How do you actually get better at cubing? what practice methods?

[AhsanDaCuber125]

i've kept on saying i will start a grind for cubing, and get faster, but i'll be real, I don't and can't find a good method to learn cfop over time. I average 23 second and it's been like that since 2025. My usual method was studying from algorithm sheets, but i realized it hasnt been making an effect on me

so to cubers who are experienced, how did you get the grasp of cfop at the start? then how did you practice more methods?

i actually need help lol
thanks

 

[cuber314159]

Well do you know full OLL and PLL yet? If not then learn it.
Can you see your first F2L pair as soon as you have solved the cross? If not then practice tracking pieces.
Can you see your next F2L pair while solving one? If not then turn slower and look ahead and track pieces.

 

[Sub20Soon]

Well do you know full OLL and PLL yet? If not then learn it.
Can you see your first F2L pair as soon as you have solved the cross? If not then practice tracking pieces.
Can you see your next F2L pair while solving one? If not then turn slower and look ahead and track pieces.

i dont feel like full OLL is a need for sub 20, since ive gotten averages under 19 secs with 2 look oll

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

caleb wait don’t do it
no
please don’t
help
AHHHHH SHAMELESS PLUG-IN TIME JQIAJJDOEMDKC

Thread 'Sub-20 is easy with this guide'

Feb 13, 2026

I saw that a lot of members here are not sub-20, and while i have a compilation thread for a bunch of tips, i’ve decided to make a sub-20 thread so that this reaches as many not-sub-20 solvers as possible. Here’s what you should know before following this guide:
Know 2-look OLL and PLL
Solve cross in 8 moves or less
Know intuitive F2L
Know basic fingertricks

note: these are all in order of what you should learn first to what you should learn last.
1. Learn Full PLL
Get your algs from speedcubedb or whatever yt tutorial you can find (i recommend J perm or CubeHead’s tutorials). Make...

• Caleb Valenzuela
• Replies: 26
• Forum: How-to's, Guides, etc.

• 
• 
• 

as for how to practice (which i totally forgot to put in the thread), it depends on your weaknesses, but here are some practice drills you can do:
if you can’t plan cross in under 8 moves in inspection: i suggest watching example solves/WR avg recons from faster solvers. Then try to implement them into your solves with untimed solves. Don’t be afraid to mess up the cross, untimed solves are supposed to be your “sand box”.
if your turning isn’t good: try to get sub-1 in some easy PLL algs and try to spam R’ F R U’ as fast as you can. While this seems kinda boring it will really help you improve your turning. Go from slow precise turns then speed up the turning from there. You might want to try using a looser cube so that you’ll have a looser grip on the cube, which will make your turning faster.
if you pause too much: try slowing down your turning and looking away from the pair you are doing. One important thing to note though, DO NOT START TRYING TO LOOKAHEAD WITHOUT KNOWING FULL F2L (aka 42 F2L cases). Trying to lookahead with intuitive F2L is useless. If you haven’t already, learn those cases.
also i have this as well (bruh why did i create so many guides)

Thread 'How to actually improve in cubing'

Dec 24, 2024

Alright, I’ve seen people trying to improve, but stall at a certain barrier, or don’t even improve at all. I am going to show you how to improve at cubing, so that you can get those PBs/PRs, and goals that were long unbroken.
You might be asking, “who is this kid telling me how to improve my Rubik’s cube times?” Well, I average around 8-9 seconds, and I got stuck trying to break the sub-11 barrier. Now enough yapping and let’s get on to the main reasons why you are not improving, and how we can fix it.
1. You are not practicing enough
If you don’t practice, you won’t get...

• Caleb Valenzuela
• get better getting fast improvement
• Replies: 3
• Forum: How-to's, Guides, etc.

• 

 

[Sub20Soon]

this shi aint seamless it takes half the page

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

this shi aint seamless it takes half the page

yapper + cuber + weird guy who likes making too many guides = Caleb Valenzuela

 

[Sub20Soon]

yapper + cuber + weird guy who likes making too many guides = Caleb Valenzuela

cool guy + fast cuber + awesome guy who like helping people = Caleb Valenzuela

 

[cuber314159]

i dont feel like full OLL is a need for sub 20, since ive gotten averages under 19 secs with 2 look oll

Of course it's not needed, it's possible to be sub-10 without full OLL or PLL but if you are asking how to get faster, then you might as well learn them

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

Of course it's not needed, it's possible to be sub-10 without full OLL or PLL but if you are asking how to get faster, then you might as well learn them

true, it’s way better to learn algs sets ASAP so that you can fully focus on other things like lookahead and efficiency later, and on the way you are also improving your LL skills with each solve.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

caleb wait don’t do it
no
please don’t
help
AHHHHH SHAMELESS PLUG-IN TIME JQIAJJDOEMDKC

Thread 'Sub-20 is easy with this guide'

Feb 13, 2026

I saw that a lot of members here are not sub-20, and while i have a compilation thread for a bunch of tips, i’ve decided to make a sub-20 thread so that this reaches as many not-sub-20 solvers as possible. Here’s what you should know before following this guide:
Know 2-look OLL and PLL
Solve cross in 8 moves or less
Know intuitive F2L
Know basic fingertricks

note: these are all in order of what you should learn first to what you should learn last.
1. Learn Full PLL
Get your algs from speedcubedb or whatever yt tutorial you can find (i recommend J perm or CubeHead’s tutorials). Make...

• Caleb Valenzuela
• Replies: 26
• Forum: How-to's, Guides, etc.

• 
• 
• 

as for how to practice (which i totally forgot to put in the thread), it depends on your weaknesses, but here are some practice drills you can do:
if you can’t plan cross in under 8 moves in inspection: i suggest watching example solves/WR avg recons from faster solvers. Then try to implement them into your solves with untimed solves. Don’t be afraid to mess up the cross, untimed solves are supposed to be your “sand box”.
if your turning isn’t good: try to get sub-1 in some easy PLL algs and try to spam R’ F R U’ as fast as you can. While this seems kinda boring it will really help you improve your turning. Go from slow precise turns then speed up the turning from there. You might want to try using a looser cube so that you’ll have a looser grip on the cube, which will make your turning faster.
if you pause too much: try slowing down your turning and looking away from the pair you are doing. One important thing to note though, DO NOT START TRYING TO LOOKAHEAD WITHOUT KNOWING FULL F2L (aka 42 F2L cases). Trying to lookahead with intuitive F2L is useless. If you haven’t already, learn those cases.
also i have this as well (bruh why did i create so many guides)

Thread 'How to actually improve in cubing'

Dec 24, 2024

Alright, I’ve seen people trying to improve, but stall at a certain barrier, or don’t even improve at all. I am going to show you how to improve at cubing, so that you can get those PBs/PRs, and goals that were long unbroken.
You might be asking, “who is this kid telling me how to improve my Rubik’s cube times?” Well, I average around 8-9 seconds, and I got stuck trying to break the sub-11 barrier. Now enough yapping and let’s get on to the main reasons why you are not improving, and how we can fix it.
1. You are not practicing enough
If you don’t practice, you won’t get...

• Caleb Valenzuela
• get better getting fast improvement
• Replies: 3
• Forum: How-to's, Guides, etc.

• 

I felt an undiscovered emotion while reading that post

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

I felt an undiscovered emotion while reading that post

I think you felt the “eyes up” reaction

 

[Michael Wimberly]

I think you felt the “eyes up” reaction

That's the best way to describe it. It was a mix of angst, funny, and bruh

 

[Michael Wimberly]

true, it’s way better to learn algs sets ASAP

With some exceptions, of course, like ZBLL, COLL, and WV to name a few

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

With some exceptions, of course, like ZBLL, COLL, and WV to name a few

COLL and WV aren’t even worth it
ZBLL is the only “good” exception

 

[Sub20Soon]

COLL and WV aren’t even worth it
ZBLL is the only “good” exception

stop talikng about ZBLL we yes WE are all starting to learn 1LLL

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

stop talikng about ZBLL we yes WE are all starting to learn 1LLL

1LLL isn’t worth it because recog will be HELL

 

[Sub20Soon]

1LLL isn’t worth it because recog will be HELL

yeah i saw i guy on youtube avging 10 secs with 1lll cuz his recog was 3 to 4 secs

 

[Martyt7777]

1LLL isn’t worth it because recog will be HELL

just predict 1lll in inspection

 

[Caleb Valenzuela]

just predict 1lll in inspection

says the one who can’t predict cross+1

 

[Cuber239]

Yeah eventually solves will be one looked for sure, some kid will learn to one look F2L like Xuanyi sometimes can, and then they will start to learn to predict 1lll (which they will know) in inspection.