I have been shooting for a couple of years now. Five stand was my worst event. It has gotten better over the years, and I think you are correct in  paying attention to the true pairs, especially if they are very fast, timing wise, to shoot.

One thing I do while looking at the show birds is count in my head from the time I call pull to the time it reaches my break point so that when we get to the true pairs I have an idea which I may take as my first bird. I usually don’t have to do this for each trap but typically for ones that take awhile to develop and reach their break point. Another thing I do is when another shooter is shooting one of the birds in my true pair I use it for getting a good visual reference. For example, let’s say I’m shooting a 5-2 true pair and I know I’m going to take the 2 bird second. When one of the other shooters is shooting the 2 bird, I will set up in my mind as if I’m shooting the 5 bird first and when they call pull I’ll track the imaginary path of the 5 bird and then focus on the 2 bird while it’s in flight. Of course this only works if it’s still in flight and hasn’t been shot yet but typically it’s worked in my favor and keeps me focused on the game.