Progression towards sub-25?? + I need improvment!

[abr71310]

I want to progress to sub-25 and eventually sub-20 averages, but have no idea where to go from where I am now.

It has been almost four weeks since TOW, and I have yet to see significant improvements in my solves.

It would be greatly appreciated if somebody could watch my failed attempt at making a "cube solving" breakdown and give me some tips on improvement.

ALSO: If anybody could tell me how my grip is, what I'm doing wrong... I can't seem to rush many F2L or PLL/OLL algorithms...

Which cube is the fastest out of the ones I have, based upon how fast I was turning it??

[youtube]ZzeIvdEgCIY&fmt=18[/youtube]

ON AVERAGE: This is how my "progression" has looked, as well as a brief breakdown of my solve.

Progression:
Nov. 2008: 3 minutes
Dec. 2008 (1): 2:30
Dec. 2008 (15): 1:30 (new storebought!) -- I discover CRC, replacing Vaseline.
January 2009 (1): 45 seconds
February 2009 (17th?): 40 seconds
March 2009 (now): ~30 - 35 seconds, varies.

I actually calculated how much I spent on puzzles/stickers, and I spent roughly $260 USD on them (It was actually 290-ish, but I sold 3 2x2x2 ES to people at my school + one at TOW and a YUGA to a friend of mine, as well as traded a YUGA for a C4Y)!!!

-- I only have 1 2x2x2 ES white now, a 4x4x4 DX Meffert's Clone, and roughly 10 working 3x3x3s (Out of THOSE, I still only like around 7 or 8), plus two unbuilt DX 3x3x3 DIYs and one unopened DianSheng (stickered).

Breakdown of current solves:
Cross: ~6 - 10 moves: ~3-7 seconds
F2L: ~20 - 26 moves: ~10-14 seconds
OLL (2-look): ~13 - 17 moves: ~5-6 seconds
AUF: ~1-3 moves: ~2 seconds
PLL: ~7 - 17 moves: ~3-5 seconds

VARIABLE AVERAGE:
~47 to ~73 moves (turns? HTM)
~23 to ~34 seconds.

That's actually a fairly accurate representation of my solves. Some areas are faster than others, sometimes F2L can go as far as 22 seconds, total (including cross), but that's rare (it was my LAST SOLVE at TOW, too...).

Any and all tips are welcomed with great praise, since I idol a lot of the cubers on here and I seriously wish I could be much faster than I am now...

 

[*LukeMayn*]

Work on amount of moves used on cross and DEFINATLY speed. Should take you ~3secs on average to get sub 25
F2L is nice, still improve though
OLL is good enough
AUF takes you 2 secs... wtf... and 3 moves o.O uh REALLY work on that
PLL is alright but keep practicing algs + recognition.

so here's a brake down for sub 25:
Technique-moves-Time
cross-under 8- 3 secs
F2L - ~24 - 10 secs
OLL - whatever OLL avg is - 4 secs
AUF+recog - 1 - 1 sec
PLL - Whatever PLL avg is - 3 secs

Total
Cube solve - ~54 moves - 21 secs
uh... I guess that's a bit low but try aiming for it!

 

[TheBB]

Recognition will come by itself, don't worry about it. I AUF a million times each solve.

Your TPS could be better but I'm not sure if it's the cube or yourself holding you back. I'm guessing at least one of those cubes should be good, so maybe you could work on that. Trust yourself, trust the cube ... be one with the cube, whatever you want to call it.

You really, really need to work on the cross.

DO NOT start moving until you've seen ALL of it. I don't care if it takes you two minutes to plan the cross, but plan all of it. Look for shortcuts and try to visualize the edges. Don't just solve them one by one.

When you solve it, trust yourself again. Don't watch the cross pieces (ok, in the beginning you should I guess), but look ahead to the F2L ... just do the planned moves.

 

[Kian]

You're progressing fine, just keep practicing.

Now as for getting that date to the formal, that's a lot more difficult Good luck!

 

[leeho]

From what I can see...Work on the cross, you should be able to do it blindfolded and sub-conciously whilst looking for the first F2L pair. F2L go slow and try to chain together movements without regripping. By the time you insert the F2L pair you should know where the next pair is and what 'case' it will be do you can immediately do it without a pause. OLL and PLL seem fine to me. Just keep practicing.

 

[abr71310]

Work on amount of moves used on cross and DEFINATLY speed. Should take you ~3secs on average to get sub 25
F2L is nice, still improve though
OLL is good enough
AUF takes you 2 secs... wtf... and 3 moves o.O uh REALLY work on that
PLL is alright but keep practicing algs + recognition.

yeah i figured my AUF sucked, ; I know i still have to memorize a few F2L algs...

Your TPS could be better but I'm not sure if it's the cube or yourself holding you back. I'm guessing at least one of those cubes should be good, so maybe you could work on that. Trust yourself, trust the cube ... be one with the cube, whatever you want to call it.

You really, really need to work on the cross.

DO NOT start moving until you've seen ALL of it. I don't care if it takes you two minutes to plan the cross, but plan all of it. Look for shortcuts and try to visualize the edges. Don't just solve them one by one.

When you solve it, trust yourself again. Don't watch the cross pieces (ok, in the beginning you should I guess), but look ahead to the F2L ... just do the planned moves.

Of those 5 cubes, the fastest is most likely my White Type A or the Edisons.
So should I be memorizing the exact movements I should be executing for the cross?? I know ALL crosses can be solved in 8 or less moves, but most of the time I can't see it...

I remember that there was a site where people could practice Cross solving; can I please get the link for future reference?? ) thanks

Now as for getting that date to the formal, that's a lot more difficult Good luck!

LOL yep I figured it'd be a lot harder than sub-20
Right now I am 0/2, soon to be 0/3 and 0/4, since I'm pretty sure that walking away from a guy when he's about to ask you to formal means no...

From what I can see...Work on the cross, you should be able to do it blindfolded and sub-conciously whilst looking for the first F2L pair. F2L go slow and try to chain together movements without regripping. By the time you insert the F2L pair you should know where the next pair is and what 'case' it will be do you can immediately do it without a pause. OLL and PLL seem fine to me. Just keep practicing.

What about cube rotations?? Should I be using the d layer turns to insert pairs?? I think right now that my general grip on the cube during 2H solves (oh gosh, my OH is WAY worse....) is off, since I always find myself moving my hands off of the cube when I make B2, F2, R2 or L2 turns. How can I avoid this??

GENERAL QUESTION:
How exactly do you guys solve the execution of the cross while finding F2L pairs??? I find my transition to be quite slow... :\\
Do you tend to notice yourself ever watching the cross pieces go in?? I notice myself doing that sometimes when it's a harder cross (>5 moves)... How can I shift my focus to the F2L???


ALSO...
How long (approximately) should it take me to solve any given F2L pair??
What should a realistic goal be for all of F2L after cross???
What should be my move count for all of F2L?? Luke said 6 moves approx. per pair, is that reasonable???

I appreciate all current feedback, it really is helpful!!! Thanks all~!!!

 

[Deleted member 2864]

work on that pll recognition... also... try to be more efficient with your cross/f2l. The rest is ok.

 

[fanwuq]

I was stuck between 25 and 30 seconds for 4 months, then I just suddenly got a sub-20 average less than 2 weeks after breaking sub-26. Just take a break from 3x3. Now I almost never practice 3x3 and I find that I'm still improving it.

 

[leeho]

Ok...the transition...I use basic maths. You dont really need to track down anything. When you hold the cube(after cross) you can see 2 F2L slots on the F face and the U layer. Look for pairs in the U layer, if there are none, look in the 2 slots on the F face and U face for pairs. Chances are, you'll find at least one. If not, you can d2 it and you will find one. It should be an instant transition from looking at each space. Cube rotations, you can use d if you want to, personally...I don't. You need to know how to insert F2L pairs and pair them up from different angles especially the B face. If you go slow and look ahead like people say, you will be able to plan out your next move whilst executing your current move. You need to always be one step ahead. F2L pairs should naturally recognisable and if you go slow you shouldnt need to stop and think about how you need to slot it or pair it. Hope this helps.

 

[abr71310]

I was stuck between 25 and 30 seconds for 4 months, then I just suddenly got a sub-20 average less than 2 weeks after breaking sub-26. Just take a break from 3x3. Now I almost never practice 3x3 and I find that I'm still improving it.

So what do I focus on, then? All i have is a 2x2x2 and a 4x4x4, besides like 16 3x3x3 cubes XDD

Should I work on BLD? I've only had like one success EVER, and it wasn't even timed.

work on that pll recognition... also... try to be more efficient with your cross/f2l. The rest is ok.

LOL thanks, i figured my pll recog. sucked, everyone can see it so much faster!! XD

You need to know how to insert F2L pairs and pair them up from different angles especially the B face. If you go slow and look ahead like people say, you will be able to plan out your next move whilst executing your current move. You need to always be one step ahead. F2L pairs should naturally recognisable and if you go slow you shouldnt need to stop and think about how you need to slot it or pair it. Hope this helps.

So for my last pair, since there's no empty slots, I should have planned that by the end of the 3rd pair, so I should see the first part of my 2-look OLL???
Interesting.

How do I flick the F, F' and B, B' faces while doing F2L??? Always occurred to me to be easier to make a cube rotation (which people tell me to avoid).

How do I solve f2l without doing that... xD

 

[crispy1337]

I'm at the same point almost exactly the same point as you are, but it's the F2L that is killing me. I have stopped timing myself and tried to just take it slow.

Right now I'm trying to break myself from cube turns because of the time it takes to regrip and everything. I have found that if you absolutely have to regrip try to do it while you are performing an algorithm. I am trying to limit 2 cube turns at most during my whole entire solve because some PLL algs I've learned have cube turns in them.

 

[abr71310]

I think my F2L is also so slow (I watched Bill Li at TOW -- his F2L was insanely fast, but my LL destroys his... o_O) because I tend to doubt whether or not I have the correct "intuitive algorithm" to insert the pair. Should I be watching it to go in to make sure I have it (re-assurance??) or just move on to the next one and HOPE I had it correctly...

How many cube rotations during F2L is acceptable for a sub-20 average??
What should my TPS be, relatively?? (BPM is nice too)