The Solve Critique Thread

Thans for the help Ive been cubing since January, and I think that I have progressed pretty well for only cubing tht long. I also have small hands and fingers
Any tips for that?
 
2180161 said:
Thans for the help Ive been cubing since January, and I think that I have progressed pretty well for only cubing tht long. I also have small hands and fingers
Any tips for that?
Click to expand...
55 mm cube should do if you feel the 57 mm is too large. Two mm difference is actually a lot!
 
27.14 average of 5 with CFOP. White cross, F2L, 2L OLL, full PLL.

tbh i've made great progress the last week or so, i'd been stuck at 30 for like 2 months, then for no good reason, my times have fallen 2-3 seconds. But any advice on how I can improve next would be great, I'm basically just starting look ahead, hence the turning is so slow. Thanks guys.

 
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confusedcuber said:
27.14 average of 5 with CFOP. White cross, F2L, 2L OLL, full PLL.

tbh i've made great progress the last week or so, i'd been stuck at 30 for like 2 months, then for no good reason, my times have fallen 2-3 seconds. But any advice on how I can improve next would be great, I'm basically just starting look ahead, hence the turning is so slow. Thanks guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdmlTsy1DNQ
Click to expand...

I see big pauses between pairs even though you say you are forcing yourself to move slowly while in F2L in order to work in your lookahead so, I guess that you need to keep working on that. I can say from experience, at least in my case, that progress can be slow and you will have to do hundreds and thousands of solves but there are many seconds that can be cut there if you just can get to the point of continuous flow from one pair to the next (I'm not there yet). Perhaps trying to do blind F2L pair solving could help you with that. OLL and PLL execution speed is not bad for your average but recognition can be improved, as there are some very noticeable pauses there as well. Regarding alg learning you can also start learning some more OLL cases so that you can do them in just 1 look.
 
confusedcuber said:
27.14 average of 5 with CFOP. White cross, F2L, 2L OLL, full PLL.

tbh i've made great progress the last week or so, i'd been stuck at 30 for like 2 months, then for no good reason, my times have fallen 2-3 seconds. But any advice on how I can improve next would be great, I'm basically just starting look ahead, hence the turning is so slow. Thanks guys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdmlTsy1DNQ
Click to expand...

Pretty sure we have the same monitor. Samsung S22C300?

Also I'm surprised at how efficient your F2L is for your speed. It appears as if you know almost every optimal case, which is very good.

How much slower is your turning from your normal turn speed? You could probably afford to turn a little(emphasis on little) faster without damage to your lookahead.
 
mafergut said:
I see big pauses between pairs even though you say you are forcing yourself to move slowly while in F2L in order to work in your lookahead so, I guess that you need to keep working on that. I can say from experience, at least in my case, that progress can be slow and you will have to do hundreds and thousands of solves but there are many seconds that can be cut there if you just can get to the point of continuous flow from one pair to the next (I'm not there yet). Perhaps trying to do blind F2L pair solving could help you with that. OLL and PLL execution speed is not bad for your average but recognition can be improved, as there are some very noticeable pauses there as well. Regarding alg learning you can also start learning some more OLL cases so that you can do them in just 1 look.
Click to expand...

I think you're right that lots and lots of solves probably is the answer for me yeh, as obvious as it seems lol.

I think the pauses in my F2L are caused more by my remembering what to do to solve the pair. Hopefull just solving and lookingahead will provide practice for everything.

And regards to my last layer. My PLL recognition especially is really shocking, need to work on that. Lazily slowly learning more OLL cases, I know like 1/4 of them (mainly 2 look cases).

Thanks :)

Pretty sure we have the same monitor. Samsung S22C300?

Also I'm surprised at how efficient your F2L is for your speed. It appears as if you know almost every optimal case, which is very good.

How much slower is your turning from your normal turn speed? You could probably afford to turn a little(emphasis on little) faster without damage to your lookahead.
Click to expand...

Actually a T220HD, but they do look about the same.

I always figured there was no point commiting a way of solving a pair to muscle memory, until I knew they way I always wanted to do it. Put a lot of work into watching walkthrough solves and picking all my favourite solutions. So i'm so glad you think they're good ty :).

Natrually I kinda turn as fast as I can, with massive pauses. But i've basically adopted the speed from the vid as my speed now. The thing is, that I don't always find my next pair before I finish my current one, should I make sure I always find my next pair before I speed up, or just speed up a little and let my lookahead catch up?


Thanks both of you guys! :)
 
I would like a few tips for the following ZZ Ao12 :D


I found that simply relaxing and turning slowly would help my times, and when I do so, I am nearly always sub-15. I would like some help on my F2L too because I find it to be too much work to focus so hard on turning slow.
 
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Can I ask for a critique on a solve I didn't record? I am curious to see if there was a better way to do my first two blocks on this roux solve:

scramble:U R2 D2 U2 R L B' L' R2 D' F2 B' L2 U D F2 L' R2 B D U2 R2 B D R2
U L S' L B' // first block 5
z U' L2 U l U l' U' M' U M U2 l' U' L // second block 14/19
F R U R' U' F' // CMLL 6/25
M U' M' U' M U' M U M U2 M U2 M2 // LSE 13/38

Also, I apologize if this is the wrong place to put this. I don't really feel like this would work in the example solve thread because people don't really critique solves there, they simply display them. I can't really critique the people who posted before me because they are way faster than me. Sorry.
 
APdRF said:
http://youtu.be/u8AsBtWlpYQ

I'm very bad at recognition, but don't know how to improve more. Do you have any tips for this or for my solves in general?

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
You are way faster than me, so I probably can't help much, but do you use 2-sided PLL recognition? I learned it and although I'm not totally sure it offers an advantage on some cases (which I still find a pain to recognize) on other it might help you. I learned from Sarah strong's website. I honestly wouldn't know how to go from sub15 to sub10, but do you multislot? This involves solving one pair in a way that makes the next one easier, and I'm working on it right now (although I'm only sub30). Would you mind critiquing my roux solve above?
 
Sorry but I really don't have any idea about Roux. The first block has good movecount although those moves don't seem very finger friendly. The second block it's the exact opposite thing, I like how you did it. The only advice I could give you is try to do what it's faster rather than optimal in the first block, and also inspect as much as you can.

I don't know how to recognise the PLL looking at two sides, but I'll look for it. And I don't have any idea on multislotting, although I try to track CE pairs as much as I can when I see them, so I have no pauses and can turn faster.

Thank you!
 
mrtomas I noticed that in most of your solves you are pausing between cross and F2L. Try to start doing x-cross or just find a pair in inspection and track it so you don't pause. Also, during your F2L you did a few Y2 rotations. Intead just solve the pair with your left hand.
 
[CFOP] Criticize my PLL executions -sub 26-


I would really appreciate some criticism on my PLLs (the last two G Perms are not included)

If you could post a different algorithm for ones that I specifically mentioned that would be very helpful also.
 
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Someone please help me out! C:


PLEASE READ DESCRIPTION FIRST BEFORE WATCHING

SCRAMBLE USED: (standard scrambling orientation) U R D' U L R' F L' R' F U2 F2 R2 B2 F R2 F D2 U2 B2 L' B' L2 D U2 R2 B2 F R' D'

Some notes about this solve/my solves in general:
- I used a MoYu Weilong v2. This is my brother's cube and my main is a v1, it's just in the process of being re-stickered.
- I took a cubing hiatus from Sep 2014-Mar 2015, and before the hiatus, I averaged low 30s, but now I average high 20s.
- I typically average ~25-29 seconds. This one was terrible, but it showcases the weaknesses I have.
- I use CFOP, and I solve white cross on bottom.
- Cross: I tend to either do cross pretty well (3-4 seconds) or completely mess up on it. (7-10 seconds :c) This solve, the cross was terrible. I tend to get nervous and my turns are really inconsistent, causing the cube to lock up a bit. Perhaps include some tips on how to not freak out during the cross please? I would say this needs a lot of improvement for me.
- F2L: I like to say that I look ahead, but there are sometimes where I don't know the case very well and part of my attention has to go to the pair I'm solving. F2L is something that I really need to practice. Have any tips for doing so?
- OLL: I know 17/57 OLL algs, and I typically do 2-look, unless there's a case that I know. I'm learning the sexy subsets of OLL, but I tend to learn 2-3 algs in a week and then apply them to solves so I can master them, and then move on to more of them. OLL isn't really my main focus at the moment, though, it's mainly trying to cut bad habits.
- PLL: I know 19/21 PLLs, but I consider myself to know full PLL because the N perms are the only ones I don't know, and I believe there's a 1/128 chance of getting an N-Perm? This solve had a Gc perm, and I've gotten a lot better at recognizing G perms, though I am terrible at the execution.
- Turning speed: Typically, my tps is ~2-5, depending on what step I'm on. F2L is more likely to be 2 while PLL (if it's not a G perm lol) is more likely to be 5.
- Recognition: I really do need to work on last layer recognition, as well as F2L recognition. I know I have a lot of pauses in my solves.
- Another note: my times tend to be wildly inconsistent, ranging from 20-32 seconds at a time, though most of them fall between 25-29. How can I get more consistent?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated! (But don't say, "practice" because I do! I want to know how I can practice so I can become better.)

Thanks!
 
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theaksizinator said:
video, words
Click to expand...

Hey!
I'll start with what you're going to hear every time you ask for help (even though it probably isn't what you want to hear) and that is practice. Practice, practice. You will get better just from practice. As Feliks has said, you can train specific parts of your solve, but the best way to improve is just do solves.
Now, I'll get to what you probably want to hear :)
I sometimes have the same problem with cross. I think your problem is trying to turn to quickly. I think for cross (and f2l) the best thing you could do is be slower than your fastest TPS and be deliberate with your moves. Maybe not too slow, but slow enough to be confident in what you're doing.
F2L; You've already heard this, but practice. the more you do it, the more comfortable you are with the cases and the more lookahead you can do. If you're making an attempt at looking ahead at this speed, you're on good track. I didn't until I was sub 20 at least.
OLL; If you're satisfied with 2 look, that's fine. But... I would like to encourage you to learn full OLL. it may seem like a daunting task, but its only mayb 20 algorithms rehashed into different cases. For example, roughly 7 of the OLLs I use are related to Sune.
PLL; learn the N perms. R U R' U (j perm) U2 R U' R'
The only way you can get better at recognition is practice.
don't worry about tps right now, just try to be efficient with your f2l. Consistency varies depending on the person. I'm also wildly inconsistent, but some people's (*cough PDF cough*) average of 50 and 100 are within a tenth of a second of each other. It can't really be fixed, but the faster you get, the closer they will be.
hope this helped
 
I'm not that good at analyzing solves but one thing is start the timer with you fingers. Starting with you palms is a +2 and if you ever want to compete you should break any bad habits concerning starting and stopping the solve. Just something to think about
 
theaksizinator said:
Someone please help me out! C:

SCRAMBLE USED: (standard scrambling orientation) U R D' U L R' F L' R' F U2 F2 R2 B2 F R2 F D2 U2 B2 L' B' L2 D U2 R2 B2 F R' D'

[...] Any tips would be greatly appreciated! (But don't say, "practice" because I do! I want to know how I can practice so I can become better.)

Thanks!
Click to expand...

A couple of things I've seen:

- During the cross you check the bottom layer like 2 or 3 times. You should aim to fully plan the cross during inspection so that you don't have to do that.
- F2L speed looks nice for your overall speed but I'm not sure if you just got tricky cases or your F2L move count is not optimal or near optimal. In particular I got the feeling that the gree-orange pair took a lot of moves to insert but I'm not very good following exact moves of solves on video.
- OLL + PLL you should turn faster. Specifically I see slow U2s with no double-flick fingertrick.

Just my two cents, I'm not that much faster than you so maybe I'm completely wrong.
 
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