[Help Thread] why am i bad at 6x6

[ILCubing]

i global 1:45 on 5x5 (which sucks) and i global 3:45 on 6x6. why am i so bad? pls help i wanna make cutoff at my next comp (3:30)

 

[bluecubing]

Probably parity that’s what throws people off on even numbered cubes. But honestly just practice a lot and learn yau (if you don’t know it)

 

[Yann1qua12DagOat]

I just did solves and now I'm around 3:15 or so, coming from a 4:30 average a couple of months ago

 

[-Cube Kid-]

Probably parity that’s what throws people off on even numbered cubes. But honestly just practice a lot and learn yau (if you don’t know it)

How would he not know yau if he's that fast?

 

[SpeedCubingLord]

How would he not know yau if he's that fast?

You can get really good with Redux.

 

[-Cube Kid-]

You can get really good with Redux.

Well, imo, Redux is just as fast as yau (unless you are on 4x4)

 

[Jared Burkhart]

i global 1:45 on 5x5 (which sucks) and i global 3:45 on 6x6. why am i so bad? pls help i wanna make cutoff at my next comp (3:30)

In order to help you, I need to know how long each step takes (example, 1C-13 sec, 2ndC-another 15 sec,etc.)

 

[Sub 20 Cuber]

You are actually not bad at 6x6.I average about 9 minutes lol

 

[Davian]

6x6 and other big cubes meta is:
spam solves
look at your splits and improve on the split thats the worst

 

[Clock_Enthusiast]

I'm far from a 6x6 expert (it's actually one of my worst WCA events), but it's certainly one of the more challenging NxNs because it's big and even-layered. I think that identifying the stages that you have the most pauses or challenges with efficiency (as @Davian mentioned) is a great start. For me, centers were a particular challenge at first, because they're quite different from those on 4x4, 5x5, or 7x7. The ample opportunities for parity are also a barrier, but if you're comfortable with those algorithms, I don't think that would be the primary setback during solves. I also personally haven't found a good 6x6 setup that I like (I also don't practice 6x6 very much), so general turning is difficult unless the cube is more stable. I think a good setup is especially important, so the cube isn't on the verge of exploding and you can have more fluid turning, haha. Grinding solves is definitely a good approach too, because your times will decrease pretty consistently on big cubes with consistent practice.

Also, 1:45 on 5x5 isn't bad. You can definitely break the 3:30 barrier on 6x6 with times like that on 5x5.

 

[One Wheel]

Yau is great for 4x4, sucks for 6x6.

 

[OtaMota]

Yau is great for 4x4, sucks for 6x6.

This is outdated (the Yau sucks on 6x6 part) the current WR avg for 6x6 uses Yau.

 

[One Wheel]

This is outdated (the Yau sucks on 6x6 part) the current WR avg for 6x6 uses Yau.

My long term 6x6 averages are around 3:40, I just got a 4:09 with Yau. I'll give it a shot for a week. If I can match my redux times, then maybe I'm wrong.

 

[....]

i global 1:45 on 5x5 (which sucks) and i global 3:45 on 6x6. why am i so bad? pls help i wanna make cutoff at my next comp (3:30)

I don't specialize in 6x6 (currently 33/55/1:36/2:11) but I guess I'll try to help.

At that speed, you can probably improve a significant amount just by doing more solves and simply just trying to turn faster. Knowing how to use freeslice is a must. Both Redux and Yau are okay methods to use, so choose whichever one you are faster on. You could probably do a couple untimed solves to try and improve your efficiency, but I would probably need to see an example solve if I were to make any critiques on that, since it's very specific.

A common pitfall that I think a lot of beginner big cubers run into is using more commutators than necessary on L2C. You should probably be able to create a 2x4 and put it on the left pretty easily (create an inner bar, create an outer bar), but for the last inner bar you shouldn't be needing any commutators. One thing you can always do is create an inner 1x2 (somewhat like a 1x2 on a 4x4) then attach two obliques to it. 95% of the time this will be pretty easy with just Rw/Rw' and U/U'/U2 moves. There are rare cases in which 3Rw moves are required, but I think you can probably discover them on your own with a bit of ingenuity. For the last bar, you can focus on the two X centers and one oblique and solve them like a 5x5 last bar and leave the last oblique to one commutator.

Also, Kevin Hays' Tuesday Tips playlist might be a bit useful.

You can reach sub your 5x5 times on 6x6 in a year if you put in enough effort and have enough ingenuity.

 

[abunickabhi]

i global 1:45 on 5x5 (which sucks) and i global 3:45 on 6x6. why am i so bad? pls help i wanna make cutoff at my next comp (3:30)

Grind grind grind