@MegsHAUSTED Welcome to the forums! It sounds like your goals/interest in cubing is going to be a bit different than many of us here. Speedsolving the 3x3 is a deep deep rabbit hole this community really enjoys exploring. There are many different methods to solve the cube and about a thousand acronyms we all use here. I think building on the beginner method skills you learned from the Rubiks site is probably the most attainable and fun way to progress your casual solving. Here are some resources for you to check out. The videos are all from the same person on Youtube
You can get pretty advanced and fast using a method we call CFOP & 4LLL (
Cross,
First 2 layers,
Orient last layer,
Permute last layer &
Four
Look
Last
Layer). You only need (16) algorithms to solve the entire cube. You might be used to using some algs from the
First
2 Layers (F2L) but if you solve enough times you won't need algorithms to complete this phase as you learn how the cube works more. Keep in mind there are many different algorithms to move pieces in the same way.
Essentially you will:
1. Build a cross
2. Insert the bottom layer corners
3. Insert the middle layer edges (you can also combine steps 2 & 3 simultaneously for F2L)
4. Complete the last layer in 4 steps.
- 2 Step OLL (
Orient
Last
Layer
) (make the whole top yellow assuming you made a white cross)
- 2 Step PLL
(Permute
Last
Layer
) (move all the top layer pieces into the correct spot)
Here's a great youtube video explaining the beginner method which you probably already know but explains some fundamentals very well (the Last Layer is slightly different in this video from what i described above):
An intro to F2L (steps 2&3 combined above):
Some resources for last layer algorithms in step 4:
Other algs sheets:
Speedcubing Puzzle Algorithms and Resources Free App - Install the Desktop, iOS or Android App!
cubingcheatsheet.com
New video! 2-Look OLL
www.speedcubereview.com
Bob Burton's Rubik's Puzzle Page
www.cubewhiz.com
Learn about speedsolving the Rubik's Cube and other twisty puzzles on this wiki. Built to compliment our community of 35,000+ solvers, this wiki has tutorials, methods, records, and articles on puzzle solving.
www.speedsolving.com
A notation guide on how to read the algs: