Getting the most out of the keyhole method.

[TheCubeSolvesMe]

Hello all, I have learned the beginner method and have gotten to about 1:30, which is really lame, but I believe that's all I can get out of the beginner method...

I'm looking into the keyhole method now for the F2l. I fully understand it thanks to a few videos, but have a question....

What exactly should I be looking for when doing it? Do I need to be looking in the middle layer for unsolved edges, or should I be looking in the top layer for edges? I simply need tips on how to look at it so I don't get stuck for those few precious seconds.

 

[brunson]

You're starting to develop look ahead skills that will serve you well if you transition to F2L.

Since an edge in the U layer is going to be faster to insert that one in the E slice, you should probably try to track a couple of U edges that don't belong there. Inserting an edge from the U layer also has the possibility of displacing mis-slotted middle layer into the U layer.

Tracking more than one edge in U would be a good skill to develop. Also, get to the point where you can insert the edge without watching it, that will allow you to look for your next edge before you actually need it.

Hope that helps,
e.

 

[Zarxrax]

I tried keyhole f2l for a little while, and honestly I didn't see it helping my times at all. I got about the same times with it as I did with the plain beginners method. Now, if I had just practiced and worked at it, I'm sure I would have gotten much faster, but I think if you are going to practice at something you may as well learn fridrich f2l, which isn't a whole lot more complicated.

 

[Tetris Cube]

Unsolved edges can either be in the upper or middle layer. If they're in the top layer, you can directly place them in their slot with the keyhole below, but if they're in the middle, you'll have to move them to the top, again, using the keyhole. They need to be in the top layer for you to solve them.

A tip for keyhole, it works the opposite way around too; if you already have a solved edge, you can use an edge you don't care about to place the corner. In that case, that would be your keyhole. You don't have to do 3 corners and then 3 edges. You don't have this option if you solve 3 corners first, but since you're solving one piece at a time anyway, you can choose to solve them in any order you want. When I do keyhole insertions, I can use any open corner/edge that's unsolved to place the piece I'm going for.

I actually never even used keyhole as an F2L method, I learned Fridrich F2L and then integrated keyhole into it. It's just handy when a corner or edge is already solved.

 

[abr71310]

My brother is one of those people who refuses to learn keyhole / Fridrich F2L (but he looked up Keyhole anyway and now specifically uses it for OH because "it's easier than having to spend 8 moves inserting every [bleep]ing edge manually").

He solves at around the same speed I do with almost full Fridrich (I'm the Fridrich user, full PLL, 13/57 OLL), at around 28 seconds (This is with PURELY DAN BROWN ><).

Honestly, I have a belief that if he switches to basic OLL (sune, anti-sune) and Full PLL he can hit sub-20 no problem.

I wouldn't give up on it yet, but I'll help you out anyway.

For Keyhole (My transition from LBL to Fridrich ^^), make sure that your working corner follows you around the cube. This means utilize your u' and u turns well, because you don't want to lose track of that working corner (the "keyhole") as you're searching for the edge.

Also, just keep in mind that you want the OPPOSITE corner colour (in relation to the centre) before performing F U F' or R U' R', just because you don't want a flipped edge that you "forgot" to swap.

 

[TheCubeSolvesMe]

I actually never even used keyhole as an F2L method, I learned Fridrich F2L and then integrated keyhole into it. It's just handy when a corner or edge is already solved.

I've learned Fridrich F2l, intuitively that is, but my time using it to solve the F2l (cross and top layers not included) is usually around 1:00, only 30 seconds away from my whole beginner solve. I learned it about 3 days ago and have practiced it for probably an hour since, I figured my progress was too slow and that I would try the keyhole method instead..

My problem with Fridrich F2l is knowing what to do next... I always focus on the current corner-edge pair and when i'm done with it I have to take several precious seconds to find the next two... I understand each case though...

I basically only want about a 40 second solve... can I acheive this with the keyhole method or do I really need to keep practicing Fridrich F2l?

 

[a small kitten]

If you have fast turning speed you can be much faster than 40 seconds with the basic method. I remember a few months ago when I didn't do Fridrich or ZZ. I used the beginner's F2L, formed a top cross, oriented the last layer with just a sune/antisune and permuted with only the J and U perms and that got me averages in the mid 20s.

You may think you just want a 40 second solve but once you reach that goal you will always want more. Fridrich is definitely more rewarding in the long run over keyhole because it's more finger friendly. In order to conquer the pauses, make sure you internalize the intuitive pairing algs. For example, when you find a corner and an edge, try to insert it without looking at the cube. If you are fine with that then you should be able to spare some time to find pieces for the next pair while you slot the first one. When you see the next pair, try to track those pieces since they will be affected by the inserting of the first pair.

Intuitive Fridrich is definitely going to be a little sluggish for you when you learn it. But when you are used to it it flows very nicely because it's so straightforward.

 

[qqwref]

With a proper cube and practice, I think anyone can achieve an average of under 30 seconds with an optimized beginner LBL method (cross, first layer corners, middle layer edges, 4-look last layer).

That said - here's a version of keyhole that is just as simple but (in my opinion) a bit faster: after you make the cross (on D, of course), start by inserting 3 middle-layer edges. Then place the slot with the remaining edge in FR, and what you want to do is insert all 4 corners using only R, U, and D turns (and no cube rotations). Do D' and D turns with your right and left ring fingers. The way this works is to insert a corner into the slot at DFR using RUR' or RU'R' or whatever, and use D turns to change the slot at DFR (so that you can solve all four corners without any rotations). This is actually really really easy because instead of trying to find edges (which can be tricky) you're just trying to find corners (which can all be identified by the simple fact that they have the D color on them, and which are all guaranteed to be on the top or the bottom layer). Once you've got all the corners, just insert the last edge normally, which is also really easy because it's either in FR or somewhere on the top layer.

PS: Knowing this version of keyhole helped me out on a OH solve once in competition (since doing D moves is easy the way I do OH). Two middle-layer edges were solved after I did the cross so I was able to save a lot of moves by doing D moves and then inserting the corners normally. It turned out that solve was a 16 (compared to my average of 25). So this really is useful to learn!

 

[AvGalen]

With a proper cube and practice, I think anyone can achieve an average of under 30 seconds with an optimized beginner LBL method (cross, first layer corners, middle layer edges, 4-look last layer).

That said - here's a version of keyhole that is just as simple but (in my opinion) a bit faster: after you make the cross (on D, of course), start by inserting 3 middle-layer edges. Then place the slot with the remaining edge in FR, and what you want to do is insert all 4 corners using only R, U, and D turns (and no cube rotations). Do D' and D turns with your right and left ring fingers. The way this works is to insert a corner into the slot at DFR using RUR' or RU'R' or whatever, and use D turns to change the slot at DFR (so that you can solve all four corners without any rotations). This is actually really really easy because instead of trying to find edges (which can be tricky) you're just trying to find corners (which can all be identified by the simple fact that they have the D color on them, and which are all guaranteed to be on the top or the bottom layer). Once you've got all the corners, just insert the last edge normally, which is also really easy because it's either in FR or somewhere on the top layer.

PS: Knowing this version of keyhole helped me out on a OH solve once in competition (since doing D moves is easy the way I do OH). Two middle-layer edges were solved after I did the cross so I was able to save a lot of moves by doing D moves and then inserting the corners normally. It turned out that solve was a 16 (compared to my average of 25). So this really is useful to learn!

doing middle layer edges first is a nice thing to try and if you alread have some done during the cross it is a good idea. But in general I wouldn't recommend it because corners ar harder to insert that way when they are "up-side-down" or in the D-layer in the wrong spot.

If you want to get the most out of keyhole, you should watch my video's, learn about unmatched pairs and use this order: cross, 3 corners, 4 edges, 4th corner.

 

[Tetris Cube]

I think Fridrich F2L is more important to learn than Keyhole F2L, even though you can use both in the same solve. Fridrich F2L only has 3 kinds of joins:

adjacent (corner/edge both on top layer, same color, pair up in top layer)
opposite (different colors on top, non cross color, R U R' type insertion)
upside down (the corner has the cross color facing up)

By knowing that, just track the two pieces and join them accordingly. After you insert a pair (or even during/before) look at the top layer for another corner with your cross color. It's a good place to start because even if the edge is in the middle layer, you can still manipulate it so that you get the right type of join when moving it into the top layer.

My opinion on keyhole is that it's just an expansion of beginner/Fridrich/whatever, it's just an insertion technique you really only need if pieces are already solved. And the keyhole method forces you to solve said pieces, so it's not much faster than the beginner method I don't think. It has more potential though, since it's more intuitive rather than algorithm based.

 

[TheCubeSolvesMe]

Thanks for all the input, I didn't realize I could be reaching 40 seconds with the beginner method, I don't use finger tricks yet, i just try and turn really fast with my hand... guess I should start learning them as well. When I did try it turned out to be really hard for me, and I found myself always getting the cube stuck and always got confused on my algorithms, just not used to that movement I guess, will add that to my practice routine.

 

[Kyle™]

If you use keyhole + the first (16?) cases of ZBF2L, it is just as fast as fridrich in my opinion. much less algorithms. (16?) +7 i think for the last pair of F2L + OLL.

 

[felix]

Be sure to use RUR' and F'U'F. This way you can get the edge in using one movement.

 

[puzzlemaster]

My brother is one of those people who refuses to learn keyhole / Fridrich F2L (but he looked up Keyhole anyway and now specifically uses it for OH because "it's easier than having to spend 8 moves inserting every [bleep]ing edge manually").

He solves at around the same speed I do with almost full Fridrich (I'm the Fridrich user, full PLL, 13/57 OLL), at around 28 seconds (This is with PURELY DAN BROWN ><).

Honestly, I have a belief that if he switches to basic OLL (sune, anti-sune) and Full PLL he can hit sub-20 no problem.

I wouldn't give up on it yet, but I'll help you out anyway.

For Keyhole (My transition from LBL to Fridrich ^^), make sure that your working corner follows you around the cube. This means utilize your u' and u turns well, because you don't want to lose track of that working corner (the "keyhole") as you're searching for the edge.

Also, just keep in mind that you want the OPPOSITE corner colour (in relation to the centre) before performing F U F' or R U' R', just because you don't want a flipped edge that you "forgot" to swap.

could we see a vid of your bro? i have to see this to believe it