Older cubers discussions

[Logiqx]

I guess in big cubes and OH the algs used for EPLL are [R,U] and not [M,U], right? Maybe [M, U] is faster in 4x4?

My approach:
3x3: U, Z, H = MU
4x4: U, Z = RU, H = MU
5x5+: U, Z, H = RU
OH: U, Z, H = RU

I will have to learn it, then. Probably also quite useful for OH in combination with some EO.

Yes. It is great for OH. The COLL algs are OH friendly and an RU finish (2/3 time = U-perm) or EPLL skip is the ideal scenario.

 

[mark49152]

My approach:
3x3: U, Z, H = MU
4x4: U, Z = RU, H = MU
5x5+: U, Z, H = RU
OH: U, Z, H = RU

My approach:
3x3: all MU
4x4 & 5x5: Ux, Z, H = MU; Uy = RU
6x6+: RU

I can't remember which way round Ua and Ub are, so by Ux I mean the MU alg that has U turns, and Uy is that one with U' turns. My Z and H are only U turns. The reason is that I do Ms left handed and on bigger cubes it's the U' turns than mess me up in MU algs. Thus Uy is the only one I replace with RU, until 6x6 when M slices become too awkward.

On 3x3 and 4x4, I do M slices with left middle, or middle-ring double flicks. On 5x5, I do them with middle and ring together, with a separate move for each quarter turn.

 

[muchacho]

Wow I did not expect any were using MU in 5x5.

This is how LSE on a 7x7 looks (@6:42, 13:00 and 20:08)... probably it's harder than it looks.

 

[kbrune]

Some highlights from Day 2 yesterday. I was too zombie to post this after comp lol

First result in 6x6 of 7:28.xx

Beat my single for 5x5 with a 2:53.xx

3BLD was a disaster. Was quite upset since I've been improving alot lately. During first attempt. Memo was very good and quick for me. Then during execution the kid judging the guy next to me starts talking to people loudly. Messed me up. This after there were 2 announcements made to respect silence during blind events. Second attempt. I was still upset from previous solve. Forgot my memo during execution. Third attempt went well except for I messed up one alg so I was off by 3 edges. I'm going to invest in headset for future BLD.

4X4 cutoff for ao5 was 1:30
I got a 1:30.06 and a 1:30.62 lol

coming up short was a theme for this comp.

3x3 I came in 49th. They took 48 for Round 2

Missed 4x4 cutoff by 0.69 in total for both solves

Second round Pyra I came in 17th
Top 16 moved on to finals lol

Overall it was a great comp and it felt good to be back solving officially! On to Boston this weekend coming!

 

[Isaac Lai]

By the way, I had read it on Tapatalk and forgot to reply. Thanks a lot @Isaac Lai for your comments and suggestions about my 4x4 solves. Glad to know that there is at least one step I'm not terrible at . I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I will try to implement all those suggestions and see where that takes me. A sub 1min single and sub 1:15 Ao5 would be a nice achievement before the end of the year.

No problem and good luck with your goals too!

 

[mark49152]

@kbrune : Yeah I recommend earmuffs. They don't zero the sound but they muffle it enough that it is less distracting. Some people do the opposite and practise in noisy environments so that they become resistant to the distraction.

 

[Chree]

3BLD was a disaster. Was quite upset since I've been improving alot lately. During first attempt. Memo was very good and quick for me. Then during execution the kid judging the guy next to me starts talking to people loudly. Messed me up. This after there were 2 announcements made to respect silence during blind events. Second attempt. I was still upset from previous solve. Forgot my memo during execution. Third attempt went well except for I messed up one alg so I was off by 3 edges. I'm going to invest in headset for future BLD.

You should request an extra attempt if something like this happens. Especially if it's a judge doing the distracting, since they really have to know better.

I found at that those headsets really don't do much for nearby noises, so chances are you would've still been just as distracted. I sat next to the competitor waiting area during my attempts, and at no point were they completely silent. I felt like I could hear everything.

 

[kbrune]

@mark49152

I would actually try that but I don't have any practice time where I could be in noisy places.

@Chree

I didn't realize asking for that was an option. Now I know!
Good to know about the headsets. I'll try it out before I buy one to see if it'll work for me.

 

[Gordon]

Hello again

After more than a year without serious cubing (and without this thread), I was at a competition yesterday. I had no expectations and just wanted to be there for fun.

I was very surprised that my 3x3 and 4x4 times were not that bad compared to the ones at my last comp. I think the missing practice only reflected in the 2x2 and 5x5 solves.

2x2: 16.21, 18.30, 11.02, 7.52, 12.48
5x5: 4:49.46, 5:17.40
4x4: 1:45.30, 2:26.55, 2:13.72, DNF, 1:46.77
3x3: 32.16, 23.91, 27.93, 26.43, 22.46

A funny thing is, that the 22.46 3x3 is a new official single PB, which I figured out just now, when I looked up my times on cubecomps... hooray

 

[newtonbase]

My approach:
3x3: U, Z, H = MU
4x4: U, Z = RU, H = MU
5x5+: U, Z, H = RU
OH: U, Z, H = RU

My approach:
3x3: all MU
4x4 & 5x5: Ux, Z, H = MU; Uy = RU
6x6+: RU

Do you guys know the U-perms from multiple angles?

 

[Logiqx]

Do you guys know the U-perms from multiple angles?

I know two angles for the MU algs; bar at front / back. I only know the RU algs with the bar at the back but I intend to learn the algs when the bar is at the front (2H + OH).

I was perfectly happy with one alg for each case until I started to learn COLL. I figure it's worth knowing the additional U perms for a little extra saving, especially after I've gone to the effort of learning 28 COLL cases.

 

[muchacho]

Welcome @Gordon

New PBs on 4x4
Ao5: 1:56.246 (was 2:01.064 from 12-may-15)
Ao12: 2:00.512 (was 2:11.696 from 16-may-15)

Now time to practice Meyer (like Yau for Roux), first I wanted (with no particular reason) to be sub-2 with 1-1 pairing, no sub-2 but close enough.

 

[newtonbase]

I know two angles for the MU algs; bar at front / back. I only know the RU algs with the bar at the back but I intend to learn the algs when the bar is at the front (2H + OH).

That's what I know too but I'll add the MU with bar at the back soon. It's very similar.

 

[mafergut]

Do you guys know the U-perms from multiple angles?

I happen to know the RU Us for bar at front and because of that I just learned the MU ones for bar at back. The MU algs for bar at front / back are very easy to learn from the other, because they just change an M for an M' and the other way around. Meanwhile, the RU ones are a bit harder as they are either the L/R mirror executed with a z rotation so L becomes U and U becomes R (for left handed OH, that is) or the same alg in reverse so I have never got to learn them. I think in this case it's worth the effort to avoid the extra U2. I also know the U-perm + U2 algs but I have never used them in speedsolves.

Also @Gordon, welcome!

 

[Chree]

Sometimes I still practice the Petrus U Perms, ("Allan", http://lar5.com/cube/fas7.html) with the Bar on Left or Right. There are fun finger tricks you can do for those. They're also really easy to teach to beginners, so that's what I taught my girlfriend instead of the RU algs.

I don't use them in speedsolves, though, and especially not in comp. I will use them for 8x8+ cubes, however. They come in real handy for Huge cubes because they're such a low move count.

Also, because I spend way too much time with Big Cubes, I've gotten real used to the RU Z Perm, and use it for 2H 3x3. Every once in a while I remind myself to practice the MU Z Perm just in case I feel ambitious enough to switch back... which hasn't happened yet.

 

[EvilGnome6]

AZCubing Spring 2016 went down on Saturday and it was a very successful event. My main objective was to improve on my 6x6 record and I succeeded. These solves are right on average for me. I would have loved to have gotten a sub-4 single but those are still too far between at the moment. Maybe next time.

6x6: 4:21.72, 4:24.19, 4:17.08 mean 4:21.00

Here was my best attempt:

I didn't have any outstanding singles in 3x3, but I did manage to set a new PB average in the second round:

3x3: 21.15, 22.71, 20.22, 23.25, 30.05 avg 22.37

My best attempt was a 19.42 in the first round:

2x2 was uneventful because I didn't have any time to warm up.

2x2: 6.62, 6.34, 5.86, 7.33, 7.24 avg 6.73

My best attempt of 5.86:

Besides 6x6, the other highlight of the day came during 3x3 OH. My average wasn't very good due to 2 bad solves, but I got a 33.93 single on my third attempt.

3x3 OH: 36.91, 1:05.73, 33.93, 50.30, 1:13.89 avg 50.98

Between last week and this week, I think I have moved up the rankings a bit in the 40 club.

 

[newtonbase]

Hello again

After more than a year without serious cubing (and without this thread), I was at a competition yesterday. I had no expectations and just wanted to be there for fun.

I was very surprised that my 3x3 and 4x4 times were not that bad compared to the ones at my last comp. I think the missing practice only reflected in the 2x2 and 5x5 solves.

2x2: 16.21, 18.30, 11.02, 7.52, 12.48
5x5: 4:49.46, 5:17.40
4x4: 1:45.30, 2:26.55, 2:13.72, DNF, 1:46.77
3x3: 32.16, 23.91, 27.93, 26.43, 22.46

A funny thing is, that the 22.46 3x3 is a new official single PB, which I figured out just now, when I looked up my times on cubecomps... hooray

Hi Gordon. Well done on your results.

 

[h2f]

AZCubing Spring 2016 went down on Saturday and it was a very successful event. My main objective was to improve on my 6x6 record and I succeeded. These solves are right on average for me. I would have loved to have gotten a sub-4 single but those are still too far between at the moment. Maybe next time.

6x6: 4:21.72, 4:24.19, 4:17.08 mean 4:21.00

Here was my best attempt:

Awsome. I was wondering how far I can go in 6x6 and it means sub5 is possible for me.

Congrats,

 

[mark49152]

I would actually try that but I don't have any practice time where I could be in noisy places.

On Gianfranco Huanqui's channel there's a vid of him practising while playing crowd noise on a sound system.

Also, regarding appealing about distraction, I don't know for a fact but I suspect that it wouldn't succeed, the reason being that it's difficult to determine what amounts to a distraction, and what distracts one person may not distract another. It would be an easy way for a less scrupulous competitor to abandon a difficult scramble. If any delegates are reading, it would be good to know what they would do. Anyhow, I do recommend trying earmuffs - they might not help everybody, but they help me, and it's worth a try.

And @Gordon, nice to see you back!

 

[h2f]

Earmuffs help me too though I had a low budget ones and they are poor. I think it's a kind of habit lets me to focus. And maybe this is the role the play in 3bld for some blinders. I've noticed they put it in 4bld and 5bld even if there are only few people.

Edit: I had skewb session. Sub10 ao12 finally. I really like this puzzle and MFG skewb is great. I used Z and H perm in solves.