For OLL, only one colour matters: yellow. Forget all the others. You read the case on the top face and the two sides you can see, in two stages: edges first, corners second.

First clue: yellow edges on top

Look at the four edges of the top face. How many are yellow?

Yellow edges on top Shape Number of cases Families
Four a cross 7 Cross (OLL 21 to 27)
None a dot 8 Dot (1, 2, 3, 4, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Two opposite a line 15 T, C, Knight move, Big lightning bolt, Line, OLL 57
Two adjacent an L 27 Square, Small lightning bolt, Fish, P, W, L, Awkward, OLL 28

This first look splits the 57 cases into four groups, and it takes no thought: the cross and the dot jump out at you, and with two edges the only question is “opposite or next to each other”.

If you are still on 2-look OLL, this is all you need: each row of the table has its own edge algorithm.

CrossDotLineL

The first clue: a cross, a dot, a line, an L. One example of each.

Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the app

Second clue: the corners

Within each group, the cases differ by the corners: how many have their yellow on top, and which way the yellow of the others faces (towards you, right, left, back). The pattern the yellow stickers make on top gives the family its name: that pattern is what you need to learn to see.

In the cross (7 cases)

  • One yellow corner: Sune (27) or Antisune (26). Hold the cube with the yellow corner at the front left: if the front-right corner has its yellow facing you, it’s Sune. Otherwise it’s Antisune; turn it into its own orientation (yellow corner at the back right, a yellow sticker facing you at the front left).
  • No yellow corner: H (21) or Pi (22). Look for a side with two yellows (yellow “headlights”): if there are two such sides, opposite each other, it’s H; if there’s only one, it’s Pi, held on the left.
  • Two yellow corners: if they are next to each other, it’s Headlights (23, the yellows of the other two corners face the same side) or Chameleon (24, one yellow facing you, one facing the back, on the same side). If they are diagonal, it’s Bowtie (25).
Sune (27)Antisune (26)H (21)Pi (22)Headlights (23)Chameleon (24)Bowtie (25)

The seven cross cases, each in the orientation of its algorithm: one yellow corner (Sune, Antisune), none (H, Pi), two (Headlights, Chameleon, Bowtie).

Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the app

In the line (15 cases)

The two yellow edges form a bar through the centre. Add the corners:

  • The T (33 Tying Shoelaces, 45 T): the bar plus the two corners on one side perpendicular to the bar: a T lying on its side. You tell them apart by the yellows of the remaining corners: both on the same side for 45 (the 2-look one, F R U R' U' F'), one facing you and one facing the back for 33.
  • The C (34 City, 46 Seein’ Headlights): the bar plus the two corners on one side parallel to the bar, at both its ends: a C.
  • Knight move (13 Gun, 14 Anti-Gun, 15 Squeegee, 16 Anti-Squeegee): the bar plus a single yellow corner, next to one of its ends: bar and corner trace a knight’s move in chess. To tell the four apart, put the bar horizontal and the yellow corner at the back: the front face shows two yellows side by side; if they are on the same side as the yellow corner, it’s 14 (corner on the left) or 13 (corner on the right); on the opposite side, 15 (left) or 16 (right). The case instruction in the app then tells you how to hold it for the algorithm.
  • Big lightning bolt (39 Fung, 40 Anti-Fung): one corner at each end of the bar, diagonally: a stretched-out lightning bolt.
  • The Line (51 Bottlecap, 52 Rice Cooker, 55 Highway, 56 Streetlights): the bar alone, no yellow corner on top. The four differ by their sides. 55 and 56 are symmetrical: the four corner yellows are on two opposite sides, either along the bar (55, the front face shows three yellows) or at its ends (56, the front face shows only one). For 51 and 52, only one side carries two corner yellows.
  • OLL 57 Mummy: the bar and all four corners yellow. Only two edges are missing.
T · 33T · 45C · 34C · 46Knight move · 13Knight move · 14Knight move · 15Knight move · 16Big lightning bolt · 39Big lightning bolt · 40Line · 51Line · 52Line · 55Line · 56Mummy · 57

The fifteen line cases, by family, each in the orientation of its algorithm in the app.

Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the app

In the L (27 cases)

The two yellow edges form an angle. The shape the corners complete:

  • The Square (5 Lefty Square, 6 Righty Square): the two edges and the corner inside the angle make a 2 × 2 square with the centre.
  • Small lightning bolt (7 Lightning, 8 Reverse Lightning, 11 Downstairs, 12 Upstairs): the angle plus a yellow corner next to the angle, not inside it: a small S.
  • The Fish (9 Kite, 10 Anti-Kite): the angle plus the corner diagonally opposite the angle. For 35 Fish Salad and 37 Mounted Fish, the corner inside the angle is yellow too: a square with a tail.
  • The P (31 Couch, 32 Anti-Couch, 43 Anti-P, 44 P): the square (the two edges, the corner inside the angle, the centre) extended by one corner: the letter P.
  • The W (36 Wario, 38 Mario): the angle plus two yellow corners zigzagging, one next to the angle and one opposite: a W.
  • The L (47 Anti-Breakneck, 48 Breakneck, 49 Right back squeezy, 50 Right front squeezy, 53 Frying Pan, 54 Anti-Frying Pan): the angle alone, no yellow corner. Six cases you tell apart by where the yellows sit on the sides.
  • Awkward (29 Spotted Chameleon, 30 Anti-Spotted Chameleon, 41 Awkward Fish, 42 Lefty Awkward Fish): two yellow corners, neither inside the angle, irregular shapes.
  • OLL 28 Stealth: the angle and all four corners yellow.
Square · 5Square · 6Small lightning bolt · 7Small lightning bolt · 8Small lightning bolt · 11Small lightning bolt · 12Fish · 9Fish · 10Fish · 35Fish · 37P · 31P · 32P · 43P · 44W · 36W · 38L · 47L · 48L · 49L · 50L · 53L · 54Awkward · 29Awkward · 30Awkward · 41Awkward · 42Stealth · 28

The twenty-seven L cases, by family, each in the orientation of its algorithm in the app.

Open the “OLL (yellow face)” step in the app

These descriptions help you put a name to a case, but the shapes really sink in when you see the cases on the app’s virtual cube, in the “OLL” step. Scroll through the cases of one family in a row: after a few passes, you tell them apart without effort.

What order to look in

  1. The top: edges then corners, and the pattern reads in one go.
  2. Front and right: the yellows on the sides separate cases with the same shape (Knight moves, Ls, Lines). Two sides are always enough; if you think you need to look at the back, you haven’t found the right clue yet.
  3. Turn U if needed to bring the case into its orientation, not the whole cube.

Common mix-ups

You confuse The clue
Sune and Antisune with the yellow corner at the front left, the yellow facing you is at the front right for Sune; for Antisune, in that position, the front yellow is on the left
H and Pi two sides with two yellows facing each other for H; only one for Pi
Headlights and Chameleon the yellows of the two unoriented corners face the same side for Headlights (the back), opposite sides for Chameleon (you and the back)
OLL 33 and 45 (the two Ts) 45: one side has two corner yellows; 33: one yellow facing you and one facing the back
The four Knight moves yellow corner at the back: the two yellows on the front face are on the same side as it (13, 14) or the opposite side (15, 16)
Square and Small lightning bolt the yellow corner is inside the angle of the edges for the Square, next to it for the lightning bolt

The fix is the same for each one: set up the two cases on your cube one after the other, look at them for thirty seconds, and say out loud what changes. Then do it again the next day. The confusion is gone within a week.