Snigel's progression thread (dabbling in bigger cubes)

[Snigel]

I've done a few hundred solves in the past two weeks or so, and after a rough start, I feel I'm sort of back. I actually lowered my ao100 by a little bit this week without noticing (only noticed when I decided to post something here). I also got a Tornado V3 Flagship, which I enjoy quite a lot, and that makes cubing a bit more fun!

2023-10-02: Single 13.72, ao5 18.18, ao12 19.30, ao100 21.31, ao1000 22.21
2023-12-13: Single 13.72, ao5 18.18, ao12 19.30, ao100 21.24, ao1000 22.21

 

[Snigel]

I'm definitely back! After doing a few hundred more solves, I have felt a qualitative difference during F2L I suddenly started being able to execute most F2L cases without needing to think about them and was instead able to focus on finding the next pair. It doesn't always work and the F2L solutions I have are not optimal, but the number and length of pauses during F2L have dropped dramatically. This doesn't fully show up in the times yet, as this happened only a few days ago, but I've had several times close to my single PB and the ao1000 is coming down fast. Here are my current best times:

2023-12-13: Single 13.72, ao5 18.18, ao12 19.30, ao100 21.24, ao1000 22.21
2023-12-21: Single 13.72, ao5 17.94, ao12 19.30, ao100 20.92, ao1000 22.02

 

[Snigel]

I had a cubing session with a very nice flow today, which resulted in a significant ao12 drop by almost a second. The ao100 and ao1000 keep coming down, too.

2023-12-21: Single 13.72, ao5 17.94, ao12 19.30, ao100 20.92, ao1000 22.02
2023-12-30: Single 13.72, ao5 17.94, ao12 18.59, ao100 20.87, ao1000 21.66

 

[Snigel]

I haven't been cubing that much recently, maybe 25 solves per day on average or so, but times have kept creeping down, and when I got my first sub-13 single-solve today, I thought I'd update my stats here. The 12.99 did not include any skips either, which is cool. I also reached my goal of a sub-20 ao100, but to be honest, I'm not sure when exactly.

2023-12-30: Single 13.72, ao5 17.94, ao12 18.59, ao100 20.87, ao1000 21.66
2024-01-20:Single 12.99, ao5 17.55, ao12 18.56, ao100 19.82, ao1000 20.88

 

[Snigel]

After doing ten warm-up solves and five timed solves, I decided to do this week's competition. I completely demolished my record, not just in these competitions, but also in general! I managed to get four solves in a row under 17 seconds, which means I broke the ao5 record by more than a second. I also broke the ao12 record, and the other times have come down a bit too:

2024-01-20: Single 12.99, ao5 17.55, ao12 18.56, ao100 19.82, ao1000 20.88
2024-01-31: Single 12.99, ao5 16.48, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.64

 

[Snigel]

One of the core stems (are they called that?) in my Tornado v3 snapped off today, so I'll have to use an R3SM 2020 until I get a replacement core. I thought that would be a nice opportunity to update my stats, even though nothing truly notable has happened. I did manage to get a new single PB, which was also without any skips. This probably means that, theoretically, with the same solve but a PLL skip, I could get a sub-10 single. Not likely to happen any time soon, though!

2024-01-31: Single 12.99, ao5 16.48, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.64
2024-03-13: Single 12.74, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.34

 

[Snigel]

I have now lowered my ao1000 below 20.00! I also recorded a video to show what my typical solves look like these days. There's much improvement from the first videos posted in this thread, but I still feel very clumsy during F2L. I also cube rotate a lot when I don't have to, and occasionally perform moves without having a clear goal, resulting in U3 instead of U for example. What do you think I should focus on to improve from here? What are some good goals to set that are not just "get faster lol"?

Here's the video (ao5, 19.04):

Spoiler: Scrambles

18.31​	F2 L2 R2 U F2 D B2 L2 U' L2 B L D R F R2 U F2 D' U2​	2024-03-26 22:10:08​
19.83​	B L D2 F2 D' B2 D L2 U R2 U' L2 F2 R F' D R' D F2​	2024-03-26 22:09:30​
20.89​	B2 D2 F L F' L' B L D2 R2 B2 D' F2 U D L2 D' F2 U2 L'​	2024-03-26 22:08:53​
17.43​	B' D' B2 U' F' U F D' U2 B2 R' F2 B2 R' L​	2024-03-26 22:08:19​
18.97​	L2 R F2 L B2 D2 R' F2 R2 D2 B2 R2 F R F2 R D F D' L2 D​	2024-03-26 22:07:46​

Current personal bests:

2024-03-13: Single 12.74, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.34
2024-03-26: Single 12.28, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.41, ao1000 19.95

 

[Deleted member 36445]

I have now lowered my ao1000 below 20.00! I also recorded a video to show what my typical solves look like these days. There's much improvement from the first videos posted in this thread, but I still feel very clumsy during F2L. I also cube rotate a lot when I don't have to, and occasionally perform moves without having a clear goal, resulting in U3 instead of U for example. What do you think I should focus on to improve from here? What are some good goals to set that are not just "get faster lol"?

Here's the video (ao5, 19.04):

Spoiler: Scrambles

18.31​	F2 L2 R2 U F2 D B2 L2 U' L2 B L D R F R2 U F2 D' U2​	2024-03-26 22:10:08​
19.83​	B L D2 F2 D' B2 D L2 U R2 U' L2 F2 R F' D R' D F2​	2024-03-26 22:09:30​
20.89​	B2 D2 F L F' L' B L D2 R2 B2 D' F2 U D L2 D' F2 U2 L'​	2024-03-26 22:08:53​
17.43​	B' D' B2 U' F' U F D' U2 B2 R' F2 B2 R' L​	2024-03-26 22:08:19​
18.97​	L2 R F2 L B2 D2 R' F2 R2 D2 B2 R2 F R F2 R D F D' L2 D​	2024-03-26 22:07:46​

Current personal bests:

2024-03-13: Single 12.74, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.34
2024-03-26: Single 12.28, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.41, ao1000 19.95

I like your solving style

Congrats on sub20!

 

[Snigel]

Another thing I noticed when looking at the video is that I don't use even half of the inspection time in many solves. I think this mostly happens when I find a good or okay cross somewhere, or at least the first three pieces of a good cross. I should of course use the full time to plan beyond the cross if it's very easy, make sure I have the full cross solution in mind before starting or go over it again to make sure I can solve the cross while looking for F2L pieces. I think my main problem is that unless the next F2L pair is really obvious, I usually have to stop between each pair to find the next. This can, if I'm unlucky (say all corners are in the bottom layer) take several seconds. I'll add this to my goals: "Use full inspection time for every solve."

 

[Exmestify]

Another thing I noticed when looking at the video is that I don't use even half of the inspection time in many solves. I think this mostly happens when I find a good or okay cross somewhere, or at least the first three pieces of a good cross. I should of course use the full time to plan beyond the cross if it's very easy, make sure I have the full cross solution in mind before starting or go over it again to make sure I can solve the cross while looking for F2L pieces. I think my main problem is that unless the next F2L pair is really obvious, I usually have to stop between each pair to find the next. This can, if I'm unlucky (say all corners are in the bottom layer) take several seconds. I'll add this to my goals: "Use full inspection time for every solve."

Same think for me lol. I use like 4 seconds. I presume i can look 1-pair in but i just dont. I think using like 11 seconds can help u

 

[SpeakCuba]

I have now lowered my ao1000 below 20.00! I also recorded a video to show what my typical solves look like these days. There's much improvement from the first videos posted in this thread, but I still feel very clumsy during F2L. I also cube rotate a lot when I don't have to, and occasionally perform moves without having a clear goal, resulting in U3 instead of U for example. What do you think I should focus on to improve from here? What are some good goals to set that are not just "get faster lol"?

Here's the video (ao5, 19.04):

Spoiler: Scrambles

18.31​	F2 L2 R2 U F2 D B2 L2 U' L2 B L D R F R2 U F2 D' U2​	2024-03-26 22:10:08​
19.83​	B L D2 F2 D' B2 D L2 U R2 U' L2 F2 R F' D R' D F2​	2024-03-26 22:09:30​
20.89​	B2 D2 F L F' L' B L D2 R2 B2 D' F2 U D L2 D' F2 U2 L'​	2024-03-26 22:08:53​
17.43​	B' D' B2 U' F' U F D' U2 B2 R' F2 B2 R' L​	2024-03-26 22:08:19​
18.97​	L2 R F2 L B2 D2 R' F2 R2 D2 B2 R2 F R F2 R D F D' L2 D​	2024-03-26 22:07:46​

Current personal bests:

2024-03-13: Single 12.74, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.42, ao1000 20.34
2024-03-26: Single 12.28, ao5 16.28, ao12 17.80, ao100 19.41, ao1000 19.95

I could only watch the first solve, but here’s a great tip. You shouldn’t solve your cross piece by piece, and inserting each piece on its corresponding center. Instead, you should insert them on the wrong center, and then align the cross when you’re done. It will help drastically, and you will pretty much always use it once you learn it. I don’t think I’ve explained it very well, but this video does: (The part where he explains this cross technique starts at around 30 seconds in) :

One other thing is that OLL alg you used in the first solve. It’s not bad, but (if I’ve recognized the case correctly), I think the better alg is the standard one, aka, this one (Scroll down to OLL 50): https://www.speedcubedb.com/a/3x3/OLL

Sorry if I recognized the OLL case wrong!

 

[randomness...]

Same think for me lol. I use like 4 seconds. I presume i can look 1-pair in but i just dont. I think using like 11 seconds can help u

if you start doing that you can learn how to plan ~3 slots or even all of F2L, I learned that way
also if you plan first pair, recognizing what gen (R,U) or (R,F,U) your next pair is a lot more easy

 

[Snigel]

I could only watch the first solve, but here’s a great tip. You shouldn’t solve your cross piece by piece, and inserting each piece on its corresponding center. Instead, you should insert them on the wrong center, and then align the cross when you’re done. It will help drastically, and you will pretty much always use it once you learn it. I don’t think I’ve explained it very well, but this video does: (The part where he explains this cross technique starts at around 30 seconds in) :

Yes, I understand what you mean, and I think I already do this in a majority of solves. I don't do it if the best cross I find already has two or more pieces in place, but I know what you mean and already use this, although I could probably use it more. Great tip, thank you!

One other thing is that OLL alg you used in the first solve. It’s not bad, but (if I’ve recognized the case correctly), I think the better alg is the standard one, aka, this one (Scroll down to OLL 50): https://www.speedcubedb.com/a/3x3/OLL

Sorry if I recognized the OLL case wrong!

All OLLs are directly from J-perm's video/list! While I think there might be better options, I think upgrading OLLs should be far down the priority list, right? I mean, even if it would be 0.5 seconds faster (which it won't be), it occurs in 1/54 solves, so we're talking a time save of ~0.01 seconds on average.

 

[abunickabhi]

Nice detailed progression thread.

Good luck with 3BLD improvement yo

 

[SpeakCuba]

Yes, I understand what you mean, and I think I already do this in a majority of solves. I don't do it if the best cross I find already has two or more pieces in place, but I know what you mean and already use this, although I could probably use it more. Great tip, thank you!

Yeah, you don’t need to do it if you already have 2/3 cross pieces already in place, although sometimes it does help.

All OLLs are directly from J-perm's video/list! While I think there might be better options, I think upgrading OLLs should be far down the priority list, right? I mean, even if it would be 0.5 seconds faster (which it won't be), it occurs in 1/54 solves, so we're talking a time save of ~0.01 seconds on average.

Your choice, I just find the alg I shared faster and easier to recognize. For now yes, but as you get faster, if you find some algs aren’t good, you should switch. But I think your alg is not bad at all either. (I would ignore those probabilities, they aren’t realistic. Yes, they’re mathematically correct, but they’re not correct realistically. For example, the probability of that OLL is 1/53, or however many OLLs there are. I get that OLL way more times than other ones, such as Sune or Anti-Sune. Same goes for PLL, N or V perms mathematically have the same chance of appearing as other PLLs, yet I get them (usually) a lot more often than say, a R-Perm).

 

[Snigel]

Your choice, I just find the alg I shared faster and easier to recognize. For now yes, but as you get faster, if you find some algs aren’t good, you should switch. But I think your alg is not bad at all either. (I would ignore those probabilities, they aren’t realistic. Yes, they’re mathematically correct, but they’re not correct realistically. For example, the probability of that OLL is 1/53, or however many OLLs there are. I get that OLL way more times than other ones, such as Sune or Anti-Sune. Same goes for PLL, N or V perms mathematically have the same chance of appearing as other PLLs, yet I get them (usually) a lot more often than say, a R-Perm).

Yes, I understand what you mean! I rather like that alg, though, and its mirror is okay too, so I won't swap that one. The only OLL I got from J-perm that I don't like is 34 ("city"), which I just can't do fast and almost drop the cube half the time, so if you have an awesome alternative, that would be great! This is the one I use now: f R f' U' r' U' R U M'

 

[SpeakCuba]

Yes, I understand what you mean! I rather like that alg, though, and its mirror is okay too, so I won't swap that one. The only OLL I got from J-perm that I don't like is 34 ("city"), which I just can't do fast and almost drop the cube half the time, so if you have an awesome alternative, that would be great! This is the one I use now: f R f' U' r' U' R U M'

The one I use goes like this (holding the 2 corners extending from the line towards you): R U R2 U' R' F R U R U' F'. A good alternative would be (holding the OLL the same way as option #1): (U2) F R U R' U' R' F' r U R U' r'.

 

[Snigel]

I've switched focus to BLD to mix things up a bit. My goal remains the same as before, so three successful solves in a row in under 7 minutes with OP/M2. However, I've switched tactics since last time and will not do any blindfolded solving to begin with. Instead, my goal is to get very comfortable with OP/M2 sighted.

My goal is to get an ao5 under 1 minute, although I'm not sure if that's a realistic goal or not. To clarify, I'm allowing myself no inspection time, I don't do any memorisation, but I do consciously think about the letters for each sticker pair to practise the lettering scheme. I've done 50 timed solves over the past week or so, and have gone from a 4:18 ao5 to 2:19 ao5. I so far have only one solve under 2:00. Let's see where I end up after another 50 solves!

 

[Snigel]

I've been spending about 20-30 minutes daily this week working on sighted M2/OP solves and it's getting better! Current bests:

• Single: 1:15, but this was a very good scramble
• Ao5: 1:37
• Ao12: 1:46
• Ao100: 2:33, but this includes every single timed solve, as I only have 100 total

I make several different kinds of mistakes still, so I think I should keep working on this. Here are some things I've noticed:

• I sometimes flip pieces, especially edges (thinking that F is L or vice versa), and end up having to flip them back. This obviously takes time, but it would also ruin an actual blindfolded solve. I would say this is because I try to go faster, I just don't know the lettering scheme quickly enough and have to cut corners (metaphorically).
• I sometimes double invert I/S, C/W, so for example if I have the edge pair BI, I think immediately BS, but then I think, aha, S is in the second slot, so it should be I, reverting back to the I and hence messing things up. I think this is maybe less likely to happen when memorising the whole sequence in one go.
• I occasionally, but not very often anymore, make mistakes in execution. I know all the algs for S, I, Q, parity and so on, but I don't know them well enough to continue smoothly if the cube catches or something else goes wrong. If something happens in a U-perm, I can fix it without thinking, but if I miss something in these new algs, I'm hopelessly lost.

I've also tried to use somewhat more efficient finger tricks for the edge swaps, which not only makes it faster, but also more pleasant to solve. Let's give it another week and see where I'm at then! Maybe it will be time for some blindfolded solves?

 

[Snigel]

Another week with mostly BLD! I'm still focusing on sighted solves. I've also gone through half of my letter-pair mnemonics and updated those I don't like, but I've only done a couple of actual blindfolded solves, only one of which was successful.

Sighted M2/OP as of today:

• Single: 1:04.58
• Ao5: 1:16.02
• Ao12: 1:18.96
• Ao100: 1:96, but this includes half of the solves from last week (only 150 total)

Overall, my M2 edges start feeling quite natural and I can execute most swaps without needing to pause to think. I still mess up occasionally, but not nearly as much as before. OP corners still suck, though, but I'm getting there. I somehow still often mess up the modified Y-perm I use for the swaps, the alg just doesn't feel good.

• Ao5 edges only: 34.70
• Ao5 corners only: 36.93

This means that even if I combine the best ao5 from each, I'm still more than 10 seconds above my goal of one minute, and that doesn't include the occasional parity alg. Maybe in a week or two!