[Help Thread] Pyraminx Discussion

[TheNextFeliks]

Do you think getting a shengshou would improve my times. I use a qj

 

[Tim Major]

Do you think getting a shengshou would improve my times. I use a qj

I'm high 6 with a QJ and low 6 with SS so its not a huge improvement unless you're 4-5 seconds.

 

[JasonK]

Do you think getting a shengshou would improve my times. I use a qj

Depends how good your QJ is. Personally, I went from 5 avg to 4 avg almost as soon as I got an SS, but then again my QJ was pretty terrible.

 

[XTowncuber]

Not really sure of a better place to post this, but I've just been messing around trying to find a Pyraminx 4flip for the L4E case. It's my worst case atm. I came up with: y' L R U R' Dw R' L' U' L
Flipping FD FL FR RL edges.
My solution is basically breaking up the bad case and doing a different one. There's no solver AFAIK.

I use 2 flips with cancellations. (not that I actually get that case lol)

L R' L' Lw L' R L U' R U R' L Lw' U'
Inefficient but fast.

 

[Tim Major]

Just for fast top first solvers (Oka, Keyhole, One Flip, Nutella, however you want to get 3 edges around+all centres)

How do you deal with reaaaally bad scrambles. I mean scrambles where there are no solved edges (or flipped edges, or easy tops in general). Because of the nature of one flip first methods, I feel you REALLY need to onelook until L3E or else your solve will be awful. In my 4.96 official average I used V->L4E, and with this method, I don't always one look V. However it's extremely easy to quickly notice pieces to solve and put them in. With top first methods, if you can only one look up to a certain part, I get stuck.

Basically, do you manage to ALWAYS one look to L3E in inspection? If not, how do you still solve it quickly on these scrambles? I've gotten Top->L3E down to an inconsistent mid 5 with a few hundred solves, but I sometimes have low 4 averages, followed by mid 6 averages. Bad scrambles seem to effect this method more than others, or is that just me?


Edit: Another question, how frequently do you method neutral solvers use Oka? I struggle to one look with it due to tracing the edge needed to go R U R' and often end up with the two top edges in opposite positions, screwing up the 3 move insert.

 

[ottozing]

If you can't lookahead up to the L3E, I just default to keyhole and finish the top (Well, left for me as I do my top on left) with either R' U' R U or R2' L R L' R or a 2-flip if the edge is in wrong (Along with flipping one of the L3E edges to be wrong so I get a better LL case, or flipping an edge so it's solved if I know it'll be an L3E skip).

 

[XTowncuber]

For bad scrambles I generally ask the question "how can I get one edge solved?" I then find a decent solution for just one edge and track the others. Then I check to see how I can solve the last edges for the top. If I still don't see any thing then I look for a different edge to solve or solve the same one in a different way. There are almost no bad scrambles if you know how to look for solutions well. Just use as much inspection as you need to inspect for the top (more than 15 seconds if you need) and work on bringing your inspection time down. Also, pyra FMC works wonders.

I use Oka a lot. Can't put a number on it but a lot. Carrot does not use it as much as me though.

Glad you are switching though, L4E is just not a good method.

 

[spyr0th3dr4g0n]

Does anyone have a link to fingertricks for the lbl method algs? I couldn't find any, though that's probably because I don't know where to look.

 

[gokul]

does anyone here use LBL for pyra ? i do and my avg is sub 11:tu

 

[gokul]

see this http://www.cubewhiz.com/pyraminx.php

 

[Tim Major]

For bad scrambles I generally ask the question "how can I get one edge solved?" I then find a decent solution for just one edge and track the others. Then I check to see how I can solve the last edges for the top. If I still don't see any thing then I look for a different edge to solve or solve the same one in a different way. There are almost no bad scrambles if you know how to look for solutions well. Just use as much inspection as you need to inspect for the top (more than 15 seconds if you need) and work on bringing your inspection time down. Also, pyra FMC works wonders.

I use Oka a lot. Can't put a number on it but a lot. Carrot does not use it as much as me though.

Glad you are switching though, L4E is just not a good method.

I feel like L4E is easier to turn faster with. I can one look up to L3E 95% of solves with WO/One Flip/Random intuitive stuff, and solve the puzzle in less moves.

But with L4E, the last step (cases) were just instant, RUL algs that I could instantly execute. I would get 15-18 moves and average 5.0~. With top first, I average maybe 12-16 moves, and can one look further into the solve, but a lot of the cases aren't very easy to instantly fingertrick from any angle.

A scramble that I could get 3-4.5 with on L4E, is a scramble with 3 centres solve but no edges solved. It's a bad scramble for the other methods, but with L4E I can just spam insert 2 pieces, then do a case quickly.

I think L4E could be consistently low 3 if you or Odder practiced instead of top first.

For example, on a solve I just did, I needed 4, 4-gen moves to make the top, a hard to finger trick, short alg, then then L3E case.

With L4E, I could make an inefficient, but 2 gen+Dw moves, followed by a fast case. There are only 2 slow cases in L4E. 4 flip, which sucks soooo hard, and a case I used to solve with R U R' U R' L R L'

V method = inefficient but easy to turn fast. Hard to lookahead the entire solve.
Top first methods = efficient, harder to turn fast, easier to lookahead.

 

[Tim Major]

does anyone here use LBL for pyra ? i do and my avg is sub 11:tu

I don't use LBL anymore, but with a SS Pyraminx I average mid 6 with LBL. I recommend swapping to keyhole whilst you're still new to Pyraminx, as it is easier to transition into the "best" methods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CvrT5NFWY

 

[ottozing]

Maybe the best thing to do is switch between Top > L3E and V > L4E depending on the scramble. I don't see why L4E is a bad method, and it would be a waste to just stop using it completely when you're already really good with it.

 

[Tim Major]

Maybe the best thing to do is switch between Top > L3E and V > L4E depending on the scramble. I don't see why L4E is a bad method, and it would be a waste to just stop using it completely when you're already really good with it.

In between my 5.43 average (with an AWFUL QJ) at Harvard 2011 and my 4.96 average with a decent Shen Shou at Aus Nats, I had 7+ second averages in competition, because if I'm not practising L4E often the cases go from algorithms to intuitive so they slow down. L4E is like F2L, it's intuitive, but it becomes algorithmic when you practise a lot.

 

[gokul]

has anyone tried pyraminx with feet ?

 

[gokul]

I don't use LBL anymore, but with a SS Pyraminx I average mid 6 with LBL. I recommend swapping to keyhole whilst you're still new to Pyraminx, as it is easier to transition into the "best" methods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CvrT5NFWY

thanks

 

[tx789]

does anyone here use LBL for pyra ? i do and my avg is sub 11:tu

I use LBL and avg about sub 11. I was average sub 10 one year ago and hold the New Zealand National Record single.

 

[XTowncuber]

The reason you cannot turn fast with top first is because you are not used to it. I think L4E is completely impossible to turn fast with. Do you use a lot of fingertricks? Those are honestly pretty impractical for top first. What was your average TPS with L4E?

 

[Username]

Any tips for forcing easy cases? I usually can't find a good solution on a scramble that isn't obvious. Also, I'm still having trouble 1-looking Oka (especially if all 3 centers are twisted)

 

[MadeToReply]

has anyone tried pyraminx with feet ?

Do you know what caltrops are? They hurt like hell so pyra with feet would be hell. Logic.