How to get faster at the 3x3 Rubik's Cube (updated)

Should I continue the series?


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  • Poll closed .
Is that what most people think?

As for the whole White/Yellow vs CN thing? I think it's completely subjective. There are absolutely benefits to being CN, there's no disputing that. But there's also no reason that you HAVE to start with White/Yellow either. Antoine Cantin and KCIII are Red/Orange. Mats is Green/Blue. And there are plenty of fast people that are exclusively White Cross.

CLL_Smooth once put it to me this way (and I'm paraphrasing here): If you're stuck with white cross, it means you'll be faced with harder cases more often. But those tough cases will force you to think about how to solve the cube differently. So, in the long run, it can be beneficial in its own way.
 
I see. So is it bad that I got my first speed cube when I was at 41 seconds with my Rubik's store-bought one month after I learned how to solve a Rubik's Cube?

From personal experience I'd say there's a definite risk of RSI; before I got the Guhong v2 late Feb, I got to sub-30 after three months with my storebought. However, at a few dozen solves a day, I developed pain in my wrists that took a couple of weeks to sort itself out.

You can definitely get decent times with the storebought - between the first and second World Championships, there were some sub-16 cubers IIRC - but they would probably do better with access to corner-cutting and fingertricks. (If Jessica Fridrich had an Aolong to start with, would she be a sub-10?...) With better cubes now, I think there's no convincing reason to stick with XYZ 'beginner's cube' until you're sub-ABC.
 
I see. But the cube can have some effect on making your fingers stronger of you use a tighter or slower cube right?

If you dont use fingertricks, the cube doesnt matter. If you do, tighter cubes help with control, finger strength, and turning accuracy.
 
I repeat: Finger "Strength" is not an applicable term. But speed and dexterity come with time and practice. If you wanna practice lifting weights with your fingers, have fun... but it won't help you with cubing in any way. Think of the amount of force it takes to turn a good cube: like... none. None force.

It's the ability to flick faster and use fingertricks that will serve you in the long run... practice, practice, practice.
 
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I repeat: Finger "Strength" is not an applicable term. But speed and dexterity come with time and practice. If you wanna practice lifting weights with your fingers, have fun... but it won't help you with cubing in any way. Think of the amount of force it takes to turn a good cube: like... none. None force.

It's the ability to flick faster and use fingertricks that will serve you in the long run... practice, practice, practice.

You need strong flicks not necessarily strong fingers. Starting out, it was very hard for me to double flick U with my index then middle, but with practise, I can now get it to turn the full 180.
 
Ok. I see. Hey, people say that I am not fast enough to teach people how to get faster at the Rubik's cube and make a good series because they say I am slow myself. Are they just joking or are they serious and do you agree?
 
^^^ First if you're incredibly fast I'm going to follow the series because I've been stuck at 35-45 second averages for 3yrs I hope your videos help and thanks for reading. "Haters gonna hate."
-Yoda


...Okay maybe it wasn't Yoda :P
 
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Ok. I see. Hey, people say that I am not fast enough to teach people how to get faster at the Rubik's cube and make a good series because they say I am slow myself. Are they just joking or are they serious and do you agree?

They could be serious but not know what they're talking about. Speed isn't that important - You don't need to be fast to have knowledge. You do need some experience though, since it's a bit pointless to recommend anything you've never tried.
 
As for the whole White/Yellow vs CN thing? I think it's completely subjective. There are absolutely benefits to being CN, there's no disputing that. But there's also no reason that you HAVE to start with White/Yellow either. Antoine Cantin and KCIII are Red/Orange. Mats is Green/Blue. And there are plenty of fast people that are exclusively White Cross.

Pretty sure Antoine is orange only.
 
In my opinion, it doesn't matter. The different options (CN, only W, W/Y, etc.) have their own benefits and drawbacks. If anyone cares, I was white only until about 20 seconds, then switched easily to a 16 second average using CN in like 2 weeks. I do white a bit more than other colors, but I can get better times on other colors.
 
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In my opinion, it doesn't matter. The different options (CN, only W, W/Y, etc.) have their own benefits and drawbacks. If anyone cares, I was white only until about 20 seconds, then switched easily to a 16 second average using CN in like 2 weeks. I do white a bit more than other colors, but I can get better times on other colors.

Its personal preference. If ur CN, u can use any good scramble. If you are 1 colour, you focus inspection on 1 colour and like plan cross and 3 f2l pairs or something ridiculous. If ur good enough u do both anyway...
 
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