Fingertricks
I asked you guys what kind of tutorial you wanted to see in the tutorials section, and 60% of you wanted to see some 'finger tricks'. Now, I barely use any special finger tricks, so most of these moves are probably only useful for beginners. First, I'll explain the basic triggers and finger tricks that I use, and then I'll show you a few algorithms that use some of these tricks.
Before I start, just a few things you should know:
- If you want to use finger tricks, you should have a good cube that is prepared for speedcubing. Using stiff cubes can result in cubing injuries.
- Tip for using the videos: To watch a part of the video in 'slow motion', drag the movable part of the bar underneath it.
- Most videos contain a part where I perform the moves slowly, and a part where I do them fast. There are two reasons for this: 1) I like to show off, and 2) It prooves that the moves can be done fast.
- Be carefull using these finger tricks during the F2L (if you use the Fridrich method). During F2L, I use some finger tricks to make execution of the algorithms easier, but I am not using them to execute the F2L algorithms as fast as possible! (Look at my tips page to see what I mean by this).
- To use this tutorial, you are expected to be a little more advanced by now... You should know some basic cubing-terminology, such as notation (one day I'll make my own notation page :)).
- In this page, I am not suggesting that you should always execute these move the same way every time. Sometimes you might want to perform a move differently, depending on the situation. Also, you might have a different cubing style than me. In that case, maybe you don't like these finger tricks. In that case, I would advise you to develop your own style. Watching other speedcubing videos on the net can be very inspiring.
- When I am talking about the DRF sticker, I mean the sticker on the DRF corner, that is on the D face.
Some basic moves
| I will now try to explain some basic moves. It's not very easy to describe the moves, but the videos should clarify what I mean. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RU' and R'U These moves combine two moves: A clockwise move and an anti-clockwise move of an adjacent face. In that case, there is usually a way to execute the two moves very fast. For the RU' move, for example, you can hold the cube in your left hand (using a 'standard' grip, as shown in the video), and place your right thumb under the DRF sticker. Do the R move, but keep your thumb on that sticker. After the R move, push with your thumb to do the U' move. The R'U move can be done in the same way, but you start with placing the tip of your right index finger on the DRB sticker. |
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RUR' and RU'R' The RUR' is almost done like RR', but in between these moves, you can pull the U layer with your right index finger. Before starting R, place your right thumb on the DR sticker, and you right index finger on the URF sticker. After doing R, pull the right index finger to do U, then finish by doing R'. The RU'R is just actually just the same as the RU' move (in this case, you can also choose to do U' by pulling with your left index finger), with one extra move. You can add an extra U after both of these moves, by using your ring finger (for RUR'U) of your index finger (for RU'R'U). |
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R'U'R and R'UR These moves are the same moves as the previous ones, only mirrored about the S layer. R'U'R is almost done like R'R, but in between these moves, you can push the U layer with your right thumb. Before starting R, place your right thumb on the URB sticker. After doing R', push the right thumb to do U', then finish by doing R (Note that you can also do the U' move by pulling the U layer with your left index finger). The RU'R is just actually just the same as the R'U move, with one extra move. |
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RU2 and R'U2 I usually do RU2 the same way I do RU', but after U', I use my thumb to push the U layer 90 degrees further. I know three usefull ways to do the R'U2. The first, and obvious one is to do it the same way as R'U, but after U, use your right index finger to pull the U layer 90 degrees further, without replacing that finger. Another way of doing it is to perform R'U as described before, followed by pulling the U layer again with your middle finger. The third way is: start with your thumb on the FR sticker, and your right index finger on the RUB sticker. After doing R, 'push' the U layer with your index finger. Your index finger should end up all the way at the LUB sticker. This last way of doing it feels a little bit awkward, but with practice, it can be done fluently, and in some algorithms, it is usefull to do it this way. |
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[U2] R'FRF' This move is the same as doing R'U followed by RU', but I replaced the U with F. The moves can be done in the same way, and without rotating the cube. |
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Basically, these triggers, and the idea of turing one face clockwise and an adjacent face anticlockwise in 'one' move, is just about all I use. The next part will show some algorithms where I use these triggers.
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