Why am I so slow?

[hellish73]

Posting a video of a solve or two could help us address your individual progress as of yet, as well as address your problem areas.

The problem is that I was born with a four finger deformation on each hand which doesn't help with the speed :S

 

[Ranzha]

The problem is that I was born with a four finger deformation on each hand which doesn't help with the speed :S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adBVrFedcyY
Never stopped Emerson! =)

 

[hellish73]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adBVrFedcyY
Never stopped Emerson! =)

:O that is amazing. Thanks for that

 

[sneaklyfox]

For the last case (E-perm) may I suggest: R2 U R' d' (R U R' U')x3 U F U' F2. The one shown on that site was always difficult for me to learn, but the sexy move (R U R' U') in this alg made the case easy for me.

EDIT: Also, it swaps the corners horizontally rather than vertically as shown on the website.

You can do the above but leave out the last U' U which is just a waste of moves.

 

[Ranzha]

:O that is amazing. Thanks for that

But seriously broseph, videos reveal so much.
They show a person's cubing style and technique, how they actually react when the clock's ticking. They show all the pauses and hesitations that could hinder a person's improvement.

tl;dr Post videos.

 

[Tyjet66]

You can do the above but leave out the last U' U which is just a waste of moves.

Yes, sorry. I didn't look up the alg, but rather just did it by memory so it was a simple mistake on my part. Fixed alg: R2 U R' d' (R U R' U')x2 R U R' F U' F2

 

[hellish73]

But seriously broseph, videos reveal so much.
tl;dr Post videos.

I'll post a video tomorrow, too late now.

 

[wasianrubiks]

Honestly it just takes LOTS of practice.... I use a beginners method (ask ickathu he's seen it haha) and i average around 25 seconds.... It just takes lots and lots of practice... I used to cube for hours on end with beginners method for days until i finally hit a time that I was satisfied i now need to probably move on to CFOP but I've been to busy and lazy

 

[Ickathu]

Honestly it just takes LOTS of practice.... I use a beginners method (ask ickathu he's seen it haha) and i average around 25 seconds.... It just takes lots and lots of practice... I used to cube for hours on end with beginners method for days until i finally hit a time that I was satisfied i now need to probably move on to CFOP but I've been to busy and lazy

Yup.
I think you should learn Roux instead though Or at least try out some speedsolving methods and pick one that you like, THEN LEARN IT.
That's the same advice I'll give you, hellish. CFOP isn't the "best" method; there isn't one. Try out a bunch and see if you like one more than CFOP, or if your faster with another.

 

[Tyjet66]

Yup.
I think you should learn Roux instead though Or at least try out some speedsolving methods and pick one that you like, THEN LEARN IT.
That's the same advice I'll give you, hellish. CFOP isn't the "best" method; there isn't one. Try out a bunch and see if you like one more than CFOP, or if your faster with another.

Thank you for not just spamming "RROOOOUUUXXX" and actually stating that it's your opinion and that there is no objectively "best" method.

If you are just looking for a faster method but don't want to have to "think" as much, but memorize more, go CFOP. Roux seems like it requires a bit more thought, but also requires less algorithms. Both are good choices in my book. There are some other very good speedsolving methods such as Petrus or ZZ, but they aren't as widely used so there may not be as many resources to assist you.

 

[hellish73]

My F2L is quite slow, do you think it's better to do it intuitivley or learn algs for it.

 

[aznanimedude]

intuitively
and go slow and practice dem lookaheads
fluid transistion between pairs will do much more for you than faster execution of a pair followed by a pause looking for the next one

 

[5BLD]

you are 'so slow' because you don't practise ironing out pauses. You have to be patient and look what elements make up a solve. It's more than just 'crazy felixx turnspeedz'

 

[Ickathu]

you are 'so slow' because you don't practise ironing out pauses. You have to be patient and look what elements make up a solve. It's more than just 'crazy felixx turnspeedz'

This.
Otherwise known as "go slow and look ahead"

 

[hellish73]

This.
Otherwise known as "go slow and look ahead"

I have been practising a lot and have got my average down from 2:30 to 1:11. However, I still find it hard to "look ahead" when doing F2L. I find myself pausing a lot during F2L. Do you have any suggestions for helping to learn "look aheads".

 

[ben1996123]

I have been practising a lot and have got my average down from 2:30 to 1:11. However, I still find it hard to "look ahead" when doing F2L. I find myself pausing a lot during F2L. Do you have any suggestions for helping to learn "look aheads".

practise more, use a metronome

 

[Endgame]

I have been practising a lot and have got my average down from 2:30 to 1:11. However, I still find it hard to "look ahead" when doing F2L. I find myself pausing a lot during F2L. Do you have any suggestions for helping to learn "look aheads".

my opinion on this all
look ahead is unimportant at your stage
learn how to execute all F2L cases without looking first
then worry about being able to predict, track and control pieces.

also known as turn slow and practise

 

[qqwref]

the top left layer is swapped with the bottom right layer ????

Right. I don't think your problem's practice, I think it's intuition and understanding of how the cube works.

Try some of the following exercises:
- Do three random turns on the cube, throw it in the air with a lot of rotation, and catch it. Now try to solve it in three moves. Once you can do that, try four and then five.
- Scramble the cube with only turns of the R and U layers, and try to solve the first two layers with only those turns. You may not rotate the cube at any point during this. Don't worry about solving the last layer for now.
- Scramble the cube completely and try to figure out a solution for the cross (only those four pieces) in as few moves as possible. 7 moves is possible 99% of the time so try to get within a few turns of that. Do not turn the cube while you're looking for a solution. You can take as long as you want.
- Look at your F2L algs and try to follow the two pieces you are solving. Try to understand why those turns do what they do, rather than just remembering the correct moves. When you are done with this you should be able to apply almost all of your F2L algs from any angle.
- Practice solving the following, starting from a scrambled cube, without using any algs at all: (a) a 2x2x2 block (see here) (b) a 1x2x3 block (see here).

 

[CarlBrannen]

I think the metronome is useful, but not until you get to around 40 seconds. Much slower than that and keeping up with the metronome wasn't possible for me.

 

[MiPiCubed]

This may not even seem like much of a tip, but it's what helps me when I reach a plateau. Stay calm while you practice. When you get frantic, you lose concentration and stop getting better. Always focus on making what you already know second nature, and stay calm during solves.