Two cubers who know the same algorithms can be thirty seconds apart. The difference isn’t in what they know: it’s in the way they turn, and above all in what their eyes do while their hands are turning. That is what fluency means, and you can train it.

Fingertricks: turning with your fingers

A fingertrick is a way of executing a move with a single finger, without moving the hand that holds the cube. It is faster than turning with your wrist, and above all it keeps your grip: the next move can start straight away.

The basic grip

Both thumbs on the front, at the bottom of the front face; middle and ring fingers on the back; index fingers free on top, ready for U. The cube rests in your palms without being squeezed.

The basic moves

Move How
U the left index finger pushes the back-left edge of the top face to the right
U' the right index finger pushes the back-right edge to the left
R, R' right wrist turn, the left hand holds. This is the only basic move done with the wrist
L, L' the same with the left wrist
F the right index finger pulls the top of the front face to the right… or, depending on the algorithm, the right thumb pushes the bottom to the left
F' the right thumb pushes the bottom of the front face to the right… or the left index finger pulls the top to the left
D, D' the ring finger or little finger pushes the bottom face from behind
M' the right ring finger pushes the middle slice up from behind, starting underneath (essential for the U, H and Z PLLs)
r, r' like R with the wrist, grabbing two layers

There is no single right way: watch your hands, experiment, keep whatever flows. The rule: if you have to let go of the cube or regrip it, look for another way.

Triggers with fingertricks

The blocks you find everywhere each have a well-drilled execution:

  • R U R' U' (sexy move): right wrist, left index, right wrist, right index. Four moves, no regrip, under a second once you are used to it. Drill it in a loop: six repetitions bring the cube back to where it started.
  • R' F R F' (sledgehammer): wrist, right index for F, wrist, thumb or index for F'.
  • R U R' U R U2 R' (Sune): all right wrist and index fingers, with the U2 done as two index pushes or as one with the hand.
Start
×1
×2
×3
×4
×5
×6

The sexy move in a loop: after six repetitions, the cube is back where it started. A good fingertrick exercise.

A good exercise: take an algorithm you know and find the execution that never lets go of the cube. The app’s virtual cube lets you set the speed and step through move by move: use it to drill a specific block.

Fingertricks come after the algorithm. First learn the sequence of moves slowly, using your wrist; look for the fast execution once it comes out on its own. Doing both at once means learning two things halfway.

Look-ahead: watching what comes next

This is the skill that truly separates levels. The principle: while you execute what you already know how to do, your eyes look for what you’ll do next. When the insert finishes, you have already found the next pair: no pause.

Why it’s hard

Because turning fast takes attention, and looking elsewhere while turning makes you miss moves. The solution is counter-intuitive: turn more slowly. Slowly enough that your hands don’t need your eyes.

The core exercise

  1. Scramble, solve the cross.
  2. Before inserting the first pair, find the second one: where its corner and edge are.
  3. Insert the first pair slowly, keeping your eyes on the pieces of the second. They move during the insert: track them.
  4. Go straight into the second pair without pausing, and while you insert it, look for the third.
  5. If you had to stop to search, you turned too fast. Slow down even more.

At first this is slower than your normal solve. After two or three weeks it is faster, and above all more consistent: no more two-second “gaps”.

The metronome

A useful tool: a metronome app, one beat per move, at a slow tempo (60 to 80 beats per minute). You have to hold the tempo without ever breaking it, with no pauses and no speeding up. Once you can, go up by ten. Speed will come on its own; consistency is what you are training.

Between steps too

Look-ahead isn’t only for F2L:

  • during the last pair, look at the yellow edges: you know your OLL situation before you have finished;
  • during OLL, look at where the corners go: you can often guess the PLL headlights before the end;
  • during PLL, look at one side: you know how much U you’ll need at the end.

Cube rotations

Every y or x costs dead time and makes you lose your bearings. To do fewer of them:

  • learn the left inserts (L' U' L, U' L' U L) and the back inserts (R' U' R, U' R' U R);
  • in F2L, choose the pair that is easiest to reach rather than the first one you find;
  • in OLL and PLL, turn U to bring the case into its orientation, never the whole cube (unless the algorithm starts with a rotation, like the A perms).
Start
R'
U'
R

The back insert, R' U' R, into the back-right slot, without rotating the cube. The cube is shown from the back so you can see the slot.

Rotationless F2L is a realistic medium-term goal; F2L with one rotation is realistic right away.

When and how to time yourself

The timer has its place, but not all the time, and not at the start.

  • Not before phase 3 of the learning plan (the 21 PLLs): before that, it measures things that change from week to week and pushes you not to change anything.
  • Never during a learning session: learning slows you down, and the timer punishes whatever slows you down. See Common mistakes that hold you back.
  • One or two sets a week, of five or twelve solves, writing down the average (not your best time, which means nothing).
  • Step by step when you plateau: time the cross, F2L, OLL and PLL separately over a few solves. Benchmarks for a solve around 30 seconds: cross 3 s, F2L 15 s, OLL 5 s, PLL 5 s, with the remaining two seconds spent in transitions. The step that clearly goes over its share is the one to work on.

Progress benchmarks

Solve time What usually goes with it
Over a minute beginner method, or very new to CFOP: still searching through each step
45 to 60 s 2-look OLL and PLL, F2L with pauses between pairs
30 to 45 s full PLL, F2L starting to flow, a few too many rotations
20 to 30 s look-ahead in place, OLL being learnt, planned cross
Under 20 s full OLL, fluent F2L with almost no rotations, well-drilled fingertricks

These benchmarks are not targets: they tell you what to work on. If you average 40 seconds with all 21 PLLs, the problem isn’t your algorithms, it’s your F2L. Go back to the next pair exercise.