toastman
Regular
Hey everyone,
Here's a tip I discovered recently relevant to n00bs and those sup 30 I guess. We've all heard how important it is to "plan your cross". Faz even says "don't worry if in the beginning it takes more than 15 seconds, take as long as you need, just plan the thing". So, my usual techique was to figure out 2 or 3 pieces of the cross, sort of think it in my head, then do it.
EXAMPLE (the old way that sucks)
R2 U B' F L2 D2 U2 L' B' R B2 F' L2 U B' L U' B' F2 D L2 B' L' D' F2 D2
(Scramble this in your usual solving position).
OK, my head goes
"There's a piece on the bottom, but it needs a D2, So we'll do that, and then move the other one, then do another d2, then we'll sort of move that one opposite the first one... then we're hope for the best...". That's what would be in my head.
WRONG....
After watching (and laughing my ass off) at a bunch of TEAMBLD solves, Suddenly it clicked:
PLAN YOUR CROSS USING NOTATION!
In this case I'd do:
y (before I start the timer then)
R D2 R2 (And you have 3 pieces of the cross right there)
Just think and memo "R D2 R2" then worry about the remaining edge which is then in front of you. I suppose you could plan the next 4 moves giving you the cross, but the point is:
Think in NOTATION, not ABSTRACTS.
That's a simple example, but keeping 5 moves in your head should be do-able by anyone. Keep 7 in your head, you've planned a full cross.
BONUS, because you're not "looking", you're just blindly executing the moves, you can LOOK AHEAD and think about what's next, especially when hunting for your first F2L pair (which takes the longest).
After just a DAY of doing this, I pretty much slashed 5 seconds from my times, hitting a sub-45 average of 5 and my first non-lucky sub-40.
So, there ya go!
This also goes to show how doing things like BLD, Team BLD, Multi-BLD (and I guess large cubes, megaminx and maybe even feet) can help you in your 3x3 speed-solves. Thinking about things different ways can help you improve.
Here's a tip I discovered recently relevant to n00bs and those sup 30 I guess. We've all heard how important it is to "plan your cross". Faz even says "don't worry if in the beginning it takes more than 15 seconds, take as long as you need, just plan the thing". So, my usual techique was to figure out 2 or 3 pieces of the cross, sort of think it in my head, then do it.
EXAMPLE (the old way that sucks)
R2 U B' F L2 D2 U2 L' B' R B2 F' L2 U B' L U' B' F2 D L2 B' L' D' F2 D2
(Scramble this in your usual solving position).
OK, my head goes
"There's a piece on the bottom, but it needs a D2, So we'll do that, and then move the other one, then do another d2, then we'll sort of move that one opposite the first one... then we're hope for the best...". That's what would be in my head.
WRONG....
After watching (and laughing my ass off) at a bunch of TEAMBLD solves, Suddenly it clicked:
PLAN YOUR CROSS USING NOTATION!
In this case I'd do:
y (before I start the timer then)
R D2 R2 (And you have 3 pieces of the cross right there)
Just think and memo "R D2 R2" then worry about the remaining edge which is then in front of you. I suppose you could plan the next 4 moves giving you the cross, but the point is:
Think in NOTATION, not ABSTRACTS.
That's a simple example, but keeping 5 moves in your head should be do-able by anyone. Keep 7 in your head, you've planned a full cross.
BONUS, because you're not "looking", you're just blindly executing the moves, you can LOOK AHEAD and think about what's next, especially when hunting for your first F2L pair (which takes the longest).
After just a DAY of doing this, I pretty much slashed 5 seconds from my times, hitting a sub-45 average of 5 and my first non-lucky sub-40.
So, there ya go!
This also goes to show how doing things like BLD, Team BLD, Multi-BLD (and I guess large cubes, megaminx and maybe even feet) can help you in your 3x3 speed-solves. Thinking about things different ways can help you improve.
