F2L Improvements

[pjk]

Other than multislotting, and looking ahead, what other tips are there to improve the F2L. I can average anywhere from 16-20 seconds with mimimal slotting from all angels, and I can look ahead pretty well. What other things can I do to improve? Thanks

 

[MasterofRubix]

at www.cubeloop.com, there is a pretty interesting guide about pieces stuck in another position and making use of empty spaces. maybe you should check it out.

 

[pjk]

Since I posted that message, I have really improved, and no problems really. When I'm warmed up, sub-15 is an average for F2L.

 

[MasterofRubix]

True, one month is actually a long time. I need advice about cube rotations. People dont recommend doing them but it would be alot faster than performing from different angles at a slower pace. Any thoughts?

 

[krnballerzzz]

Learn to do F2L stuff on alot of angles. You will be slow at first, but after you get used to it and build in tricks... simple stuff.

 

[pjk]

Yeah, work on doing it from all angels. I was thinking the same thing as you when I began, but work on it and you'll get better at it.

 

[MasterofRubix]

Thanks for the advice guys. but i do have one last question: if with cube rotations i manage sub-15 average do i still practice from all angles or do i just stick with cube rotations?

 

[pjk]

I'd bet with practice you can drop that time a solid second to a second and a half if you minimize the cube rotations.

 

[MasterofRubix]

I'm starting to learn multislotting, but i dont really know how to... do i learn algs or do i just try to do it intuitively? any advice you can give me (and others)?

 

[UberStuber]

I rotate the cube when necessary to avoid awkward F or B moves, and average under 9.5 seconds for f2l. I think it's better to dry and incorporate d or d' moves rather than use rotations when possible.

Never learn algorithms for multislotting, maybe look at a few and understand how they work. It's really hard to use it at full speed, so the only cases I use are where throwing in an extra U somewhere will preserve or build the next pair.

 

[pjk]

Since I posted this (July 1st), now today, I can average right around 14 seconds, 3 months later. So in 3 months, I shaved off two seconds. Practice, practice, practice. I'm sure I could have improved more, but I had some family issues going on that took off a month of cubing. Right now, with a 14 second F2L, I have a lot of room for improvement, learning tricks, making the current moves I know quicker, look ahead better, etc.
Patrick

 

[MasterofRubix]

so i tried using d and d' turns instead of cube rotations... a very interesting technique, just need to get used to it...

 

[pjk]

Yeah, I have always done d and d' turns, they are similar to rotating but do save some time.