[Member Intro] Sexy Method, then Petrus, then the world

[deadcat]

Hi folks,

I'm new here, 33yo from Israel. I think I briefly learned how to solve Rubik's cube using LBL and then keyhole about 15-20 years ago, but forgot all about it afterwards. Fast forward to a week ago, when I saw a Rubik's brand 3x3 and 2x2 in a store by chance, and suddenly I'm addicted!

After messing around with the 2x2 a bit, I went looking for a fun method for beginners to solve the 3x3. I found the Sexy Method and learned it -- amusing, inefficient, best name ever, gets the job done. Takes me a few minutes, and I'm not really looking to get faster with it.

Then I found the "Beginner's Guide to Choosing a Speedsolving Method" thread, and instantly fell drawn to the Petrus method due to "You enjoy trying to be efficient" and "You want to quickly learn about the way pieces move about the cube". Building my first blocks ever now as I write this -- it's going very slowly, but very fulfilling when it works, and I do feel I'm starting to understand the cube better already. I realize Petrus is not as fast as the other big three methods, but I'll get to them too.

Eventually I'd really like to be sub-30 in all big four, as a long term goal -- and I realize I have a looong way to go.

Do you guys have any tips, tricks, and general recommendations for me? Am I making a huge mistake? Let me know!

Oh, and I ordered an Aolong V2 from ebay after reading some recommendations here, hopefully it will be controllable enough for a beginner such as myself.

 

[DGCubes]

Welcome to the forums! If you like blockbuilding, Petrus is a pretty cool method that incorporates a lot of that. You might also like Roux, because the first two steps to that are building two 1x2x3 blocks, and Roux is more commonly used than Petrus to get fast. Sub-30 with all 4 is definitely possible, but it will take a lot of practice. I don't think you're making a huge mistake; Petrus isn't the fastest method, but it can be decent, especially if you like a more intuitive solve. Good luck!

 

[stoic]

Welcome to the forums!

 

[deadcat]

If you like blockbuilding, Petrus is a pretty cool method that incorporates a lot of that

Well, I don't yet know if I like blockbuilding or not, but I'll give it a decent try and find out. I do see the appeal of just knowing all (or most) algs in CFOP and relying less on intuition.

 

[wir3sandfir3s]

Welcome to the best cubing forums
Sexy method is a great first method to learn IMO because of its simplicity. Petrus requires a lot of new concepts to learn and will probably take a while for beginners to learn, but my guess is that it will pay off. These new concepts can be applied pretty much everywhere. It isn't the fastest method, but it is a good first, second or third Speedsolving method. I think you are on the path to success

 

[OrigamiCuber1]

If you have enjoy block building and intuitive solving, I think you try FMC

 

[deadcat]

Update: I'm now solving consistently with beginner Petrus, although it's taking me minutes to build the blocks, as I'm trying to understand at each step both how to do it and what's the best way to go. I guess kind of like FMC?

But when I do get the blocks together and everything falls into place, oooh man, it's such a wow moment!

So I can now say that yes, I like block building, and I do feel I understand the cube a little better after each solve.

But how is this ever going to be fast, I don't know, lol. Is it just experience?

 

[wir3sandfir3s]

Update: I'm now solving consistently with beginner Petrus, although it's taking me minutes to build the blocks, as I'm trying to understand at each step both how to do it and what's the best way to go. I guess kind of like FMC?

But when I do get the blocks together and everything falls into place, oooh man, it's such a wow moment!

So I can now say that yes, I like block building, and I do feel I understand the cube a little better after each solve.

But how is this ever going to be fast, I don't know, lol. Is it just experience?

At this point, I would learn beginner CFOP. You can solve 2 pairs and just have it be like Petrus, if you want. But if you are getting better at block building then CFOP shouldn't be too hard.

 

[deadcat]

At this point, I would learn beginner CFOP. You can solve 2 pairs and just have it be like Petrus, if you want. But if you are getting better at block building then CFOP shouldn't be too hard.

But I like Petrus

 

[AlphaSheep]

But I like Petrus

If your intention is not to get fast, but to have fun and understand the cube, don't bother with CFOP. Stick with the blockbuilding. Keep practicing, and once you're comfortable with Petrus, give Roux a try. I never bothered with CFOP and I have no regrets.

 

[deadcat]

Well, I do want to get fast, but having fun and understanding are the first priority. I'll do that, thanks!

 

[wir3sandfir3s]

If your intention is not to get fast, but to have fun and understand the cube, don't bother with CFOP. Stick with the blockbuilding. Keep practicing, and once you're comfortable with Petrus, give Roux a try. I never bothered with CFOP and I have no regrets.

Honestly, I hate CFOP and never use it, but it's still good to learn because of its popularity, and to know what people are talking about.

 

[deadcat]

Holy wow, just did my first Roux solves, and it's an amazing method!
No rotations, great looking, efficient -- looks like this is where I'll be investing.

 

[Knut]

Holy wow, just did my first Roux solves, and it's an amazing method!
No rotations, great looking, efficient -- looks like this is where I'll be investing.

As a Roux user I support this decision.
Really though, you get the freedom of blockbuilding, move efficient, M slices are awesome, etc. Also the more you understand the cube, the better you will get with Roux.
Roux is just awesome.

 

[Eduard Khil]

As a Roux user I also support this decision.
IMO blockbuilding methods are more fun and I dont like being robot like by doing lots of algorithms over and over.
For blockbuilding, its mainly between Roux and Petrus, I think Roux blockbuilding has better lookahead and it is easier to grasp than petrus
To get faster, unlike algorithm-heavy methods where you would have to learn more algorithms to get faster, you only need to practice, improve your lookahead and efficiency to get fast for blockbuilding based methods

Have fun cubing!