[Help Thread] Best way to learn CFOP after using beginners?

[Harry12]

So for a long while I've been using beginners method, I spent 5 weeks learning it and since then it has been about 8 weeks, I average around 45s using a speedcube with it and my pb using a speedcube is 31 seconds, I want to move on to fridrich but I can't even get my head round the notation, if you have any advice on anything to do with speedcubing please leave below (I don't even know what 'perms' are).

Thanks

 

[Eduard Khil]

Welcome!
The first thing is to know the notation. To learn and execute the algorithms, you must first understand how to read the notation. Its fairly straightforward, however it may take a while to get used to.

The second step is to choose a method to stick to. The "big four" most commonly used methods are CFOP, Roux, Petrus, and ZZ. CFOP is widely used and you can achieve pretty fast times by learning algorithms. Roux and Petrus are blockbuilding methods which rely less on algorithms but more on intuitive solving, so it takes a while to get used to blockbuilding, however the good side to it is that you don't need to memorize too many algorithms to get fast. ZZ is an alg-heavy method which is very difficult to learn, so it is generally not recommended to beginner solvers.

The third step is to improve. To improve, you could either learn new algorithms, improve lookahead and efficiency, and use fingertricks. At the 40s stage, the easiest thing to do to improve is practice. Practice alone would get you down to 30s quickly (something like 2 months if you practice a lot). Try to eliminate pauses.

The fourth step is to practice, a lot. Untimed solves to know your method better, improve your efficiency, is better than timed solves. However, time yourself once in a while to see how much you have improved. Check out the speedsolving forum, speedsolving wiki, youtube for a lot of amazing content that people have put up!

general speedcubing terms:
perms: a contraction of the word "Permutation" which is a set of movements to swap particular pieces around. T-Perms, G-Perms... Those are just names for the algorithms just so that it's easier to refer to it
PB: Personal best, the fastest solve you have ever achieved
Sub-xx: Meaning that all your solves are below the time xx

 

[Wisard]

So for a long while I've been using beginners method, I spent 5 weeks learning it and since then it has been about 8 weeks, I average around 45s using a speedcube with it and my pb using a speedcube is 31 seconds, I want to move on to fridrich but I can't even get my head round the notation, if you have any advice on anything to do with speedcubing please leave below (I don't even know what 'perms' are).

Thanks

"perms" are short for Permutations, which are used in the last Step of CFOP, Or "Fridrich"
CFOP stands for Cross, First 2 Layers, OLL and PLL.
1.You should already know how to make the Cross because you know beginners method.
The Notation is really easy to learn, you should only need to learn rotations and Slices moves. I used this guide when I was
first learning CFOP.
2.You should look up tutorials online, youtube, or anywhere else for F2l, its really easy to learn intuitivly, and with practice this will become easier. many Beginners use an f2l method called "Keyhole"
3. Learn 2 look Oll. If you can make the top cross using beginners method, you can do this. This is a good Guide, but there are many other resources.
4. Learn 2 look Pll, and eventually full PLL. you only need to know the A perms and U perms to start, but later learning all Pll's will make you faster. This is a good website for this.
5. Eventually, once you have mastered all of this, Learn full Oll, and how to make the cross on bottom, Extended cross, etc.
6. Practice Practice Practice! thats the only way you'll get better. I hope this helped, and good luck!

 

[Harry12]

Welcome!
The first thing is to know the notation. To learn and execute the algorithms, you must first understand how to read the notation. Its fairly straightforward, however it may take a while to get used to.

The second step is to choose a method to stick to. The "big four" most commonly used methods are CFOP, Roux, Petrus, and ZZ. CFOP is widely used and you can achieve pretty fast times by learning algorithms. Roux and Petrus are blockbuilding methods which rely less on algorithms but more on intuitive solving, so it takes a while to get used to blockbuilding, however the good side to it is that you don't need to memorize too many algorithms to get fast. ZZ is an alg-heavy method which is very difficult to learn, so it is generally not recommended to beginner solvers.

The third step is to improve. To improve, you could either learn new algorithms, improve lookahead and efficiency, and use fingertricks. At the 40s stage, the easiest thing to do to improve is practice. Practice alone would get you down to 30s quickly (something like 2 months if you practice a lot). Try to eliminate pauses.

The fourth step is to practice, a lot. Untimed solves to know your method better, improve your efficiency, is better than timed solves. However, time yourself once in a while to see how much you have improved. Check out the speedsolving forum, speedsolving wiki, youtube for a lot of amazing content that people have put up!

general speedcubing terms:
perms: a contraction of the word "Permutation" which is a set of movements to swap particular pieces around. T-Perms, G-Perms... Those are just names for the algorithms just so that it's easier to refer to it
PB: Personal best, the fastest solve you have ever achieved
Sub-xx: Meaning that all your solves are below the time xx

Thanks for this, I am struggling a little on notation but the main thing is when I looked at F2L I was quite shocked. How do I learn 42 algs for just 1 part of the method? I tried intuitive but it didn't work. If you have any advice please help.

"perms" are short for Permutations, which are used in the last Step of CFOP, Or "Fridrich"
CFOP stands for Cross, First 2 Layers, OLL and PLL.
1.You should already know how to make the Cross because you know beginners method.
The Notation is really easy to learn, you should only need to learn rotations and Slices moves. I used this guide when I was
first learning CFOP.
2.You should look up tutorials online, youtube, or anywhere else for F2l, its really easy to learn intuitivly, and with practice this will become easier. many Beginners use an f2l method called "Keyhole"
3. Learn 2 look Oll. If you can make the top cross using beginners method, you can do this. This is a good Guide, but there are many other resources.
4. Learn 2 look Pll, and eventually full PLL. you only need to know the A perms and U perms to start, but later learning all Pll's will make you faster. This is a good website for this.
5. Eventually, once you have mastered all of this, Learn full Oll, and how to make the cross on bottom, Extended cross, etc.
6. Practice Practice Practice! thats the only way you'll get better. I hope this helped, and good luck!

Thanks too, by the way, what does 1 look and 2 look oll mean?

 

[gyroninja]

ZZ is an alg-heavy method

I wouldn't really call it alg-heavy. It requires less than cfop since you don't need algorithms for eo.

 

[mark49152]

@Harry12 , the first step is to read the forums. There is a wealth of information here about speedcubing. The search bar is useful, but you don't even need that to start. Just go through each section and read the threads that look interesting. Threads that are useful resources tend to be "stickied" at the top of each section so easy to find. Better to spend some time reading the hundreds of posts of useful advice already out there, than rely on a couple of replies to your own question.

 

[Wisard]

Thanks for this, I am struggling a little on notation but the main thing is when I looked at F2L I was quite shocked. How do I learn 42 algs for just 1 part of the method? I tried intuitive but it didn't work. If you have any advice please help.


Thanks too, by the way, what does 1 look and 2 look oll mean?

2 Look OLL is solving the top cross first, then the corners and only has 7 algorithms, I believe. 1 look OLL, or Full OLL is orientating both the cross and corners at the same time, and has around 47 algorithms. F2l Is easy to get intuitive once you get the hang of it, if you're struggling, just do the first two layers using beginners method, learn the rest of the method first, and come back to it. Thats sort of what I did, but I learned a method called "Keyhole", or more specifically "edge keyhole", where I put in the edge, then the corner of the first two layers.

 

[Wisard]

I wouldn't really call it alg-heavy. It requires less than cfop since you don't need algorithms for eo.

I think it is kind of alg heavy, depending on what varients you use, and It takes a lot of inspection time.