give you a new Rx that is designed for 2-12 feet acuity with progressive lenses. Or ask your optometrist for an Rx for "computer" lenses, which are meant to increase the focal field for reading and computer distance, but you can still see pretty well at 8-10 feet. Good luck. It really sucks when you can't find lenses that work for pool.
 

J.R.

Verified Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2006
Messages
697
From
Chicago, Illinois
21491-4f7b5bdb09c494364a400d3e647b6a0c.jpg

Hi Keonoye.

That's J.R. in the middle. Me! The photo was taken at the 2020 Derby City Classic. On the left side of me is onepocket.org member, Mike Eck, and on my right side is one of Chicago's rising 9 ball stars, Frankie Ruiz. Unfortunately, this photo is a bit blurry but I am wearing eyeglasses which are upside down. I judge that my two friends are envious of my eyeglasses because they flipped their eyeglasses upside down too for this photo. Also, unseen in the photo are a couple of rubber bands on each eyeglass arm and a twist tie from the vegetable section of a food store uniting the rubber bands which provide the necessary tension to hold the eyeglasses high on my face. It looks crazy, it looks insane, but it works for me.

Anyway, here's the story and some advice. I was at the Derby City Classic a couple of years ago and told a friend that I had been experiencing blurred vision for a very long time. My friend responded that I should check out his prescription eyeglasses. I tried them on. I found that the eyeglasses sat too low on my face to see down table. So I turned the eyeglasses upside down which lifted them higher on my face because of the bridge. Also by turning the eyeglasses upside down I automatically flipflopped the lenses I was now looking through. The immediate result was that I could see down table and the edges of the balls nine feet away were no longer hazy. Needless to say my friend never got his eyeglasses back. I mean what's a friend for if you can't appropriate his eyeglasses for a few years or so? Ah, but there's more to the story and the advice is forthcoming.

My significant other decided that my pool playing appearance was demeaning by wearing eyeglasses upside down. I hesitantly agreed. She didn't understand the big picture because she's not a pool player. The big picture is that I can now see balls 9 feet away without a haze with my upside down eyeglasses. Anyway, I sought the advice of some pool playing friends. Ultimately, I decided to purchase "pool glasses" from an optometrist in Philadelphia. I sent him my updated eye examination chart. I agreed to all the bells and whistles like progressive lenses and tints. It should be noted that amongst the optometrist's clients is pro pool player Karen Corr. The cost for the "pool glasses" was just a tad over $800. I was excited to get the "pool glasses." When they came a couple of weeks later, I was disappointed because they didn't fit properly and my vision was blurred looking through the lenses when I bent down in a shooting position.

I contacted the optometrist and after a telephonic consultation he made a second pair of "pool glasses" with a higher nose bridge but without all the bells and whistles. He explained that there would be no cost to me and if I had originally went with this type of pool player's eyeglass wear the cost would have been $400. I explained that the money was not an issue. When the "pool glasses" came a couple of weeks later, I was again disappointed because they still didn't fit properly and my vision was still blurred looking through the lenses when I bent down in a shooting position.

I contacted the optometrist again and voiced my concerns. I explained to him that I was going to Philadelphia in a few months and would stop by his office and hopefully any and all corrections could be completed at that time. In June of last year, I attended the Members Only Onepocket.org Tournament at the Bluegrass Billiards in Mitch Brown's Philadelphia. I took time from the tournament to visit the optometrist. I showed him my upside down glasses. He had the same facial expression that my wife had when she first seen my upside down glasses... a gloomy frown of disapproval. For over an hour the optometrist tried his best to adjust the eyeglasses he had made for me but in the end it never worked. I have never worn them since leaving his office.

Finally, my woeful story is coming to an end. I still have my "pool glasses" and the bottom line is that they have never worked. I will try again to get a pair of appropriate "pool glasses" after I have the dreaded double eye cataract surgery that I have put off for the past six months. But if I can't find an optometrist within 20 miles of me who can do the "pool glasses" then my friend better get a lock and chain for his newest pair of eyeglasses. I'll be coming to get em.'

And my advice: Do Not Do Mail Order. :cool:
 

lll

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
19,057
From
vero beach fl
keone
i uses glasses only for pool
i have glasses by both places above
am happy with both
excellent costumer service
the 2nd link is about $200 cheaper
i also have a pair made by the optometrist with a regular frame that cost me $89
they work ok although occasionally i have to push them higher on my nose so i am not looking over the top
one last thing
the prescription i have in my pool glasses
has a 0.25 correction from my distance prescription to account for sharpest images from 3-12 feet
i have an astigmatism and a phoria problem with my eyes so i need prisms in addition to the usual stuff in my lenses
so mine are not transitional or bi focal
 

jrhendy

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
5,717
From
Placerville, CA
Got a sporty new pair of glasses. Bifocals with transitional.
But its totally useless for pool. Bending over I have to look upwards to see a 9 foot shot straining my neck
Transitioning between close shots to far shots are hard to get used to.
Since I got rid of cataracts have not needed specs but now my prescription is changing with age.
Any one got some solutions?
Do you have a special pair just to play with?

I have worn bifocals for years, but for pool I just had them make a pair without the bifocals. I tried a pair years ago they made me for computer work but they drove me crazy because I could not see past a few feet. I am lucky my Rx has not changed much in years and I wore glasses before I started playing pool. Try a pair with your regular Rx but no bifocal.
 

hankh

Verified Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2017
Messages
761
From
Arrey, N.M.
keoneyo, Howdy;

Got a sporty new pair of glasses. Bifocals with transitional.
But its totally useless for pool. Bending over I have to look upwards to see a 9 foot shot straining my neck
Transitioning between close shots to far shots are hard to get used to.
Since I got rid of cataracts have not needed specs but now my prescription is changing with age.
Any one got some solutions?
Do you have a special pair just to play with?

Had my cataracts removed 2 years ago, brought my eyes almost back to a much younger age.
Found I still need the lenses for the sharp edges to show themselves. I use Bi-focal lenses with
the closer (lower), part set for a distance of 24 inches instead of the "normal" 14 inches. Who
reads that close any more with everything on a screen??? I use a sorta aviator style frame that
gives me a large viewing area. Mine come from the VA so 1 free pair every year. Keep the same
frame since 2005. Works for me, you asked, so that's what I do.
Happy huntin'.

hank
 

Island Drive

Verified Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
5,192
From
florence, colorado
Got a sporty new pair of glasses. Bifocals with transitional.
But its totally useless for pool. Bending over I have to look upwards to see a 9 foot shot straining my neck
Transitioning between close shots to far shots are hard to get used to.
Since I got rid of cataracts have not needed specs but now my prescription is changing with age.
Any one got some solutions?
Do you have a special pair just to play with?
Yes when I get my eyes check I also asked for a second prescription with a 11 ft focal point just for pool.

They already got u hooked up and it costs nothing extra to tell you what that prescription should be.
 

keoneyo

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
2,883
Thanks guys for the wonderful advice. Its great to see that Im not the only one with the problem.
 

keoneyo

Verified Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
2,883
I have worn bifocals for years, but for pool I just had them make a pair without the bifocals. I tried a pair years ago they made me for computer work but they drove me crazy because I could not see past a few feet. I am lucky my Rx has not changed much in years and I wore glasses before I started playing pool. Try a pair with your regular Rx but no bifocal.
John do you use a certain type of frame? When I am down on a shot and look up table my eyes have a tendency to go over the frame and I have to push my head up at an awkward angle. After a couple of hours I get a headache and that hurts my game. Do you have a large frame with large lenses? Or do you wear them tighter on your bridge to hold your glasses high?
 

jrhendy

Verified Member
Joined
May 24, 2004
Messages
5,717
From
Placerville, CA
Here are the pair I wear. I do have them pushed up a bit. I tried the big round ones once, but I have habit of pushing them up and I smudg them up too much.7999E7CF-121F-41EB-B19C-3B9B9E89CA21.jpeg
 

Maxwell

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2006
Messages
86
Thanks guys for the wonderful advice. Its great to see that Im not the only one with the problem.

You are not alone at all, I've got it to. I don't have much life experience with glasses, just the last few years, and I wonder if contacts might be the answer. Does anyone have any experience with them?
 

Island Drive

Verified Member
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
5,192
From
florence, colorado
You are not alone at all, I've got it to. I don't have much life experience with glasses, just the last few years, and I wonder if contacts might be the answer. Does anyone have any experience with them?
Varner always wore the hard contacts. If your in a room with smoke, it could be a concern. I tried em for 3 months, didn't work for me. Make sure they fit high on the nose. You might look at an old pic of Bob Vanover. This is an area I wouldn't not scrimp, the right glasses. Mine also have a slight curvature and have allot more lens area than John's.
 

thepavlos

Verified Member
Joined
May 27, 2004
Messages
89
From
BOSTON, MA
Also, if you have a strong prescription, like me, the parallax distortion at the edge of the lens of billiard glasses takes some getting used to.
 
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