# The number 3 in 3OP



## LuKaS2o1o (Jan 7, 2011)

Hi, i started practicing BLD a few days ago with the 3OP method in a 3x3. The author of the tutorial i read affirmed that the number 3 is never put in the cycles, but he didnt explain why so it wont get confusing. But now that i understand the method, why isnt the number 3 present in the cycles of the permutations?? 
BTW, for this method ive learned and now use the T perm.

One more thing: why is this called a 3-cycle, and for example old pochmann is a 2-cycle??


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## MrMoney (Jan 7, 2011)

If you can not answer these questions then you have not understood the method. It i called a 3-cycle as you solve the pieces by cycling 3 pieces at the time. Piece A -> B -> C -> A and thus concluding the cycle. Whereas in 2-cycle you only affect two and two pieces (buffer -> correct location) (+2 corner/edges).


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## Zane_C (Jan 7, 2011)

LuKaS2o1o said:


> One more thing: why is this called a 3-cycle, and for example old pochmann is a 2-cycle??


I don't know anything about 3OP, but as for this question: 
A 3-cycle method will cycle 3 pieces at a time, a U-perm is a 3-cycle, an A-perm is a 3-cycle. Commutators are 3-cycles. 

2-cycle methods only intend on positioning pieces one at a time, via the cycling of 2 pieces. As you may already know, it's impossible to swap just two pieces , so 2-cycle methods have a side effect: M2 swaps DF with UB, but also switches UF and DB and misaligns the M-slice. Old Pochmann swaps UR with UL, but also switches URB and UFR corners.


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## LuKaS2o1o (Jan 8, 2011)

i was suspecting that on the 3-cycle, but i just didnt know how the 2-cycle works.

What is still in the air is why the number 3 isnt present in the permutation cycles, who can answer that? Sorry for my English.


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## Marcell (Jan 8, 2011)

I assume that in that particular tutorial the corner numbered 3 is the buffer. And since you're shooting corners _from_ the buffer _to_ their correct position, you never shoot to the buffer itself. The piece that belongs to that position will naturally end up there at the end of the solve (or earlier, but I'm sure the tutorial covers that scenerio as well).
That is, if my assumption about 3 being the buffer in that tutorial is correct.


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## uberCuber (Jan 8, 2011)

Marcell said:


> I assume that in that particular tutorial the corner numbered 3 is the buffer. And since you're shooting corners _from_ the buffer _to_ their correct position, you never shoot to the buffer itself. The piece that belongs to that position will naturally end up there at the end of the solve (or earlier, but I'm sure the tutorial covers that scenerio as well).
> That is, if my assumption about 3 being the buffer in that tutorial is correct.


 
As far as I am aware, 3OP does not use a buffer. At least I don't remember Macky's site saying anything about a buffer last time I read it.


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## Marcell (Jan 8, 2011)

That's right, Macky says start with the lowest number that hasn't been written yet.
Of course if you've got a cycle like A->B->C, it doesn't matter what letter you choose to be the first. Still, when actually solving with 3-cycles, I kinda have a fixed starting position. If this position is A, I would describe this cycle as B->C, and not any other way. In this sense, A is a buffer.


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