5x5 Improvement Tips

[Artem Tabaliuk ( Артём )]

I would like to improve on 5x5. I usually use Reduction but i have the same results with Yau.
I would like to hear some tips, tricks, techniques, etc.

I average 3 Minutes.

 

[Sombi McJunior]

Practice yau now so you don’t have to later (i made this mistake), try to turn as fast as you can for centers because your lookahead will improve to match, really practice your last 2 centers, and then just try to practice lookahead as much as possible.

 

[abunickabhi]

I would like to improve on 5x5. I usually use Reduction but i have the same results with Yau.
I would like to hear some tips, tricks, techniques, etc.

I average 3 Minutes.

I use Hoya method, it is similar to Yau,

You can improve each component of the solve by doing deliberate practice.

 

[Isaiah Scott]

I think Hoya is also cool, both Hoya and Yau are viable. Redux is still viable but it’s very boring compared to Yau and Hoya. Even if they are all 3 the same speed, I think Hoya/Yau is worth it over redux due to them being less repetitive and more fun
I would work on edge look ahead and making sure you are always looking at the edge you’re gonna solve next rather than the one you are currently solving

 

[FatrockCubes]

I think that all three methods are quite viable. My tips will be for Reduc though as that's what I use and I average about 1:20.

1. Turn as fast as you can for centers and be color neutral as to which center you start with too. Also, for L2C, most cases are quite intuitive but there are some algorithms for some of the cases that are really nice. Also, I find that if you can solve the last bar of the first center to the bottom, it helps with look-ahead for the 2nd center so much. It takes a bit to get used to if you aren't doing it already but it's extremely helpful once you get it down.

2. At your current speed, when you get to edges, go a tad slower than as fast as you can and focus on solving edge after edge without stopping. This will help you practice look ahead. When you are looking for edges to solve, any edge that requires more than 1 slice-flip-slice is bad. If you can break it up by doing something else, do it.

3. For L2E, learn the algs. All fo them. There's not too many and its worth it and with slight variation they can be applied to other big cubes anyway.

4. When you practice, target your practice. Work on centers, edges, etc seperately. Find what works for you and build the muscle memory. There or so many combinations of pieces. If you see something and have a funky idea on how to solve it, try it, see if it works or not. Maybe you find a way to solve something that works really well for you.

6. Practice 3x3. This may sound counterintuitive but you can be super fast at reduc and then when you get to 3x3 stage have a meh 3x3 solve. for example, if you take 30 seconds to solve 3x3 stage but you could get it down to say 15 seconds, you've just slashed your 5x5 time 15 seconds too.

A note here as well, for 3x3 stage there are some oll and pll algs that are more optimized to big cubes. some of the oll's and pll's that use wide turns can be a little meh on big cubes. If you find yourself hating a regular 3x3 alg on the 5x5 for some reason, maybe try to find a big cube version that works better. Up to you though of course.

7. Have fun.

I hope this helps.

 

[Artem Tabaliuk ( Артём )]

Thanks Guys!