[Help Thread] F2L Discussion and Help

[CubeCow]

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHOS SO FREAKING FED UP WITH F2L!?!?! GAH!!!! I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!

 

[TDM]

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHOS SO FREAKING FED UP WITH F2L!?!?! GAH!!!! I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!

yes, I love it

 

[dan41]

I average 1:40 using LBL (Beginners Method) to solve.
I though I could get faster by learning intuitive F2L.
Either I was wrong, or I haven't practiced enough, because my fastest intuitive F2L time is 2:40
What do you think?

You could be a good candidate to learn keyhole method first, to build intuition with 3 moves insertions (will boost you compared to LBL).
Then learn to pair slots (yeah, the hardest part) when you see them, but use keyhole for the case you don`t see well.
Do more and more pairs, less and less keyhole, focusing on cases you know you are not strong at.
Then only slot insert.

 

[jms]

F2L question. Probably already know the answer...

Hi. I've been using full PLL, 2L OLL and basic F2L for a while and I've got by average down to about 40 seconds.

I've just learned all the F2L cases, and started trying to insert back and front, also trying to cut down my cube rotations, and use D/D' more to line things up better.

However, my times have now dropped to well over a minute.

I'm fairly sure that if I just keep practising slow solves eventually I will get faster at recognising and executing the F2L cases, however the drop in solve times is pretty discouraging.

Am I on the right track? Should I just keep practising slow solves until I get faster?

 

[Blueberry]

Practice turning slow without pausing. This both helps lookahead and recognition.

 

[supercavitation]

Hi. I've been using full PLL, 2L OLL and basic F2L for a while and I've got by average down to about 40 seconds.

I've just learned all the F2L cases, and started trying to insert back and front, also trying to cut down my cube rotations, and use D/D' more to line things up better.

However, my times have now dropped to well over a minute.

I'm fairly sure that if I just keep practising slow solves eventually I will get faster at recognising and executing the F2L cases, however the drop in solve times is pretty discouraging.

Am I on the right track? Should I just keep practising slow solves until I get faster?

F2L slows you down at first, often by quite a lot. Just keep practicing, make sure you know the cases intuitively, and your times will drop quickly.

 

[jms]

OK cool. Thanks.

 

[obelisk477]

OK cool. Thanks.

Also, try turning with a metronome. Many are available online. Set it to 60 bpm and try to do one turn every beep, and then adjust if necessary. You want it to be at the right tempo where you feel a little bit frantic trying to decide on the next turn, but are still able to mostly do it. Then increase as you get faster.

 

[jms]

Also, try turning with a metronome. Many are available online. Set it to 60 bpm and try to do one turn every beep, and then adjust if necessary. You want it to be at the right tempo where you feel a little bit frantic trying to decide on the next turn, but are still able to mostly do it. Then increase as you get faster.

Will give it a try!

 

[ElectricDoodie]

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHOS SO FREAKING FED UP WITH F2L!?!?! GAH!!!! I HATE IT SO MUCH!!!

It's my favorite part. I get to actually solve it myself intuitively, instead of just using some muscle memory algorithm.

 

[Psyph3r]

It's my favorite part. I get to actually solve it myself intuitively, instead of just using some muscle memory algorithm.

I agree with this completely. And there is no better feeling than recognizing a way to set up a second pair while you insert or pair your first and executing it during the solve. So amaze!

 

[thevegita730]

[Request] F2L Help & Improvement

Hello, please read the whole message to understand my issue

I'm new to this forum and I'd just like to know if anyone advanced out there, (that's you sub 10s) would be able to help me out with my F2L.
Now, I've searched around on the forum a bit but I just think that I need to explain my own situation with F2L instead of generalized help from a thread.

Now, I currently solve F2L in about 10-12 seconds and I average about 20 seconds solving the whole thing. Occasionally I get the "slow" solve where I get F2L in about 14 seconds
It takes me about 2-3 seconds for the cross and I do not know full OLL or full PLL either; I still need to learn about another 4-5 algs for PLL.

Here is what I know:
I know how to solve every case blindfolded in F2L, I never have to do 180 rotations, I only rotate maybe about 2-3 times at the MOST during F2L.
I know algs for some odd cases and have even changed some of my intuitive algs for shorter/faster ones.
I know decent look ahead, I can see the next pair but never the next two pairs.
I know VHLS and I do a bit of edge control just so that I'm not left with a dot OLL, I usually just leave myself with a "L" OLL or Cross OLL

Here is what I don't know:
I don't know how algs affect other edges and corners around the cube.
I probably don't know other stuff I just don't know what it is yet.

I was wondering how I could possibly achieve an average of 8 second F2L and eventually hopefully reach 6 second average or less of F2L.
Any tips to give me guys? Would really appreciate it. Also tell me if you need to know anything else in order to help me further, maybe I forgot something.

 

[Randomno]

I'm new to this forum

I wouldn't have guessed.

and I'd just like to know if anyone advanced out there, (that's you sub 10s) would be able to help me out with my F2L.

No it's not.

It takes me about 2-3 seconds for the cross and I do not know full OLL or full PLL either; I still need to learn about another 4-5 algs for PLL.

Finish learning PLL.


At a certain point you'll have all the F2L knowledge needed to be sub 10, it's just TPS and look-ahead. A sub 20 and sub 10 solver may have the exact same solution to a scramble, but the sub 10 solver has very few pauses and much faster turning.

 

[thevegita730]

Jeeeez man you come across very agressive, but straight to the point, thanks for the help

 

[Randomno]

Jeeeez man you come across very agressive, but straight to the point, thanks for the help

Yeah but seriously finish PLL.

 

[TDM]

Hello, please read the whole message to understand my issue

[...]

I was wondering how I could possibly achieve an average of 8 second F2L and eventually hopefully reach 6 second average or less of F2L.
Any tips to give me guys? Would really appreciate it. Also tell me if you need to know anything else in order to help me further, maybe I forgot something.

Your F2L is faster than average for your speed. Finish PLL as soon as possible.

but if you want to improve your F2L...

Slow down and look ahead. People will say this to you again and again, and it's one of the most useful pieces of advice you'll hear.

Turn as slow as you need to to be certain you can look ahead to the next pair without having to pause. If this is around 1 TPS, or even slower, then that's fine. But if you're feeling like it's too comfortable, then turn slightly faster, trying to push yourself a bit. Once you're comfortable with that speed, move on, and repeat until you're getting times similar to what you had before - when I first started doing this, I went even further and started breaking all my PBs.

Some people recommend a metronome. I don't like this since a) it's annoying, and b) it restricts you to turn like a robot, at a set speed. In my opinion, it's better to - and this is the most useful thing imo - turn fast when you know what your doing, and turn slowly when you're unsure[SUP][1][/SUP]. Of course, 'slowly' could mean anything - it's whatever speed you got to by doing what I was talking about earlier. If you do this, you can get a balance of turning slowly and not pausing, and getting good times. And your F2L will be constantly improving too, up to the point where it's limited by your TPS rather than lookahead.

 

[ArniKing2001]

Ways to practise F2L and Look-Ahead

Hi everyone! I'm a 20-23 second solver and want to know the different ways I can practise my F2L and look-ahead to get better at them. Should I learn new and better algorithms? Should I just do some walk through solves? Please list down the various techniques and ways I can use to better my F2L and look-ahead. Thanks!

 

[PJKCuber]

Jeeeez man you come across very agressive, but straight to the point, thanks for the help

No, not aggressive, he's blunt and I like blunt people because they talk less. But seriously, practice a lot.

 

[Randomno]

When I'm trying to lookahead, I turn quite slowly on the pair I'm currently doing, while ignoring that pair (I already know how to insert it when I find it), but I can't find any other pairs while I'm insert it. Often the edge or corner I want is in the back or bottom, which I can't really see until I've finished the pair. I can lookahead fine if I'm inserting a pair into the back, but not the front.

 

[mafergut]

When I'm trying to lookahead, I turn quite slowly on the pair I'm currently doing, while ignoring that pair (I already know how to insert it when I find it), but I can't find any other pairs while I'm insert it. Often the edge or corner I want is in the back or bottom, which I can't really see until I've finished the pair. I can lookahead fine if I'm inserting a pair into the back, but not the front.

That happens to me also, to the point that, whenever I can choose I insert in the back instead of front. I think faster cubers also use memory in addition to lookahead and they remember which slots remain untouched and what pieces were stuck on those. I cannot do that, though so I have to rely on lookahead.