You’ve seen the videos. Some kid with lightning-fast hands blurs a 3x3 cube into a solved state in five seconds flat. It looks like magic, or maybe just a really expensive motor hidden in their fingers. But honestly? It's just muscle memory and a few specific tricks that most casual cubers never bother to learn. If you're currently stuck at the "it takes me three minutes and a lot of luck" stage, you’re in the right place. To solve Rubik’s cube quickly, you have to stop thinking about colors and start thinking about pieces.
Most people start with the "Layer-by-Layer" method. It’s fine. It works. But it’s slow because you’re constantly looking for pieces and doing way too many rotations. Speedcubing is a different beast entirely. It’s about efficiency. It’s about moving your hands less while the cube moves more.
The Brutal Truth About Your Hardware
Before we even talk about algorithms, look at your cube. Is it a generic one you bought at a drugstore for ten bucks? If so, throw it in a drawer and forget about it. Those cubes are "clicky" and stiff. They don't have corner-cutting—the ability to turn a face even when the other layers aren't perfectly aligned.
You need a speedcube. Brands like Moyu, Gan, or QiYi changed the game. A modern magnetized cube—like the Gan 14 or the Moyu RS3M—uses magnets to snap the layers into place. This prevents overshooting. If you want to solve Rubik’s cube quickly, you can't be fighting the plastic. You need a tool that responds to a flick of your pinky finger. Serious cubers use "finger tricks" instead of whole-hand turns. Basically, you use your fingers to flick the U (upper) or F (front) faces while your palms stay relatively still.
Moving Past the Beginner Method
If you want to get under 30 seconds, you have to learn CFOP. This stands for Cross, F2L (First Two Layers), OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer), and PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer). It was popularized by Jessica Fridrich in the 1990s and remains the gold standard for world records.
The Cross is Your Foundation
Stop solving the cross on the top. Seriously. If you solve the white cross on the top face, you have to flip the cube over to see the rest of the pieces. That’s a wasted second. Solve the cross on the bottom. This allows you to look ahead to the next pieces while you’re still finishing the cross. Experts don't just solve the cross; they "inspect" it. During the 15-second inspection period allowed in WCA (World Cube Association) competitions, a pro plans every single move of the cross. They aim to finish it in 8 moves or less.
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F2L: The Real Speed Demon
This is where most people get stuck. In the beginner method, you solve the four corners of the first layer, then the four edges of the middle layer. That’s eight separate steps. In F2L, you pair a corner and an edge piece together in the top layer and "insert" them into their slot simultaneously.
It feels clunky at first. You’ll be slower for two weeks. You'll probably want to quit. Don't. Once the intuition clicks, you’ll shave 15 seconds off your time instantly. You’re doing half the work for the same result. You just have to train your eyes to find "pairs" instead of individual stickers.
Let's Talk About Algorithms and OLL/PLL
Once the first two layers are done, you’re left with the top face (usually yellow). In the beginner method, you make a cross, then position corners, then twist them. It’s tedious. To solve Rubik’s cube quickly, you use OLL and PLL.
- OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer): This involves 57 different algorithms to turn the entire top face yellow in one go. Yes, 57. It sounds like a lot, but your brain is better at pattern recognition than you think.
- PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer): After the top is all yellow, the pieces might be in the wrong spots. There are 21 algorithms to swap these remaining pieces into their final positions.
If you aren't ready to memorize 78 algorithms, start with "Two-Look OLL" and "Two-Look PLL." It’s a middle ground that uses about 15 algorithms to do the same thing in two steps instead of one. It’s the fastest way to bridge the gap between "hobbyist" and "competitive."
The Secret Sauce: Look-Ahead
The biggest difference between a 20-second cuber and a 10-second cuber isn't hand speed. It’s "Look-Ahead." When a pro is solving the F2L pairs, they aren't looking at the pair they are currently moving. Their eyes are already scanning the cube for the next pair.
It’s like typing. You don't look at the letter 'A' while you hit it; your eyes are already on the next word. To practice this, try solving the cube with a metronome. Turn the cube at a steady, slow pace—maybe one turn per second. Don't stop. Most people turn fast, stop for three seconds to find a piece, then turn fast again. That "stop-and-go" rhythm kills your time. A slow, fluid solve is almost always faster than a frantic, jerky one.
Why Your Fingers Might Be Doing It Wrong
Regrips are the enemy. A "regrip" is when you have to shift your hand's physical position on the cube to perform a move. Every time you regrip, you lose a fraction of a second. To solve Rubik’s cube quickly, you need to learn algorithms in a way that minimizes hand movement.
For example, the "Sune" algorithm ($R U R' U R U2 R'$) is a classic for orienting corners. If you do it with your whole hand, it’s slow. If you use your index finger to "double-flick" the $U2$ turn, it becomes a blur. Look up videos of "finger tricks" specifically. It’s about using your ring fingers for D (down) turns and your index/middle fingers for U and F turns.
Practical Steps to Break Your Records
Don't just mindlessly scramble and solve. That leads to plateaus. You need a structured approach to improvement.
- Get a Timer: Use a dedicated app like CSTimer. It gives you official WCA scrambles. Watching your average-of-five (Ao5) drop is the best motivation.
- Slow Solving: Spend 15 minutes a day solving as slowly as possible without ever stopping the motion of the cube. No pauses allowed. This builds the "Look-Ahead" muscle.
- Learn One Algorithm a Day: Don't try to cram all 21 PLLs in a weekend. Learn the "T-Perm" today. Use it until it's in your muscle memory. Do it while watching TV. Do it until you can do it with your eyes closed.
- Film Yourself: This is painful but necessary. Record your hands. You’ll notice things you didn't feel, like a weird habit of rotating the whole cube (y or x rotations) just to find a piece.
- Color Neutrality: If you're still early in the journey, try to solve starting with any color, not just white. It makes finding an easy cross much more likely, though it's a hard habit to build later on.
The Rubik's Cube isn't a math puzzle once you know how to solve it; it's an athletic event for your hands. You're training your nervous system to recognize patterns and react instantly. Keep your cube lubed—silicone-based lubricants like Weight 3 or Maru work wonders—and keep your turns light.
Efficiency always beats raw speed. Focus on reducing the number of moves you make ($STM$ or Slice Turn Metric), and the speed will naturally follow. Stop hunting for pieces and start predicting where they will land. That is how the pros do it, and it's exactly how you'll get your first sub-20 solve.