F2L style (cross on bottom)

[Robert-Y]

Is it better to do most of the F2L using your stronger hand or is it better to try and reduce the number of rotations by using whichever hand would suit the situation (e.g. I'm left handed, so would doing (R U R' U')*4 be better than y (L' U' L U)*4)? At the moment, I'm kinda doing the latter but I didn't really choose to do this, it just happened as I became faster and practised more.

 

[puzzlemaster]

naturally your dominant hand will have an easier time turning faster..but the opposite hand can be trained to be just as fast..it just takes practice

 

[Lt-UnReaL]

My theory is that your dominant hand holds the cube better than your non-dominant hand. That's why you do L' U' L U faster, because your right hand holds the cube while your left hand does the movements. (I'm right handed also, when my right hand holds the cube I turn almost twice as fast as holding it with my left hand)
L' U L U' x6: 1.52
R U' R' U x6: 2.50

 

[Robert-Y]

Oh that's weird, I do something similar to that. I can do (R U' R' U)x6 faster than I can do (L' U L U')x6. (Again, I am left handed)

 

[Lt-UnReaL]

Same holds true for a similar fingertrick:
L' U' L U x6: 1.86
R U R' U' x6: 2.50

 

[boyscout]

I hold the cube better with my left hand, and i done RUR'U faster then LUL'U', althought i am a very dominant right handed. So i don't think dominant hand have a significant effect to perform fingertricks. It just an effect of how you practice.

 

[Joseph Gibney]

I think that this depends greatly on the speedcuber. I personally use very few cube rotations (usually 0-2 per solve), but I am also nearly ambidextrous. Using both hands allows you to save time from rotations, but there is also a cost associated with switching between using one hand and using the other. I'd say give both styles a try and use the one that fits you better.

 

[cmhardw]

I would go with trying to be as ambidextrous as you can, not only on F2L but on LL too. I was surprised to find that on some PLLs like T and J that I am consistently faster with my non-dominant hand (after much practice) than my dominant hand. I still don't know why this is the case, but I am between 0.1-0.5 second faster left handed than with my right hand.

Chris