[Help Thread] 3x3 Cross Help and Discussion

[ScottyDoesntCube]

Practice is really the best way. What really helped me was completely ignoring inspection time and taking as long as I needed to to plan out three pieces. Then I moved onto four. After a while try executing the cross with your eyes closed and you'll soon be much better.

 

[CubeSurfer]

M Slices During Cross

Currently I am trying to get my cross faster. I have been utilizing as much of the inspection time as I can but I still average around a 6 second cross. During inspection I can usually find two cross pieces that I can easily move into place, but I always end up having to look for the other two. With the last two cross pieces that I was not able to figure out during the inspection I find myself using M slices to move them so I can easily rotate them in. I was just curious if any of you use M slices during your cross or if you think it is faster to move the D face instead. Thanks!

 

[Phillip1847]

For some cases, I use M slices. Mats valk had a very interesting cross in one of his walkthrough solves where he used the M slices.
I use M2 U2 M2 when a super easy cross is possible that has 2 swapped. I'm bad at cross so take that with a grain of salt.
As for getting better, people recommend blind cross practice, give yourself infinite inspection time to entirely plan out a cross. do it blindfolded. Rinse and repeat.

 

[CubeSurfer]

Oops didn't see the cross help thread. Relatively new to this forum. Thank You Phillip!

 

[brian724080]

I was just curious if any of you use M slices during your cross or if you think it is faster to move the D face instead. Thanks!

I don't get this part, because you don't need the M slices if you use the D layer, and vice versa. Anyway, M slices are only worth it if the pieces are already set up, like what Phillip said. Most of the time, you should be able to move pieces around (orient them or convey them across the cube) while putting in the cube. Feel free to DNF the solve and work out the cross.

 

[aboeglin]

Same here, I do use M slices from time to time, but it's about every 20-25 solves in average I'd say, doesn't happen more than a few times on a hundred solves. Still my cross is a work in progress but in the end it all comes down to what you can perform fast and efficiently. Usually M2 U2 M2 is my last moves if it happens, to swap green/blue or orange/red ( I only do white or yellow cross ). Which allows me also to look on the sides to find my first F2L pair.

But what I found the most helpfull was really trying to figure out how to get a good edge out of a bad one ( using badmephisto words here ), and planning it during inspection. I can now most of the time plan the whole cross, even though there are still a few cases where the last edge is still too hard.

 

[CubeSurfer]

I don't get this part, because you don't need the M slices if you use the D layer, and vice versa.

Sorry if my wording was bit confusing, but yes I do realize you don't need to use one if you use the other. What I was asking was if you find it easier to you the D layer or if you find yourself using M moves often. Thank you for the advice. I will practice taking as much inspection time as I need to plan out the whole cross.

 

[QuinnHyatt]

Cross help - Advanced cross methods

Hi everyone! I was hoping one/some of you could help me figure out a cross problem I have. I obtain my cross in kind of an unorthodox method, and I was looking to really straighten this thing out, learn to utilize my inspection time, and really minimize the amount of moves I have to make to obtain my cross.

Background: I've been cubing for about 2-2 1/2 months now, I average 40-45 seconds, and I usually take 5-8 seconds to get my cross.

Problem: Again, I usually take 5-8 seconds to get my cross. I want to really tackle this problem and get it down to a solid 5 seconds. I realize that not every time will be 5 seconds (there are always those bad solves), but I feel this has definitely held me back from setting some personal bests, and I think I can down my average by 2-4 seconds with this alone.

Note: I just took an average of 10 cross-only solves with the GQ Timer, and the results are as follows:

Fastest out of 10: 4.571 seconds
Slowest out of 10: 9.781 seconds

Mean of 10 (NOT traditional average, but a true mean of all 10): 7.006 seconds.

Thank you all for your time, and I hope to get some great feedback from you all,


--Quinn Hyatt

 

[NooberCuber]

Hi everyone! I was hoping one/some of you could help me figure out a cross problem I have. I obtain my cross in kind of an unorthodox method, and I was looking to really straighten this thing out, learn to utilize my inspection time, and really minimize the amount of moves I have to make to obtain my cross.

Background: I've been cubing for about 2-2 1/2 months now, I average 40-45 seconds, and I usually take 5-8 seconds to get my cross.

Problem: Again, I usually take 5-8 seconds to get my cross. I want to really tackle this problem and get it down to a solid 5 seconds. I realize that not every time will be 5 seconds (there are always those bad solves), but I feel this has definitely held me back from setting some personal bests, and I think I can down my average by 2-4 seconds with this alone.

Note: I just took an average of 10 cross-only solves with the GQ Timer, and the results are as follows:

Fastest out of 10: 4.571 seconds
Slowest out of 10: 9.781 seconds

Mean of 10 (NOT traditional average, but a true mean of all 10): 7.006 seconds.

Thank you all for your time, and I hope to get some great feedback from you all,


--Quinn Hyatt

I've been cubing for about a month or so
I ised beginner's method for a few years previous

Anyway I may not be the one to advise you on cross but here's what I've tried to do with my cross
Until recently (last week) I was solving cross on top
This week I've been trying to solve cross on bottom

I found that now I seem to solve the first or second pieces of the cross on the bottom
then I rotate the cube and finish the cross on the left
I'm not very good at relative position so I usually line the cross edges as I go
but it seems to be working well i got a 24.56 sec pb with a pll skip

During inspection time
Locate the first edge
if it's solved use that as the first edge
then locate the second, third, and last edges

Also try just solving crosses without timing
that's what I did
I slowed down and was able to see more ways to move in cross pieces more effectively

 

[QuinnHyatt]

I've been cubing for about a month or so
I ised beginner's method for a few years previous

Anyway I may not be the one to advise you on cross but here's what I've tried to do with my cross
Until recently (last week) I was solving cross on top
This week I've been trying to solve cross on bottom

I found that now I seem to solve the first or second pieces of the cross on the bottom
then I rotate the cube and finish the cross on the left
I'm not very good at relative position so I usually line the cross edges as I go
but it seems to be working well i got a 24.56 sec pb with a pll skip

During inspection time
Locate the first edge
if it's solved use that as the first edge
then locate the second, third, and last edges

Also try just solving crosses without timing
that's what I did
I slowed down and was able to see more ways to move in cross pieces more effectively

Thanks! I just got home, so I'll try that now. That should help with the transition from cross two F2L too, as I solve the cross on top

 

[QuinnHyatt]

I've been cubing for about a month or so
I ised beginner's method for a few years previous

Anyway I may not be the one to advise you on cross but here's what I've tried to do with my cross
Until recently (last week) I was solving cross on top
This week I've been trying to solve cross on bottom

I found that now I seem to solve the first or second pieces of the cross on the bottom
then I rotate the cube and finish the cross on the left
I'm not very good at relative position so I usually line the cross edges as I go
but it seems to be working well i got a 24.56 sec pb with a pll skip

During inspection time
Locate the first edge
if it's solved use that as the first edge
then locate the second, third, and last edges

Also try just solving crosses without timing
that's what I did
I slowed down and was able to see more ways to move in cross pieces more effectively

I just tried it without practicing at all and got a 41.79 solve. For me that's a solid solve, and it's definitely a smooth transition from cross to F2L. Thanks for the help, I never thought of solving the with the cross on the bottom, for some reason.

 

[pipkiksass]

How to make my cross subconscious?!

I've been hiding my shame for months... I have a terrible cross! I'm globally sub-20, so I'd appreciate responses from anyone faster, or slower but without my terrible cross.

I'm sure this has come up in this thread before, but just how do you get from only being able to 'see' three cross edges in inspection to not having to think about the cross at all?

I don't mean how to practice - I know I need to BLD cross, and will do ASAP. My question is how do you see the cross? Do you see it visually, i.e. "I turn this here, then that flips that edge, and I insert that, spin the bottom face round, then adjust? Do you see it in terms of actual notation, i.e. "R2 D R' F D2..."?

I know that, with practice, the whole thing will become sub-conscious, like F2L, and you recognise common cross patterns. I already do this to some extent. What I'm really wondering is how have you faster cross-solvers arrived at where you are today? After being able to solve the cross BLD 100% of the time, how did you move to being able to do it with so little thought that you could properly look ahead into F2L? When solving a cross now, do you still visualise the turns, or think in terms of notation?

TIA

 

[kunparekh18]

I've been hiding my shame for months... I have a terrible cross! I'm globally sub-20, so I'd appreciate responses from anyone faster, or slower but without my terrible cross.

I'm sure this has come up in this thread before, but just how do you get from only being able to 'see' three cross edges in inspection to not having to think about the cross at all?

I don't mean how to practice - I know I need to BLD cross, and will do ASAP. My question is how do you see the cross? Do you see it visually, i.e. "I turn this here, then that flips that edge, and I insert that, spin the bottom face round, then adjust? Do you see it in terms of actual notation, i.e. "R2 D R' F D2..."?

I know that, with practice, the whole thing will become sub-conscious, like F2L, and you recognise common cross patterns. I already do this to some extent. What I'm really wondering is how have you faster cross-solvers arrived at where you are today? After being able to solve the cross BLD 100% of the time, how did you move to being able to do it with so little thought that you could properly look ahead into F2L? When solving a cross now, do you still visualise the turns, or think in terms of notation?

TIA

I visualise the turns, while some people I know like Bhargav Narasimhan think in terms of notation. I see all 4 cross edges in inspection, visualise the turns and execute the cross in 2-4 seconds. It's just common pattern recognition, I guess. I see the pieces and think "this needs to go here, ok, this flips this edge, ...".
Sometimes for the last move of cross I think in notation, only when it's a B or D move. I don't know why :/ I guess it's because it's these 2 faces I can't see the edges on properly.

My main problem is lookahead into first pair. My mind kinda gets stuck during those 2-4 seconds, and I start looking for my first pair after cross is done, irrespective of whether I turn slow during cross or turn super fast.

I have an idea for practicing looking ahead into the first pair, but I haven't come around to practicing it yet.

 

[cfcuber]

What I do during inspection is I recite the cross moves in my head, and I also attempt to look for my first pair.

 

[pipkiksass]

I visualise the turns... I see the pieces and think "this needs to go here, ok, this flips this edge, ..."

Yeah, that's kind of what I do atm for 2/3 edges, but I'm too lazy to plan out the full cross during inspection, or learn to do so! :fp

Sometimes I find myself only planning 2, for really tricky crosses, then solving the remaining 2. I've needed to do BLD cross practice for ages, but I just prefer solving!!! I'm globally about 19.5 at the moment, and get lots of sub 16s, but the big deciding factor is my cross. Funnily enough, if I can plan the cross and look ahead a bit, I get a good solve... when I can't, my solve sucks!

My main problem is lookahead into first pair...
I have an idea for practicing looking ahead into the first pair, but I haven't come around to practicing it yet.

Yeah, this is my other issue. I want to practice my cross until it's so good I can do it while looking ahead, so I don't want either my visualisation or vocalisation of the cross to interfere with this. Rather than take on bad habits, I'd like to do it well from the start!

Can I ask what your practice idea is?

What I do during inspection is I recite the cross moves in my head, and I also attempt to look for my first pair.

So you work out the cross, then recite the notation?

 

[Arkwell]

Am I on the right track with the cross?

Seen Badmephisto's cross tutorials, Went to Macky's 'Basic Cross Concepts'
‪Ndaneshvari‬ & LNOL advanced crosses(2 Of my favorites) and I'm CN.

Is this and a lot of practice get me good & fast at the cross?

 

[pontehh]

I am currently doing the cross in 15-20 seconds, which is bad, I know, but I started cubing three days ago. I am therefore wondering if I'll "see these patterns" that makes it possible to solve it within 2-5 seconds with just extensive practice? Should I just keep practicing the cross until I see results or try a different approach?

 

[kcl]

I am currently doing the cross in 15-20 seconds, which is bad, I know, but I started cubing three days ago. I am therefore wondering if I'll "see these patterns" that makes it possible to solve it within 2-5 seconds with just extensive practice? Should I just keep practicing the cross until I see results or try a different approach?

Just keep practicing it. The same patterns start coming up. If you want, look at fast solve reconstructions. They have very efficient crosses. I learned a lot from trying fast people solutions.

 

[mark49152]

Any tips for improving TPS on cross? Even when I see the solution OK and don't need to pause, my execution is often just awkward. Because the move sequence is always different, it's like I have no muscle memory and it won't flow smoothly like an alg. My cross average is 3.4.

 

[xlmmaarten]

Inspection time and cross help

Hello everyone,

I have a question: I'm really bad at seeing what to do in my inspection time, also I think my cross takes waaaay to long!
I tried to find video's on youtube but can seem to find any helpfull ones, I there anyone who can give me some tips on how to make a faster cross and what to do in the inspection time or just in general on what to improve?
Hope someone can help me