Cride5
Premium Member
I've looked into full Winter Variation for orienting LL corners during the final F2L block insertion, but I personally prefer just regular OCLL because the algs and recognition are better. However, not using WV doesn't mean we can't still do something useful during insertion of the last block. Another option is Partial Corner Control...
I've seen this idea hinted upon in the context of full OLL to try for a better OLL case, but the general consensus is that edge control gives better OLL cases. See:
http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133
However, if all your LL edges are already oriented, then why not aim for a slightly better COLL/OCLL case? My least favourite OCLL cases are H and Pi, so eliminating them leaves only Sune, A-Sune, Bowtie and T (extremely fast), and the slower Headlights case.
Corner Control Method
So how to do it? Turns out that doing it for insertion of the last slot is stupidly easy, and here's how its done:
Assuming you have the completed FR CE-pair in the U layer there are only two possible positions for the U layer when the initial R insertion move is made, the trick is to make sure you chose the right one. Choosing the right one every time will completely eliminate the Pi and H cases
Imagine the U layer is in one of the possible positions, then look at the orientation of these corners:
For ease of lookahead it is recommended to first look for corners matching rule 1, then rule 2, then rule 3, then finally rule 4. It is guaranteed that at least one of these rules will apply, to give you at least one oriented corner on the U-layer. It guarantees a complete bypass of the H and Pi cases, simply through smart use of AUF before insertion
EDIT: Forgot to mention, this could be very useful for Petrus/ZZ ZBLL users as well - eliminating a lot of cases!
EDIT2: Another benefit: It makes an OCLL skip 2x more likely, from 1 in 27 (3.7%) to 1 in 13.5 (7.4%)
EDIT3: KK, this is the last edit, honest ...but, playing with this for a while, not only can you skip Pi and H, but you can also manipulate the corners to create your favourite cases such as Sunes, and avoid other cases such as Headlights (its possible to reduce the headlights cases by 50% while still avoiding Pi and H) ... using only an AUF! Think I'm going to enjoy playing with this
I've seen this idea hinted upon in the context of full OLL to try for a better OLL case, but the general consensus is that edge control gives better OLL cases. See:
http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133
However, if all your LL edges are already oriented, then why not aim for a slightly better COLL/OCLL case? My least favourite OCLL cases are H and Pi, so eliminating them leaves only Sune, A-Sune, Bowtie and T (extremely fast), and the slower Headlights case.
Corner Control Method
So how to do it? Turns out that doing it for insertion of the last slot is stupidly easy, and here's how its done:
Assuming you have the completed FR CE-pair in the U layer there are only two possible positions for the U layer when the initial R insertion move is made, the trick is to make sure you chose the right one. Choosing the right one every time will completely eliminate the Pi and H cases
Imagine the U layer is in one of the possible positions, then look at the orientation of these corners:
- First corner to look at is the UBR corner. If yellow is facing up this is good, because its orientation will be preserved during the insertion.
- Next look at the URF corner. If yellow is on the front face, then this is good, because it will be made to face up during the insertion.
- If none of the U-layer corners can be made to face up using the two rules above, then look at the U-layer corner touching the 1x1x2 block. If its U-colour is facing the opposite direction to the block's D colour, then an R U2 R' will make it face up during insertion.
- Finally, if none of these U-layer corners can be made to face up during the insertion then the final place to look is the DFR corner currently occupying the slot. If the U colour is facing to the right, then position the U-layer for a R U' R' insertion. If the U colour is facing to the front, the position the U-layer for an R U2 R' insertion.
For ease of lookahead it is recommended to first look for corners matching rule 1, then rule 2, then rule 3, then finally rule 4. It is guaranteed that at least one of these rules will apply, to give you at least one oriented corner on the U-layer. It guarantees a complete bypass of the H and Pi cases, simply through smart use of AUF before insertion
EDIT: Forgot to mention, this could be very useful for Petrus/ZZ ZBLL users as well - eliminating a lot of cases!
EDIT2: Another benefit: It makes an OCLL skip 2x more likely, from 1 in 27 (3.7%) to 1 in 13.5 (7.4%)
EDIT3: KK, this is the last edit, honest ...but, playing with this for a while, not only can you skip Pi and H, but you can also manipulate the corners to create your favourite cases such as Sunes, and avoid other cases such as Headlights (its possible to reduce the headlights cases by 50% while still avoiding Pi and H) ... using only an AUF! Think I'm going to enjoy playing with this
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