# 3 cycle memo



## dolphyfan (Mar 21, 2008)

Hey, 
This question is especially targeted towards those that use the orient-permute 3 cycle method. I have tried memorizing EP using 12 images along a journey but that seems to take to long. So I have decided(day before a competition) to switch my memo method to visual(shapes-triangles, zigzags,etc) I have tried many bld solves using this method, but many of them have been DNFs. Could someone that uses this method please type some examples(quickly) that shows how they would make mental notes about the cycles shape? Also any tips on using this method of memo would be appreciated. I Know this is very short notice but it would be greatly appreciated.
-Tony
P.S. The examples only have an explanation of EP memo. CO, EO, and CP is not necessary.


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## ccchips296 (Mar 21, 2008)

i always thought visual ment kind of just saying "that piece goes there then there then there etc" sometimes i can kinda see the shape but sometimes visualiesing it is hard. Sometimes visual memo can making things really easy and you just whip through the solves but other times, there are hard shapes that you just dont remember easily. After a while of practicing (doesnt seem easy with just a day) you kinda remember the hard shapes and they become just routine. i do everything visually. sry if this doesn't really answer your question, i thought i kinda lost track a bit


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## dolphyfan (Mar 21, 2008)

Ive been using visual for about a 2 weeks but it was just today that I actually decided to switch, and I still cant remember hard shapes.


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## Mike Hughey (Mar 21, 2008)

Wow - the day before sounds rather extreme! I'm not sure I'd do that if I were you, but I guess it might pay off - I switched to visual about 10 months ago and cut a couple of minutes off of my time almost immediately, so it might work.

For me, the biggest advantage of visual is repetition - you can go over a visual memorization of all 12 EP pieces in probably less than 2 seconds, so you can go over it 10 times in less than 20 seconds. So just repeat it again and again, and the whole thing will stick in your head. Still, patterns are helpful, and it can be useful to break it up in groups to remember it easily.

Let's take the really easy lucky scramble Rowe posted earlier today. It had no CP (amazing! how did that happen??), but a decent EP that you can work with. Scramble:
R' F2 R2 U' D B' L' F D R' L' B2 F U' D L2 D' B2 R2 F L' R2 D' L' R'

I always start from the front right, numbering like Macky does: 1 is UF, 2 is UL, 3 is UB, 4 is UR, 5 is LF, 6 is LB, 7 is RB, 8 is RF, 9 is DF, 10 is DL, 11 is DB, 12 is DR. So this scramble gives you cycles (1 12 11 4 10 6 9 2 3) (5 7 8) (assuming you scramble in the orientation you solve, which I actually didn't do when I tried this, but for this example we'll go with this). The first 4 in the first cycle (1 12 11 4) are easy to remember because they're up, down, down, up, with the downs shifted 90 degrees around the cube from the ups. I imagine a rubber band going between those 4. Then I'd notice the 10 is directly opposite the 4, and that the 6 and 2 go up the left side, with the 9 in between the 6 and the 2, and then the last one, the 3, is following the same line as the 10, 6, and 2. So really I see a line between the 10 6 2 and 3, and then mentally "insert" the 9. The last 3 are easy - they're all in position for a M' U2 M U2 algorithm to fix them if you rotate the cube z'. So I actually remember that to picture them.

I don't know that this actually helps you any, but at least it's an example. Really, it is true that the shapes just start to imprint in your mind after doing them a while; it's hard to talk through it to help you much. If you're planning on using this method tomorrow, my biggest suggestion would be to make sure you repeat the memorization over and over tracing it with your finger until you're sure you've got it. It looks like at your first competition you got all DNFs, so you should be able to beat that pretty easily by taking an extra 30 seconds or so to repeatedly retrace your EP. If I want a safe solve, I always memorize the EP, memorize the CP, then retrace all of the EP and all of the CP, and I won't go on to orientation until I can get all of the permutation right first.

Good luck - I hope you have success!

Edit: One other thing I do that I think helps is that I count the pieces as I go. So for the example above, I would point to 1 and say "1", then to 12 and say "2", then to 11 and say "3", then to 4 and say "4", then to 10 and say "5", then to 6 and say "6", then to 9 and say "7", then to 2 and say "8", then to 3 and say "9". Then I'd pause, then point to 5 and say "10", to 7 and say "11", and to 8 and say "12". That seems to give me an extra thing to hang my memorization on, so it helps in recalling, and it doesn't really slow you down at all. I don't think about the numbers I'm counting; I just mentally "say" them, and it seems to help. It helps me, at least.


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## ccchips296 (Mar 21, 2008)

oh ok i see. well yeah thats a drawback of visual. certain shapes that are really hard to remember can really slow you down. after lots of practice, you begin to just remember that pattern since its happened before and it becomes easier. speaking of which, im gonna practice some bld solving now


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## Lucas Garron (Mar 21, 2008)

Took a scramble off #rubik (#33980):
B2 D' L' B2 U2 L' R U D' B D' L' R' F2 L2 R F R B' R F' L F2 L' U' 

EP Cycle (ignoring orientation, and there's only one on this scr):
(UF , UB UR , FR FD , BL DR , LF LD , BR BD , UL)

Note that the are in pairs after the first. Each pair represents one 3-cycle alg done. I used to just memo the cycle as a long chain, but pairs are nice to use.

Anyhow:
"UB UR , FR FD" - I hope that's easy enough. I sweeps from UB to DF around the top of R. I would also remember that these are two easy algs in L2R2 EO def. (which I still use) - I often plan my exec algs in advance.
"BL DR" - A little nasty. I would remember that exec is B' + Move-cancelling Allan. (In F2B2, L + move-canceling Allan variant on UR - R2 setup cancels). Note that these are the farthest apart 3 edges can be, which can help you recall if you noticed it so during memo.

"LF LD" - Zig-zaggy sweep: I remember it extending from UF, since that's what cycles to those.

"BR BD" - I would remember this as a move-cancelling Allan, too. Consider that it's a mirror of the previous across UB-FR.

"UL" - Leftover parity


CP:
(UFL , DBL) (URF, DBR) (UBL , DRF UBL , DBL)

(UFL , DBL) + (URF, DBR) - Insanely easy. I'd also think of B2 + (H-Perm + U2) + B2.
(I might first have thought "UFL-DBL: Fantastic! This gives me a B2 setup for Y=perm parity!" but quickly abandoned that in favor of the H-Perm)

([UBL ,] DRF UBL) - Corner diagonals are fun. The cycle moves to the opposite corner and "boings" back across R. I'd also think that D' provides an 8-move comm: (D' L2 D R2)*2.

(DBL) - Spare, but more diagonal stuff. I'd remember that it give me a D+R2 R-perm parity.

At the end, I might reinforce the last CP as (DRF UBL DBL UBL ), which makes the whole CP diagonal stuff.

Execution:
B2 D' L' B2 U2 L' R U D' B D' L' R' F2 L2 R F R B' R F' L F2 L' U' 

(M' U' M' U' M' U' M' U')
z U' L2 (M' U' M' U' M' U' M' U) (M' U' M' U' M' U' M' U) L2 U z'

L U L' U L U2' L' U2 L2 U' L' U' L2 U L U L U2' L
x2' L' U' L U' L' U2 L U2' L2 U L U L2' U' L' U' L' U2 L' x2

B2 M2' U' M2' U2' M2' U' M2' U2 B2
D' L2' D R2 D' L2' D R2

y R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R' 
z R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R' y' x'
B' U R U R2' U' R' U' R' U2 R B
z r R2' U' R' U' R U R U R U' R r' z'
x' y U' L' U' L U L U L U' L' y' x

D R2 L U2' L' U2 L F' L' U' L U L F L2' U R2 D'


Had I though of it first, I'd've done (b' M' F y' F RU' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U''' R' F R F' y F' M F) for parity, though.


Hope that helps. Tell me if you use F2B2 for EO, though.


EDIT: Seems Mike beat me. I agree with / use practically everything he mentioned.


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## dolphyfan (Mar 22, 2008)

Hey, 
I want to give my many thanks to Lucas, Mike Hughey, and ccchips for their examples and responses. Its just coincidence that the two people I especially wanted a reply from(Lucas and Mike) both replied and gave an example.
-Tony


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## Mike Hughey (Mar 22, 2008)

Lucas, I never really thought about grouping them in pairs for visual. I don't know why; it seems so obvious to me now. You'd think with me doing pairs all the time for big cubes and multi, I would have thought of it. I'm going to have to experiment with it that way for the next week before Chattahoochee. Maybe it will help! Thanks!


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