• Welcome to the Speedsolving.com, home of the web's largest puzzle community!
    You are currently viewing our forum as a guest which gives you limited access to join discussions and access our other features.

    Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community of 40,000+ people from around the world today!

    If you are already a member, simply login to hide this message and begin participating in the community!

How to Get Faster using the ZZ Method

uvafan

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
995
WCA
2012LIFL01
YouTube
Visit Channel
**I don't take full credit for this content. These are my edits to a draft that CubeRoots sent me.**
This tutorial is meant to provide a guide for those who have never learned how to solve a cube to get to sub12 using the ZZ method. However, if you have already learned another method, you may be able to skip a few steps after watching asmallkitten's ZZ tutorial and practicing a bit. The estimated time for each step is an estimation; it may take you longer or shorter than that amount of time to complete each step. This is not meant to be followed exactly; remember that everyone progresses differently! Good luck!

How to get faster using the ZZ method
Step 0
Current Average: 60 - ∞ seconds
Goal Average: 40 - 60 seconds
Estimated Time: 2 – 4 weeks
------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Buy a decent cube, learn the notation and choose a color scheme(i.e. blue front yellow top).
  • Learn the following (more) beginner-friendly version of ZZ from this tutorial - part 2 may be especially helpful:
    Edge Orientation
    Line
    Intuitive ZZF2L
    Beginners Last Layer: Three algorithms: Sune for corner orientation, A-perm for corner permutaion, U-perm for edge permutation. Explained more in this video at 17:48.
  • Try to reduce pauses during solves: when possible, glance around the cube while solving one aspect of the cube to see what case is about to come next.
  • Learn clever ways to perform certain sequences of moves and algorithms.
  • Practice lots - especially EOLine.

Step 1
Current Average: 40 – 60 seconds
Goal Average: 30 – 40 seconds
Estimated time: 2 – 4 weeks
-----------------------------------------------------------------
  • Learn OCLL & 2-Look PLL -
  • Begin to predict where line edges end up after EO, or even combining EO and Line.
  • Practice/Experiment/optimize/learn with ZZF2L – an efficient ZZF2L is an art, practice a lot and do slow solves to experiment with different (possibly more efficient) ways of doing things.

Step 2
Current Average: 30 – 40 seconds
Goal Average: 20 – 30 seconds
Estimated time: 2 – 4 weeks
--------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Learn the rest of the PLL’s.
  • Ensure that EO is planned during inspection and that you can accurately predict where line edges end up during EO – this should give you a seamless EOLine. Completion time for EOLine should be comfortably under 6 seconds at this stage.
  • Practice looking-ahead during EOLine and ZZF2L, turn more slowly if need be to avoid awkward time-consuming pauses between EOLine and ZZF2L, and during ZZF2L.


Step 3
Current Average: 20 – 30 seconds
Goal Average: 15 – 20 Seconds
Estimated time: 4 – 10 weeks
----------------------------------------------------------------------
  • Go through each LL algorithm you use, check to see that there are no better algorithms and practice them over and over, almost all algorithms should take less than 3 seconds to perform.
  • Practice EOLine blindfolded, this should enable you to look ahead even more and make the transition from EOLine to ZZF2L seamless.
    ZZF2L:
  • Learn some multi/open-blocking techniques
  • Optimize the more awkward/time consuming cases by learning an algorithm to deal with that case.
  • Try to gradually increase tps while maintaining the ability to look ahead.
  • With decent tps, look-ahead and efficiency, you should be able to complete ZZF2L in around 10 seconds or less.
  • Don't forget to turn slowly and look ahead; it sounds counter-intuitive to turn more slowly, but it works because of reduced pauses!

Step 4
Current Average: 15 – 20 seconds
Goal Average: 12 – 15 seconds
Estimated time: 2 - 4 months
-----------------------------------------------------------
  • Learn some or all of COLL - at least all of the H cases and most of the Pi cases
  • Try to preserve pairs that come up during EOLine or that are premade in the scramble. Experiment with looking very far ahead into the solve; try to solve the cube in the least amount of looks possible when not speedsolving.
  • Complete EOLine in around 2 seconds, on average.
  • Go through ZZF2L cases in detail, learn new finger-tricks for ZZF2L cases and practice them over and over. Assuming look-ahead is good, tps will now become a limiting factor in your ZZF2L.
  • Experiment with solving 2 pairs at once during ZZF2L, with practice these techniques can lead you to an extremely efficient ZZF2L.
  • ZZF2L should be completed in around 8 seconds on average.


Step 5
Current Average: 12 – 15 seconds
Goal Average: sub 12 seconds
Estimated time: 6 – 12 months+
-----------------------------------------------------------
  • There is probably no last layer method that is "the answer" - maybe learn a little or all of COLL as well as some easy CLS cases. Explore last layer options here.
  • Do LOTS of slow solves - there should be practically no pauses in your solves.
  • Play around some with other methods - it could help you understand the cube overall
  • With great efficiency, tps and lookahead, anything is possible. In theory a cuber could:
    Do EOF2L and influence the last layer in under 30 moves
    Turn at 5+ tps during EOF2L
    Perform all algs from large sets sub 2.
    These three combined would give you times around 8 seconds or maybe even less.

I would appreciate any critiques, and I would be happy to answer any questions!
 
Last edited:

F perm

Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
157
Location
Charlotte
Awesome guide uvafan! What a great way to quantify improvement time. Hopefully this will get more people to learn about and try ZZ. I am on step 3, but I seem to have rushed on COLL :fp
 

CubeRoots

Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2012
Messages
538
Location
Leicester, UK
WCA
2012LIVS01
YouTube
Visit Channel
thanks for finishing this. Been busy and having a method crisis, and a.s.k's tutorials were really comprehensive. glad to see it online though. I want a Oh version since i'm only using Zz for oh now. :p
 

uvafan

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
995
WCA
2012LIFL01
YouTube
Visit Channel
thanks for finishing this. Been busy and having a method crisis, and a.s.k's tutorials were really comprehensive. glad to see it online though. I want a Oh version since i'm only using Zz for oh now. :p
I'm not interested in OH enough to do one - maybe you and asmallkitten can work together on one or something.
 

Ickathu

Member
Joined
May 20, 2011
Messages
1,406
Location
Virginia
WCA
2011MERT03
YouTube
Visit Channel
Yo, sweet. I'm doing an ao100 with all the big 4 methods and columns, and I'm gonna track statistics like time improvements, best averages, # of sub20s, etc, then see which method(s) I decide to use. I finished my ZZ one the other day and I must say it got really fun. Plus I had a pretty good improvement rate just by using it a lot. Like at the beginning the ao12s were like 27, but by the end I was at like 23-25. I'll definitely be considering it, [probably] unlike Petrus - my average (of 42 times so far) is 27.5

edit: oh yeah and I got to the point that I didn't have to put my fingers on the bad edges to keep track of EOLine :)

I don't take full credit for this content.

but he's still a beast at ZZ. Just sayin'
 

pkvk9122

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2011
Messages
128
Hey!

Thanks for writing this guide ^_^ gonna be using it to teach my friends lol. I average about 15 with ZZ and im trying to sub 12 lol, my CFOP is about 12 though. Im attempting to make a full switch from CFOP to ZZ because I reckon it has more potential. Just one question, would you prefer COLL or Winter Variation? and what are its advantages and disadvantages? (Other people's opinions are welcome too!)

Thanks

pkvk9122
 

ZZer

Member
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
13
Sholuld be also sub-6 goal -> E-O with 2x2x3 block and full zbll :) nice work
 

uvafan

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2012
Messages
995
WCA
2012LIFL01
YouTube
Visit Channel
Hey!

Thanks for writing this guide ^_^ gonna be using it to teach my friends lol. I average about 15 with ZZ and im trying to sub 12 lol, my CFOP is about 12 though. Im attempting to make a full switch from CFOP to ZZ because I reckon it has more potential. Just one question, would you prefer COLL or Winter Variation? and what are its advantages and disadvantages? (Other people's opinions are welcome too!)

Thanks

pkvk9122

Dude I average like 14.5 with ZZ! Wanna race to sub12? Personally, I would say Winter Variation for TH but COLL for OH. COLL seems to be of great use to OH solvers such as asmallkitten, but I think with enough practice and recognition, Winter Variation - PLL could be faster for two handed solving. That is just my theory, of course.

Advantages of COLL-EPLL:
-EPLL skips
-One-handed friendliness
-EPLLs can easily be performed from all angles
-COLL recognition can be very quick with practice
Advantages of WV-PLL:
-Slightly lower movecount in theory
-Recognition can also be very fast with practice
-PLL can be just slightly slower than EPLL with lots of practice

@Petro Leum: I would appreciate suggestions!

@ZZer: lol maybe :)
 

Petro Leum

Member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
800
Location
Germany
WCA
2012KALH01
Dude I average like 14.5 with ZZ! Wanna race to sub12? Personally, I would say Winter Variation for TH but COLL for OH. COLL seems to be of great use to OH solvers such as asmallkitten, but I think with enough practice and recognition, Winter Variation - PLL could be faster for two handed solving. That is just my theory, of course.

Advantages of COLL-EPLL:
-EPLL skips
-One-handed friendliness
-EPLLs can easily be performed from all angles
-COLL recognition can be very quick with practice
Advantages of WV-PLL:
-Slightly lower movecount in theory
-Recognition can also be very fast with practice
-PLL can be just slightly slower than EPLL with lots of practice

@Petro Leum: I would appreciate suggestions!

@ZZer: lol maybe :)

my pb avg12 is 12.71, but i am very inconstant, normally doing 14-15s times. i would like to race with you two :)
 

aznanimedude

Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2012
Messages
666
inb4 i surprise all of you O_____O

all joking aside, another advantage of COLL is the potential to step from that to ZZLL or ZBLL. but yes EPLL skip is quite convenient, or even just not having to worry about corners period
 
Top