What can I learn in 9 days that will increase my speed?

[Lotsofsloths]

So i'm trying to average sub 30 at the virginia open on the 24th, but Im not sure howto improve, heres the method I use:
{{
Cross on left face

F2l

OLL(orient edges, then corners)

PLL
}}

Using that sequence, heres a time i got: 33.21, non lucky, about what I usually get.
heres antoher solve: 33.59, OK i guess

another one: 27.34, ohh a good one!

Countdown Till VA Open:[ 9 ]Days

 

[masterofthebass]

Tons and Tons of practice should do the trick. The thing is though, your practice averages may not be the averages that you get in competition. Personally, I average 17-18 at home almost 100% of the time, but at my last competition I couldn't even sub-20 (best average was 20.00). Inversely, my 5x5 average was a PB and my single solve tied my PB. I think that during competition I try to rush too much and make tons of mistakes, while my long term lookahead gets better. More competitions should do the trick.

 

[Kristoffer]

Just don't rush, try look ahead go slow on f2l, that gives good results!

 

[TimMc]

Look ahead during every stage, know what algorithm to do next.

Do F2L intuitively without hesitation.

Use algorithms that best suit your hands. Transpose the algorithms onto different faces or try to use algorithms that you think you can perform quickly. For example:
- Instead of doing Sune+Anti-Niklas for J Perm I do Anti-Sune+Niklas
- Instead of doing U' F' U F for an F2L move I do U2 F' U2 F
*Everyone has their own preference so it's worth learning a few variations of the same algorithm to see which one is the right addition to your collection of algorithms

That's about all I can suggest. I can barely reach sub 30 following my own steps but I think if I overcome a bit of hesitation in F2L and LL I'll be near sub 20

 

[AvGalen]

Learn in 9 days: no new algs because you won't be able to rely on them. Learn how to solve the cube without stopping. 3 moves per second for 25 seconds is better than 10 moves in 2 seconds + 1.5 second delay.

Look at topics like "metronome", "go slow", "look-ahead", etc.

And learn how to relax while your nervous. That will increase your speed considerably.

 

[Lotsofsloths]

Oh ok, ill try slowing down my F2L and everything else for that matter.
and what is anti niklas?
i know what sune is.

 

[Harris Chan]

Practise cubing under pressure There's no point of being able to hit 30s at home if you get nervous and get 40s in competition.

 

[Mike Hughey]

I'm sure it does help to practice under pressure, but when you're in the 30-40 second range, I'm not sure being nervous hurts all that much. I was so nervous at the US Open doing the 3x3x3 that I was about to drop the cube from the uncontrollable shaking, and yet I got times that for me were actually VERY good. My average in the B final was 39.80, and my personal best at home prior to that for an average of 10 was 37.84; my typical averages were still over 40 seconds. I think the adrenalin boosted my speed enough to compensate for the shaking and the mental mistakes (and there were quite a few mental mistakes).

On the other hand, when you're as good as Harris Chan, I suspect being nervous makes a BIG difference. (But not enough to keep him from winning.)

So I guess my point of posting this is that, if you find yourself very nervous, don't worry about it - if you focus, you can still do well.

Another comment: I think the reason I was so nervous was because it was the "stars" of cubing doing the judging. Dan Dzoan was my first judge, and as he stood there watching, I couldn't help imagining what he must have thought of my pathetic performance. But he was actually very nice, and after my first attempt he made some comments to try to calm me down so I would do better. He was very helpful, and I really appreciated that.

And one more comment - it's looking pretty likely that you'll beat me at this point. I'm still averaging around 35 seconds.

 

[Lotsofsloths]

Haha, well, I might
at least I have someone that is in the same time range with me xD