The One-Answer Question Thread [closed]

[Kirjava]

Oh. I've been doing my F3L very systematically, so I haven't really been messing around much. I suppose I should.
I rotate a lot. I didn't realise that was bad. Thanks, though.

I never rotate.

Lastly: What are cancellations? And how can I incorporate them into my solves? (Sorry if that's a stupid question; I genuinely don't know, though).

It's where the last move of one alg is the inverse of the first move of the next alg. This means you don't have to do any of them, and it doesn't have to be just one move. It's hard to describe. Would some example solve videos with my thought process help?

Um. Don't think so. Do you mean this one? Also, Dan's video? I don't know who that is, nor do I know the video (most likely).

Yep. Study that page like it's boobs. Dan's video.

 

[n00bcub3r]

what is sledgehammer?

 

[Pandadudex96]

what is sledgehammer?

R' F R F'

 

[Phlippieskezer]

I never rotate.

Okay, thanks. I'll try to avoid rotating then. I can already see how it can be beneficial (experimenting already).

It's where the last move of one alg is the inverse of the first move of the next alg. This means you don't have to do any of them, and it doesn't have to be just one move. It's hard to describe. Would some example solve videos with my thought process help?

Umm; I think I get it, assuming I understand you correctly. An example(s) would probably help a fair bit. Is there already one?

Yep. Study that page like it's boobs. Dan's video.

Haha. Interesting way of putting it, but shall do.
And holy wow, that video's very useful. I'll especially fiddle with these by the time I get my 4x4x4.

Thanks a tonne. Much appreciated.

 

[Kirjava]

Okay, thanks. I'll try to avoid rotating then. I can already see how it can be beneficial (experimenting already).

No seriously, stop rotating altogether. There are no cases that require rotations to do fast and rotations will only slow you down and kill your lookahead.

Umm; I think I get it, assuming I understand you correctly. An example(s) would probably help a fair bit. Is there already one?

No. Tried making one tonight but the camera battery died.

Whatever you do don't look at other K4 tutorials on youtube. They're all wrong and terrible.

 

[emolover]

Which of these times need the most improvement?

Averages:

2x2: high 3's
3x3:15-16 depending on the day
4x4: 1:10ish
5x5: 2:05
6x6: 4
7x7: 6:15

Which needs the most improvement And how could I get better at it?

 

[RNewms27]

Normally 3x3 affects all larger cubes because of the sub section of 3x3, but your skip from 5x5 to 6x6 is pretty big. (not that we aren't all avoiding the v6)

 

[Phlippieskezer]

Any good Waterman guides, with little-to-no algorithms (at least initially) out there, preferably also somewhat easy to nubs?
(A friend of mine wants to explore it, but he's still somewhat of a nub)

And, Kirjava, I've said it before, but thanks a lot. Your responses really helped me a lot.

 

[uberCuber]

Which of these times need the most improvement?

Averages:

2x2: high 3's
3x3:15-16 depending on the day
4x4: 1:10ish
5x5: 2:05
6x6: 4
7x7: 6:15

Which needs the most improvement And how could I get better at it?

That's kind of a matter of opinion. In my opinion, your 5x5 could use the most work. But I only think that because I'm relatively better at 5x5 than anything else.

 

[clifford2704]

How do you solve a cube without rotating? also when your scrambling which side is up? like those random scrambles.

 

[Cubenovice]

std WCA scrambling orientation: White on top, green in front

Solving without rotations:
option 1: use double layer turn d (= turning the two bottom layers at the same time)
option 2: ZZ method: you start with Edge orientation and then the whole F2L can be solved without cube rotations

 

[Cubenovice]

Any good Waterman guides, with little-to-no algorithms (at least initially) out there, preferably also somewhat easy to nubs?
(A friend of mine wants to explore it, but he's still somewhat of a nub)

Are you sure your friend wants Waterman?
Waterman is not quite little-to-no algorithms

I do not know what your freind currently uses but if it is not already Corners First perhaps a std corners first method could be a good start?

Here's one by Jellinek and Ortega: http://rubikscube.info/ortega.php
Yep, the corners phase is the Ortega you may already know from 2x2x2 solving.

 

[clifford2704]

ZZ method? can u link me a vid?

 

[Cubenovice]

ZZ method? can u link me a vid?

No

But Conrad Rider has a great write up of the method at http://cube.crider.co.uk
This si the best ZZ resource you can get.

For video just search youtube but really: study Conrads tutorial first

 

[JasonK]

ZZ method? can u link me a vid?

This is by far the best ZZ tutorial I've ever seen (not a video): http://cube.crider.co.uk

EDIT: Ninja'd

 

[irontwig]

Any good Waterman guides, with little-to-no algorithms (at least initially) out there, preferably also somewhat easy to nubs?
(A friend of mine wants to explore it, but he's still somewhat of a nub)

And, Kirjava, I've said it before, but thanks a lot. Your responses really helped me a lot.

You don't need all those algs on Jelinek's site; understanding a few two edges at a time algs and knowing last redge+EO (i.e. when you only have five rather than six edges left) is enough for decent solutions. You can also try to contact somerandomkidmike, Rachmaninovian and TMOY.

 

[bigwilly808]

Should I get a Godly Guhong from http://puzzleaddictions.com with these mods http://puzzleaddictions.com/index/mods.html ? Or a Lubix Fusion from Lubix?

 

[Cubenovice]

You don't need all those algs on Jelinek's site; understanding a few two edges at a time algs and knowing last redge+EO (i.e. when you only have five rather than six edges left) is enough for decent solutions. You can also try to contact somerandomkidmike, Rachmaninovian and TMOY.

Agreed.
I did not want to imply that your friend should learn the algs for edges but rather get a grasp of the edge solving concept.
I do reccomend learning the Ortega corner algs though.

 

[unirox13]

I currently average about ~23 seconds 3x3. I just started really focusing on 4x4 about 2 days ago, and right now I'm averaging about 1:50-2:10mins. With my current 3x3 times are sub 1 minutes 4x4 solves a tangible possibility or is it out incredibly unlikely that I'll be able to achieve that goal with sup 20 3x3 times?

 

[wontolla]

I'm also 23ish at 3x3. I've been solving 4x4 for a few months and I've never had a sub 1:20. So I think sub 1 min solves would be rather difficult, but maybe that's just me.

The good thing about practicing 4x4 in my case is that I get better look ahead at F2L (I do Yau) as I tend to turn slower because of the 4x4 mechanics.