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Beginner's Guide to Choosing a Speedsolving Method

U

Underwatercuber

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1. How have i never seen this thread?
2. How is it 18 pages long when it’s so simple to choose a method lol, if you want to be fast at 3x3 and OH do roux, if you want to be fast at everything do cfop, if you don’t really care about speed you can do whatever is the most fun for you
 
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brododragon

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From 2013 and still virtually perfect? Wow. I was trying to learn CFOP and it was not working out for me. I looked stumbled upon this and is helping me so much! I’m now gonna do petrus.
2. How is it 18 pages long when it’s so simple to choose a method lol, if you want to be fast at 3x3 and OH do roux, if you want to be fast at everything do cfop, if you don’t really care about speed you can do whatever is the most fun for you
Methods are not concretely different speeds. Different methods, however, are easier and faster for different people. The only reason CFOP is so developed, widely used, and the world record holder is because it is the most popular. Many people who would of been better at a different method forced themselves into CFOP because off peer pressure, they didn’t know of any other method, or, the most likely, it’s what came up when they googled advanced Rubik’s cube method. I swear that, if ZZ or any other method was the most popular, it would be the “fastest”.
 
U

Underwatercuber

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From 2013 and still virtually perfect? Wow. I was trying to learn CFOP and it was not working out for me. I looked stumbled upon this and is helping me so much! I’m now gonna do petrus.

Methods are not concretely different speeds. Different methods, however, are easier and faster for different people. The only reason CFOP is so developed, widely used, and the world record holder is because it is the most popular. Many people who would of been better at a different method forced themselves into CFOP because off peer pressure, they didn’t know of any other method, or, the most likely, it’s what came up when they googled advanced Rubik’s cube method. I swear that, if ZZ or any other method was the most popular, it would be the “fastest”.
Different methods have different limitations which means they have a ceiling set at a certain point, people may vary a little bit with those methods but if they work hard enough and put in the hours they can all get pretty close to hitthose ceilings.

for example if the most efficient you can get with method A is averaging 60 moves, you have flawless lookahead/prediction and the human limit with that method is 20 tps then the limit for that method is going to be averaging 3 seconds. If method B averages 30 moves, you have flawless lookahead and prediction, and the human limit with that method is 10 tps then the method limit is 3 averaging my seconds.

cfop and roux are definitely the methods which have been proven to be fast, ZZ has been proven to be not so fast :p there are other methods which have been proven to not be as fast and there are also experimental methods but I wouldn't recommend them to a beginner who’s trying to pick them up for a speedsolving method (unless their only goal is fun and not speed or unless they are edgy and want to try and prove the viability of an experimental method)
 

brododragon

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Different methods have different limitations which means they have a ceiling set at a certain point, people may vary a little bit with those methods but if they work hard enough and put in the hours they can all get pretty close to hitthose ceilings.

for example if the most efficient you can get with method A is averaging 60 moves, you have flawless lookahead/prediction and the human limit with that method is 20 tps then the limit for that method is going to be averaging 3 seconds. If method B averages 30 moves, you have flawless lookahead and prediction, and the human limit with that method is 10 tps then the method limit is 3 averaging my seconds.

cfop and roux are definitely the methods which have been proven to be fast, ZZ has been proven to be not so fast :p there are other methods which have been proven to not be as fast and there are also experimental methods but I wouldn't recommend them to a beginner who’s trying to pick them up for a speedsolving method (unless their only goal is fun and not speed or unless they are edgy and want to try and prove the viability of an experimental method)
Yes, but through development you can speed them up.
 

Hazel

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My two cents - I believe the "best" method to solve the 3x3 (ie. the fastest possible method that humans are capable of) hasn't been found yet. I think Roux is slightly faster than CFOP, but they're pretty equal. Other methods such as Petrus or lesser-known methods such as ZBRoux definitely have great potential, but so few people use them an so little development has been put into them compared to CFOP/Roux that it's difficult now to prove their potential.
 
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dluong

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Started cubing two weeks ago. So far, I have learned the beginner method and have sub 60 Ao12.

I do not have a problem with learning algorithms but sometimes I would make a wrong turn or lose my place in the middle of a LL algorithm and I have to go back to the first cross step. This is because I have only memorized the algorithm without any understanding of how it works.

I am looking for a method that will help me build an understanding of a 3x3x3 while still having the potential to be used as my main speed solving method.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 

Hazel

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Use CFOP if you want a method that has a lot of resources. It's by far the most popular method. It isn't very efficient in terms of turn count, but you can turn pretty quickly with it, which makes up for that.
Use Roux if you like M-slice turns, or if you'd prefer to have low turn counts with slower turn speed instead of higher turn counts with a higher turn speed.
Use ZZ if you want a method with a lot of variants, or if you like a lot of <L, U, R> moves. Most people say this is worse than CFOP/Roux.
Use Petrus if you like blockbuilding. It's very efficient, more so than Roux I believe, but has an even slower turn speed than Roux. This method has had the least results of any of the 3 above, but it has lots of potential.
Use PCMS if you like weird ways of solving the cube that might be less 'good' but can certainly be more fun.
Use ZBRoux if you're willing to learn hundreds of algorithms, you like blockbuilding, and you like a nice <M, U> step partway through the solve.
Use LMCF if you want to solve all of the corners before solving the edges, and you want to explore a mostly unexplored method.

EDIT: @Owen Morrison, the reason most pros use CFOP isn't because it's better than Roux, it's because it's an easier transition from Beginner's so more people learn that, and most people just never bother exploring methods after they switch to CFOP. I would say that Roux is as good as if not better than CFOP.
 

ProStar

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Started cubing two weeks ago. So far, I have learned the beginner method and have sub 60 Ao12.

I do not have a problem with learning algorithms but sometimes I would make a wrong turn or lose my place in the middle of a LL algorithm and I have to go back to the first cross step. This is because I have only memorized the algorithm without any understanding of how it works.

I am looking for a method that will help me build an understanding of a 3x3x3 while still having the potential to be used as my main speed solving method.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome to cubing, as well as the forums! I you want your method to be more intuitive(not just doing a bunch of algs), I would recommend Roux. It will appease your desire to understand how the solve works, as Roux doesn't have as many algs as CFOP and is more intuition-based. I would recommend Kian Mansour's tutorials for Roux. If you want more info on all the main speedsolving methods, I would recommend looking here. Hope this helps!

I would recommend CFOP. There is a reason nearly every pro uses it.

*cough* Sub-6 *cough*

Use CFOP if you want a method that has a lot of resources. It's by far the most popular method.
Use Roux if you like M-slice turns, or if you'd prefer to have low turn counts with slower turn speed instead of higher turn counts with a higher turn speed.
Use ZZ if you want a method with a lot of variants, or if you like a lot of <L, U, R> moves. Most people say this is worse than CFOP/Roux.
Use Petrus if you like blockbuilding. It's very efficient, more so than Roux I believe, but has an even slower turn speed than Roux. This method has had the least results of any of the 3 above, but it has lots of potential.
Use PCMS if you like weird ways of solving the cube that might be less 'good' but can certainly be more fun.
Use ZBRoux if you're willing to learn hundreds of algorithms, you like blockbuilding, and you like a nice <M, U> step partway through the solve.
Use LMCF if you want to solve all of the corners before solving the edges, and you want to explore a mostly unexplored method.

And use 1 Look Whole Cube if you don't mind learning 43 quintillion+ algs :)
 

BenChristman1

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Etotheipi

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I would recommend CFOP. There is a reason nearly every pro uses it.
Yes, and the third best cuber in the world by comp average uses Roux. Then the first place cuber has cubed for as long as the third placed guy has been alive, and has a half second lead, and uses CFOP. Totally the much better and faster method.
Edit: Are you on a quest to get the most angry faces possible?
 

ProStar

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Yes, and the third best cuber in the world by comp average uses Roux. Then the first place cuber has cubed for as long as the third placed guy has been alive, and has a half second lead, and uses CFOP. Totally the much better and faster method.
Edit: Are you on a quest to get the most angry faces possible?

And of course, the 3rd fastest OHer uses Roux and is a massive .08 behind WR. Obviously, CFOP rules.
 

Etotheipi

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EDIT: @Owen Morrison, the reason most pros use CFOP isn't because it's better than Roux, it's because it's an easier transition from Beginner's so more people learn that, and most people just never bother exploring methods after they switch to CFOP. I would say that Roux is as good as if not better than CFOP.
I think every one who has been in the speedcubing community long enough to be sub-15 knows that, they just insist that CFOP is better because its what they use, and they don't want to admit that they might be making a mistake by using it alone and not trying new things, so they encourage less experienced cubers, who are more inclined to take any advice they recieve, to do what they do to back up their decisions.
 
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