# How to Solve a Rubik's Cube Blindfolded



## byu (Mar 22, 2009)

A while back I wrote this tutorial on how to solve a 2x2 blindfolded. I said, I don't know if it was in that thread, but somewhere, that I would eventually write a tutorial for 3x3 blindfolded. So here it is, and it's long: 7,500+ words if I remember correctly. Tell me what you think, and what I can do to make it better. I'm working on a Section 3 - R2 corners.

Here it is:

TUTORIAL FOR 3x3 BLINDFOLD CUBING
Version 1.1
CHANGES: Fixed Y-Perm mistake, Updated corner memorization

This is a guide to teach you how to solve the Rubik's cube blindfolded. In reading this tutorial, I expect that you can already solve a Rubik's Cube, and know the basic notation (R, R', R2, and so forth). It will take you through the steps necessary to solve a cube blindfolded starting with the most basic method, then gradually getting more advanced with each stage.

PART 1 - OLD POCHMANN

SECTION 1.1 - OLD POCHMANN BASICS

This first method is one of the most basic methods for blindcubing that exists, and it can be fast too, with a lot of practice. This method is known as Old Pochmann, Classic Pochmann, sometimes by Pochmann Method.

Old Pochmann solves the cube piece by piece. We solve one piece at a time with edges, then solve one piece at a time with corners. In this we do not mess up any other part of the cube other than the pieces we want moved. This is done by some algorithms.

Now, as you may already know, it is impossible to swap only two pieces on the cube. You can swap two pairs of edges, or two pairs of corners, or two edges and two corners, but never just two edges or just two corners.

So instead, we will swap the same corners over and over while we swap the edges to where they need to be. If we do an even number of swaps, the corners will be back to their original state. If we have an odd number of swaps, then the corners will not be in their correct positions. Here we have something called parity, which will be explained later.

Now, an important step to be done right now is to choose an orientation. I usually use White as top, and Red as front, but you can choose any color you want. Just make sure you always choose the same colors.

SECTION 1.2 - ALGORITHMS

So now, I am going to teach you the algorithms that you should learn to solve the cube blindfolded.

For the edges, you will need:

T-Permutation (T) : R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'
J-Permutation A (Ja) : R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U'
J-Permutation B (Jb) : F2 L' U' r U2 l' U R' U' l2

For the corners, you will need:

Y-Permutation (Y) : R U' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R

Note that this is not the Y-Permutation used in PLL, it is simply the same thing without the F and F' at the beginning and end.

For parity, you will need:

R-Permutation (R) : R U2 R' U2 R B' R' U' R U l U R2 F x

Note that when actually solving, you will add a y and a y' at the beginning and end.

SECTION 1.3 - MEMORIZING THE EDGES

Blindfold cubing consists of two parts, memorization and then execution. I'm going to teach you memorization of edges right now.

Look at the piece at UR. In particular, look at the sticker on the U face of the piece at UR. For example, if you have White top Red front, and the cube is solved, White-Blue is the piece at UR, and the White sticker is the one we are looking at. 

Let me use a simple scramble to explain what we are going to memorize.

U' L' U M2 U' L U R' U R U' M2 U R' U' R

We look at the sticker at UR, which is Red-Green if you have White top, Red front. The question we ask is "Where does this sticker belong?" Well, we know the piece belongs at FL, and the red sticker belongs at the F part of FL. We memorize FL.

Now we look at the sticker at FL, and ask the same question. Where does this sticker belong? It belongs at DF, and in particular, the D part of DF. We remember DF.

Now we look at the sticker at DF, and ask where it goes. It goes to UR, and the U part of UR. Now, if you remember, UR is the sticker we started with, so we do NOT remember UR. Don't remember the sticker you start with, which should always be UR. So our memorization is:

FL DF

However, in a more complicated, well scrambled solve, we won't just have two pieces to memorize. You will have probably 11 or 12 to memorize. So although you might be able to remember "FL DF" in your head for a while, 11 or 12 of these will be much harder to memorize.

So we can turn these into words. For example, FL DF can become:

FLower DaFfodil

Then, to make it even easier to memorize, you can turn this into a story.

One day, I saw a flower. It was a daffodil.

In more complicated ones, I will give you an example:

BL RD RB DF UF BU LU DL

You could translate this to:

Version with matching letters capitalized:
I went on a BLack RoaD on RollerBlades. DownFalls of UFos BUbble LUxuriously in DaLly city.

Version without matching letters capitalized:
I want on a black road on rollerblades. Downfalls of UFOs bubble luxuriously in Dally City.

Yeah, the stories don't make any sense if you think about them. But in truth, the stranger the stories, the easier they are to remember. A very normal story won't stick in your head, such as one with you walking to the park. However, a crazy one, like one about UFO downfalls in a luxurious city might stick in your mind more.

SECTION 1.4 - EXECUTION OF EDGES

So, you've memorized all of the edges. After this you would normally memorize the corners, but we'll do corners later. Now we are going to solve the edges. You should know three algorithms for solving edges: T, Ja, and Jb.

Each one of these swaps the corners UFR and UBR. Remember, we will keep swapping these corners, that way we don't mess up the corners, unless we have parity (described later).

So, the three algorithms you know only work for three orientations. How would you expect to solve all of the edges and all their orientations? We use what are called setup moves. For example, imagine we want to swap UR with FL, as in the previous example in the last section. Many people call this "shooting to FL"

We need to bring FL up to either UF, UB, or UL. So it makes sense to do the move L', and then we can do a T permutation to shoot the piece. However, when we are done, we need to remember to undo the setup move, in this case, L.

Setup moves for edges should be intuitive, but in case you can't figure one out, here is a list of all of them:

PIECE SETUP ALG UNDO SETUP
------------------------------------------------------------
UR none T none
RU L d' L T L' d L'
UF none Ja none
FU l' Jb l
UB none Ub none
BU l Ja l'

DF l2 Jb l2
FD l' Ja l
DL L2 T L2
LD D l' Ja l D'
DB l2 Ja l2
BD l Jb l'
DR D2 L2 T L2 D2
RD D' l' Ja l D

FL L' T L
LF d' L T L' d
BL L T L'
LB d L' T L d'
BR d2 L' T L d2
RB d L T L' d'
FR d2 L T L' d2
RF d' L' T L d

The execution can be done with T perms only, but it is much easier to use the two Js, it saves setup moves.

With this, you should be able to solve all of the edges.

SECTION 1.5 - MEMORIZATION OF THE CORNERS

So, if you don't understand the edges yet, you probably shouldn't move on to corners right now. Although there are less of them, it becomes a little harder to memorize them.

Using the same concept of the edges memorization, we start at UBL. Where does it go? So, here's an example scramble:

L' U' L U R2 U' L' U L U' L2 U R2 U' L2 U

We look at the UBL piece, and ask "Where does this piece belong?" If you are using my color scheme and orientation (White top, Red front), which I will be using throughout the rest of this tutorial, you see that it is the Yellow-Red-Blue corner, which belongs at DFR.

DFR belongs to DFL, which belongs to UBL. But UBL is where we started, so we do not memorize that. So our memorization is:

DFR DFL

However, it's much harder to come up with words with three matching letters than two. So there is an easier way to memorize corners, that is different from edges. We assign each sticker of a corner a letter:

UBL - A
UBR - B
UFL - C
UFR - D

LBU - E
LFU - F
LDB - G
LDF - H

FDL - I
FUL - J
FUR - K
FDR - L

RDF - M
RUF - N
RUB - O
RDB - P

BDR - Q
BUR - R
BUL - S
BDL - T

DFL - W
DFR - X
DBL - Y
DBR - Z

Now, we memorize in pairs of two.

For example, if we had RDB and then BUL, that would be 

PS

Which could be translated into the word "PleaSe"

Now, you can make stories or sentences out of your memorization, by memorizing pairs.
For example, 

LDB (G) - RUF (N) - BUL (S) - DFL (W)

which is GN SW could be

Grinning Swimming

You could either remember those words, or use a form of images memorization where you picture a person grinning while swimming. The only thing you have to make sure of is the order, you don't want to imagine a person swimming while grinning, because then the execution will be messed up, even though the images may seem the same. 

SECTION 1.6 - EXECUTION OF THE CORNERS

So now you've memorized the corners. The system for executing the corners is very similar to execution of edges. However, this time we will shoot from UBL to RFD using the Y perm. Using the example from the previous section, we would see that DFR and DFL are the ones we need to shoot to.

DFR can be put into RFD by F' R'. Now we do the Y Perm, and then do R F. Notice that this swaps the UB and UL edges. Next is DFL. This is easy, we use F' as the setup move. We do Y-Perm, and then F. Notice that UB and UL are now swapped again, and are back to their original positions.

Like the edges, the setup moves should be intuitive. But in case you can't figure them out, here is a list of the setup moves that I use. Remember that between the Setup and Undo Setup, you need to do a Y-Perm:

PIECE SETUP UNDO SETUP
------------------------------------------
UFL F R' R F'
FLU F' D D' F
LUF F2 F2

UBR R D' D R'
BRU R' F F' R
RUB R2 R2

UFR F F'
FRU F2 D D' F2
RUF R' R

DFL F' F
FLD D D'
LDF F2 R' R F2

DFR F' R' R F
FRD R F F' R'
RDF none none

DBR D2 F' F D2
BRD D' D
RDB R R'

DBL D F' F D'
BLD D' R R' D
LDB D2 D2

Notice that every setup is at maximum two moves. Using more setup moves works, but is unnecessary.

SECTION 1.7 - BREAKING INTO A NEW CYCLE

This applies to both edges and corners. Here is an example with the corners.

R2 L' U' L U R2 U' L' U L R2 U' L2 U R2 U' L2 U

So we start looking at UBL. It belongs at UBR. So we remember UBR. But UBR, goes back to UBL again! However, we are not done yet. There are still corners that will be unsolved, in particular, DFL and DFR. When this happens, we have to "break into a new cycle"

The way we do this, is we choose any random edge that is still unsolved. DFL is a good choice in this case. Where does this go? It goes to DFR, which goes back to DFL. This time, since we have broken into a new cycle, we MUST remember DFL. So our memorization this time is:

UBR DFL DFR DFL

Sometimes you won't have to break into a new cycle, and you will only have one. Sometimes you will have two. You can have many more than two cycles also.

How do you know if you have to break into a new cycle? If there's an unsolved piece that you haven't memorized, and you finish a cycle, then you need to break into a new cycle.

SECTION 1.8 - OTHER ODD THINGS TO BE AWARE OF

There are many other things that can occur that you must know about in order to solve a cube blindfolded.

SECTION 1.81 - PARITY

50% of the time, you will have an even number of edges to shoot to, and an even number of corners to shoot to. This is good, and you don't have parity.

The other 50% of the time, however, you will have an odd number of edges, and an odd number of corners. When this happens, you have parity, because when you are done with the edges, the corners will be swapped. In this case, we do this.

After the edges, we do a y rotation. Now do the R-Perm, which you should already know. Then do y'. Now solve the corners. That is how you fix parity.

SECTION 1.82 - FLIPPED PIECES

Very often, you will have an edge or corner somewhere that is in the correct position, but flipped incorrectly before you start solving. Say the edge at FL is flipped. In this case, you shoot to the piece, and then shoot to where that sticker needs to go.

So we shoot to FL, and then shoot to LF. That will flip the edge. With corners, it becomes a little bit more complicated. You have to shoot to a sticker, and shoot to where that sticker belongs, which could be one of two places. For example, take this scramble.

U' L' U R2 U' L U L' U' L U R2 U' L' U L

DFR is flipped. First we shoot to FRD. FRD belongs at DFR. So we shoot to FRD and then DFR.

SECTION 1.83 - OTHER MEMORIZATION SYSTEMS

There are so many memorization systems out there, that it really doesn't matter which one you use. I chose one that is fairly easy, but there are many other systems out there.

Visual - This is what I currently use, and there are many forms of Visual Memory. Basically what you do is tap a piece, and tap the next piece, and pretty much just visualize lines going from piece to piece. This can be very fast, but it is difficult to get used to. Not something to try for the first time doing BLD.

Images - This takes some practice. Assign each sticker a letter A-X for edges, A-X for corners. For each letter pair, make an image. For example, BL might be BELL. Then you imagine a bell while you solve.

Journey - Do the same thing as Images memorization, but imagine yourself seeing these things while on a journey. Imagine yourself seeing a bell on the ground while walking somewhere, for example.

SECTION 1.9 - TRY IT

I can almost guarantee you that the first time you try solving a cube blindfolded, you will not succeed. It took me about three days before I got my first success blindfolded, using this same method and memorization system.

Once you start getting successful solves, start timing yourself. You should be able to get a 5 minute memorization and 5 minute solve when you first start out, but it can be shortened quickly. Practice timing memorization-only, and execution-only, and improve it. Once you average maybe 8 minutes, then you can try learning some more advanced methods, like the one I will explain Section 2.

You could average under 2 minutes using this method alone, but there are faster methods available. When you feel comfortable with this method, you may want to try the new method.

PART 2 - M2 FOR EDGES

SECTION 2.1 - M2 BASICS

This method uses the same concept of breaking into new cycles and flipping pieces as Old Pochmann, but instead of using a T, Ja, or Jb permutation, the M2 move is used. We start with DF, our buffer, and ask the same question of where it belongs. We bring the edge that we need to shoot to up to UB, and then do M2, then undo the setup move.

M2 is a method for edges only, and what I am going to teach you is for using M2 for edges, and the old pochmann method from the previous section for corners.

SECTION 2.1 - ALGORITHMS

There are some new algorithms that you need to know, and most are very short.

UF Shooter - U2 M' U2 M'
DB Shooter - M U2 M U2
Edge Flipper - M U M U M U2 M' U M' U M' U2
Parity - U' F2 U M2 U' F2 U

SECTION 2.2 - MEMORIZING THE EDGES

For M2, you can use any memorization system, but make sure that you start with DF instead of UR, which you used for Old Pochmann. Remember to memorize breaking into new cycles. The difference here is that you better count, for example, for each piece, say 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. This comes in handy for recognizing parity and for recognizing when the M-Slice is flipped (explained later).

SECTION 2.3 - EXECUTION OF THE EDGES

Bring up the pieces to UB and swap them with DF. It's quite simple, and here are the setup moves in case you can't figure them out. Remember that M2 is the swapping move:

PIECE SETUP UNDO SETUP
------------------------------------------
UL L U' L' U	U' L U L'
FL U' L' U U' L U
DL U' L2 U U' L2 U
BL U' L U U' L' U

UR R' U R U'	U R' U' R
FR U R U' U R' U'
DR U R2 U' U R2 U'
BR U R' U' U R U'

LU B L' B' B L B'
LF B L2 B' B L2 B'
LD B L B' B L' B'
LB L B L' B'	B L B' L'

RU B' R B B' R' B
RF B' R2 B B' R2 B
RD B' R' B B' R B
RB R' B' R B	B' R' B R

UB none none
BU B' R2 B U R U'	U R' U' B' R2 B

That is for all of the edges except for UF and DB. For those, do this, without M2.

UF and FU U2 M' U2 M'
DB and BD M U2 M U2

There are two problems with this, both easily fixed. First of all, these algorithms for UF and DB only work on ODD NUMBERED pieces. Remember you were supposed to count in the memorization. For even numbered pieces, do the opposite, like shoot to DB instead of UF, and vice versa.

The second problem is that These actually shoot to UF and DB, not FU and BD. If you have to shoot to one of these pieces, you need to flip it at the end, and memorize from UF. This is complicated. I will try to explain it.

If you shoot to UF instead of FU, the piece will be flipped. But you need to still look at where you are shooting. Since you are shooting to UF, you need to look at UF and remember the U sticker, not the F sticker even though you memorized UF. So if FU belongs at LU, you actually remember FU UL instead of FU LU because that's where the U sticker belongs. This is the hardest part of M2.

SECTION 2.3 - PARITY

Parity is a relatively easy thing to take care of in M2/Old Pochmann. Use the parity algorithm right after the edges and then solve the corners. It's quite simple.

SECTION 2.4 - TRY IT

M2 is a method very similar to Old Pochmann edges, and that's why this section of the tutorial is much shorter, I expect that you already know everything about breaking into a new cycle and flipping edges. If you do not, I highly recommend that you reread the Old Pochmann tutorial, and make sure that you understand it.

Once you understand it, give it a shot. It will take some time to get used to, but you can become really fast with this method, and it can be really useful to make use of.

EXTRA INFORMATION 1 - VISUAL MEMORIZATION

Once you feel comfortable memorizing the cube with either the method described in this tutorial, or another method you've learned elsewhere, you may want to consider trying visual memorization.

A warning though, visual memory is not for everyone. Some people just can't understand it, and therefore cannot figure out how to do it. I will do my best to explain one of the easiest forms of visual memorization, line drawing.

Line drawing works like this, you start with the first piece of a cycle, and draw a line in your mind from that piece to the next. You end up visualizing maybe 20 lines going in all different directions. Some people are really good at this, and can do it extremely fast. I am one of these people.

Visual can sometimes be improved if you tap pieces while you imagine the lines. Tapping reinforces what you memorize with the lines, in case you forget a line.

I don't suggest immediately trying visual. Wait until you are comfortable with other methods before trying this. Other methods can be just as fast, if not faster. However, I do suggest giving it a shot when you feel ready. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. I personally gave visual memory a try a day after my first success while using old pochmann, and never stopped since then.

EXTRA INFORMATION 2 - HOW TO PRACTICE

There are many ways to practice, but this is what I do.

First, I start by doing some memorization-only (memorize the whole thing as fast as you can). Then I do some execution-only, (look at the cube, no blindfold, and solve it using your blindfold method).

I also do a best of 3, take three solves, and take the best of them. That's the way it is done in competitions, you are given three solves, and they take the best of them.

Also, I will sometimes do slow solves to improve my accuracy. It is better to be at a good pace and a good accuracy than at a fast pace and worse accuracy.

------------------------------------

OK, so that's it! What do you all think? I hope it's not absolutely horrible, it took me many days to write this.


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## snckdude (Mar 22, 2009)

really easy to understand,it even cleared up some stuff i wasn't to sure about ( and i've been BLD solveing about 2 weeks).


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## byu (Mar 22, 2009)

snckdude said:


> really easy to understand,it even cleared up some stuff i wasn't to sure about ( and i've been BLD solveing about 2 weeks).



What kind of stuff?


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## Bios (Mar 23, 2009)

one example solve would be nice.
I mean full one.
I have some problems with DF or FD how to decide between BR or RB.
And you never memo the last piece of a cycle right?So after the cycle starting a new where you want?
Gonna read it few more times.. ^^


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## rjohnson_8ball (Mar 23, 2009)

I still use 3OP for edges and corners. I haven't tried M2 edges or Classic Pochmann yet, but I might soon -- my concern might be answered in your "breaking into cycles" section.


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## JL58 (Mar 24, 2009)

Great stuff. I'm already done with edges.
Isn't there a problem with your Y-perm? I think the first U should be a U'.

Also, how do memorize the corner orientation? The A to H naming does not seem like rich enough. Did I miss something?


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## byu (Mar 24, 2009)

JL58 said:


> Great stuff. I'm already done with edges.
> Isn't there a problem with your Y-perm? I think the first U should be a U'.
> 
> Also, how do memorize the corner orientation? The A to H naming does not seem like rich enough. Did I miss something?



Thanks for the Y perm thing, I forgot to add the ' symbol.

As for corners, I realize I made a huge mistake in explaining memo. I'm going to update a 1.1 copy and update it immediately, as soon as I can get it done. Thank you for pointing this out.

EDIT: I updated it. Example going to be in v1.2


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## JL58 (Mar 24, 2009)

It works! Thanks. Now I just have to train :b


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## Bios (Mar 24, 2009)

Trained all the time in school and now im able to solve all the edges BUT ^^
with this scramble:F R L' B' D F2 L2 R' F
and this edge memo for it:
BD RB FR LB RD LD DF UF UB and then i had a problem
so i just did L' B of something like that and then the Jb perm and then again the T perm and the edges were solved.There was the problem the edges were at the correct postion but flipped!
Didnt really new how to solve that was that parity?
So that part should be done.
Now I had the problem UBL and UFR had to be changed and UBL has to be flipped how to do that now could someone help me?


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## Lord Voldemort (Mar 24, 2009)

One question.
Do you use the same word to memo in your stories every time?
Like RB is always RollerBlade, or does that change depending on the story?
I have the method down from Macky's tutorial (I think) but I'm having trouble with memorization, most specifically coming up with words that I can easily associate with the position.

@ Bios - what's a T (in your scramble)

One more thing.
What's the advantage of using M2 instead of Old Pochmann for edges?
Most cubers who are attempting BLD already know T, Y, and the J perms, so why learn new algorithms?


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## soccerking813 (Mar 24, 2009)

This tutorial actually makes it seem easy to do. After I get to sub-30 I may learn BLD solving.

And maybe M2 is easier for some people to do.


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## happa95 (Mar 24, 2009)

soccerking813 said:


> This tutorial actually makes it seem easy to do. After I get to sub-30 I may learn BLD solving.
> 
> And maybe M2 is easier for some people to do.



NOOOOOOO! Start NOW! I'm not sub-30, and yet I have been doing BLD for a while. Now, I have sub-2:10 average consistently.


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## MatsBergsten (Mar 24, 2009)

Lord Voldemort said:


> One question.
> What's the advantage of using M2 instead of Old Pochmann for edges?
> Most cubers who are attempting BLD already know T, Y, and the J perms, so why learn new algorithms?


It's faster. And I really think it's simpler too (more intuitive). 
Also easier to go further to 4BLD and 5BLD (with r2 instead of M2).


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## Bios (Mar 24, 2009)

It was R my fault ^^.
Praticing the whole day but have some problemes with flipped edges new cycles and yeah I think thats it.
But well Flipped edges will be ok I already know the M2 edge flip 
so I gonna train it.
I think i might try my first blindfold tomorow not sure.


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## byu (Mar 24, 2009)

Lord Voldemort said:


> One question.
> Do you use the same word to memo in your stories every time?
> Like RB is always RollerBlade, or does that change depending on the story?



Back when I used it, I would make up new ones every time, although repeating ones occurred often for harder letter pairs. I know many people that have a fixed set of words/images for each pair, and that works fine too. Use whatever works best for you.



LordVoldemort said:


> One more thing.
> What's the advantage of using M2 instead of Old Pochmann for edges?
> Most cubers who are attempting BLD already know T, Y, and the J perms, so why learn new algorithms?



Mats already basically summarized this up, but I'll say it in my own way. First of all, you don't really learn any new algorithms for M2 other than the parity one, since the other ones are all setup moves. The only "algorithms" I could see you referring to is the M U2 M U2 and U2 M' U2 M', which are 4 moves long and are really easy to memorize.

But overall, M2 is faster in terms of moves, it's a 1-move swap instead of a 14 move swap (I think) for T-Perm. Only difficulty is keeping track of the M-slice, which is pretty easy.


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## shoot1510 (Mar 25, 2009)

byu said:


> Lord Voldemort said:
> 
> 
> > One question.
> ...



How about the 3-cycle method? I heard that it faster as M2, but as more algorithms to learn. And most of the time while solving BLD using Pochmann, I'm sooooo:confused: confused on memorizing the pieces. RB(red-blue) is different from BR(blue-red), like swap the other way. And I can't tell if it a BR or a RB, like how can you tell?


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## byu (Mar 25, 2009)

shoot1510 said:


> How about the 3-cycle method? I heard that it faster as M2, but as more algorithms to learn.



3OP is fast, and so is M2. Many good bld cubers use 3OP, many good ones use M2. It's preference. I like M2. Maybe you like 3OP. It's whatever you like best. If it works for you, it works.



shoot1510 said:


> And I can't tell if it a BR or a RB, like how can you tell?



If a sticker belongs to BR, and you can't tell if it is BR or RB, then you first look at what color the sticker is. If the sticker is the same color as B then it's BR. If it's the same color as R, it's RB.


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## Gparker (Mar 25, 2009)

happa95 said:


> soccerking813 said:
> 
> 
> > This tutorial actually makes it seem easy to do. After I get to sub-30 I may learn BLD solving.
> ...



your more like sub 1:30


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## Bios (Mar 25, 2009)

So I tried my first blind edge solve
Scramble is: L2 B2 D' L F R' U' L
My memo was:
LD DR UF BR BU FL DB LU DF FR ..
uhm lol... there are 2 edges missing right ?
**** forgot them >.< will try again 
memo is the same but think new cycle?
What would your memo be?Red is front btw. and Yellow Up.


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## JL58 (Mar 25, 2009)

Bios, I think you had your memo wrong. 
Shouldn't it be: LD DR FU RB BU *LF BD* LU *FD* FR
And then it's complete. One cycle, no parity 

Loads of dry fumes rob the buttered loaf. Bad luck, infidel frank!


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## byu (Mar 25, 2009)

Yeah, JL58 has the right memorization. At least you got the pieces right though.


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## Brian (Mar 25, 2009)

I did my first blindsolve yesterday on the plane the video will be on youtube 
soon


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## happa95 (Mar 25, 2009)

Brian said:


> I did my first blindsolve yesterday on the plane the video will be on youtube
> soon



good job! That must be so cool to have your first blindfold solve.... thousands of feet in the air!


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## byu (Mar 25, 2009)

You recorded on the plane?


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## Brian (Mar 26, 2009)

byu said:


> You recorded on the plane?



Yeah, why not? lol


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## byu (Mar 26, 2009)

I don't know, I wouldn't set up a video camera on a plane.


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## JL58 (Mar 29, 2009)

Yeah! I just did my first BLD. Old Poshman - thanks to byu for putting the tutorial together. 

By the way I found the edge memo much simpler and more reliable by associated predefined images to the stickers (DRagon, RoaD, LoaF, BUs, etc.) and building a story from there. I guess that's what is called the journey method. 

Now on to M2!


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## Poke (Mar 29, 2009)

I hope to read this nice I speed up my non-blind times a bit.


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## byu (Mar 29, 2009)

Poke said:


> I hope to read this nice I speed up my non-blind times a bit.



Are you saying that by reading this, you sped up your normal speed times? That shouldn't happen, unless you use Old Pochmann for regular speedsolving. :confused:


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## JLarsen (Mar 30, 2009)

I think he's saying he going to read this now that he feels more competent at a normal speedsolve yes?


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## byu (Mar 31, 2009)

Some of you may have already seen it, but there's a video version of this tutorial now that I made:
http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10874


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## Bios (Mar 31, 2009)

thank you so much ^^.
Didnt train the last few days but today I thought lets try it again the video helped me a lot!
And it worked now I know how to memo correct .


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## byu (Mar 31, 2009)

You're welcome. I'm glad my tutorials could be of help to you.


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## JLarsen (Mar 31, 2009)

Excellent. Your memo system is great and very well explained, and I think I'm finally going to do this. Thank you.

Edit: 
Question: Now you break into a new cycle with corners when you have the buffer piece in the buffer position, but does it have to be oriented correctly there as well? Or do you just not memorize it still. So basically what I'm asking is do you ignore just B? Or F and S as well.


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## byu (Mar 31, 2009)

Sn3kyPandaMan said:


> Excellent. Your memo system is great and very well explained, and I think I'm finally going to do this. Thank you.
> 
> Edit:
> Question: Now you break into a new cycle with corners when you have the buffer piece in the buffer position, but does it have to be oriented correctly there as well? Or do you just not memorize it still. So basically what I'm asking is do you ignore just B? Or F and S as well.



Answering your question - if a cycle ends with F or S, don't remember that. You never remember the piece at UBL. If the piece is in there but incorrectly oriented at the start of the solve, don't worry about memorizing it, it will be done at the end.


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## JLarsen (Mar 31, 2009)

byu said:


> Sn3kyPandaMan said:
> 
> 
> > Excellent. Your memo system is great and very well explained, and I think I'm finally going to do this. Thank you.
> ...


Alright that helps a decent amount....I've been trying to even solve a Sune scramble, as in, apply a sune, and solve with old pochmann, and I can't. So I'm going to try that now that you've told me that again.......I DID IT lol. I didn't get .....end a cycle when a piece you've shot to is repeated. Is that correct at all?


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## byu (Mar 31, 2009)

Assuming your sune is the same as my sune (R U R' U R U2 R' U2), here's what I would memorize.

EDGES:
CA (California)

CORNERS:
ND (North Dakota) RC (Roller Coaster)

So I would say:

EDGES - I live in California.
CORNERS - Go to North Dakota and ride on the Roller Coaster.


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## JLarsen (Apr 1, 2009)

You don't need that last U2 on that alg ya know. Now I'm going to see if I'm doing everything correctly......yes I see everything you did there thank you and I can do that very easily now. The thing that's getting me right now is accounting for all of the pieces I haven't solved yet, because it's hard for me to tell what's left from my memo, as each edge has 2 letters to it, and each corner has 3. What what you suggest i do to make sure I account for every piece? Perhaps I need to recall which letters represent each piece? Or what I've been doing is running through my story and tapping each piece that I have a letter for, and *if I tap a piece twice than I break into a new cycle *???(Repeated piece ends a cycle??)and shoot to a piece I've yet to tap.

Suggestion; For better comprehension maybe an addition to your tutorial could be a full scramble example for people to follow along with, along with the processes going through your mind while doing the memo.


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## JL58 (Apr 1, 2009)

I account for all the pieces like this:
Number of shoots - number of additional cycles + number of correct pieces =
11 for edges, 7 for corners
If I get less than 11 or 7, I know I missed one.


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## JLarsen (Apr 1, 2009)

What exactly do you mean by an additional cycle? I understand like total cycles, but not additional ones.


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## JL58 (Apr 1, 2009)

You have at least one cycle, the one you start with. All others are "additional." (or total number of cycles -1)

So if I count 12 edge shoots, in 3 cycles, that is 12 - (3-1) = 10. I miss 1. Therefore I look for either 
- an edge already in place to complete the count or
- a new cycle of 1 (a flipped edge)

In the first case I have 12 shoots - (3-1) additional cycles + 1 in-place = 11

In the case of a flipped edge I have 14 shoots, 4 cycles (i.e. 3 additional) and no in-place edge: 14 - 3 = 11. I'm done. 

Of course I could count all cycles and reach for counts of 10 and 6 instead of 11 and 7. But I tend to remember the additional ones better: these are the cycles that you have to break by moving your buffer piece into them. Just a personal preference I guess. Hope it helps.


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## JLarsen (Apr 1, 2009)

Very much so thank you.


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## JLarsen (Apr 3, 2009)

I get all the concepts now, just one last thing that's keeping me from success. I can't accurately determine which pieces I've yet to shoot to. Using letter pairs the only way I can think is to run through your memo and take note of every piece that I've shot to so far. Is there any other way or am I going to have to really practice running through my entire memo quickly?


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## JL58 (Apr 3, 2009)

Yes, I had the same problem. This is one of the reasons I switched to visual, rather than letters. I realized that I could account better for the pieces that were already taken care of. The more I do it, the faster it comes to me. I still have more problem with corners than edges, even though there are less of them to account for. Go figure. Maybe I should switch to images for corners too...

This part (letters versus images) has to be different from one person to the next.


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## JLarsen (Apr 4, 2009)

Yeah I can remember which corners I've done far easier than the edges. I find myself wasting lots of time running through my memo and picking out which pieces I've yet to shoot to for edges. Other than that I can do everything super easy and correctly now. So I really want to take down this barricade.


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## byu (Apr 7, 2009)

Anyone have any suggestions for future BLD videos?


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## JLarsen (Apr 7, 2009)

M2? -


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## Gparker (Apr 7, 2009)

Sn3kyPandaMan said:


> M2? -



you dont understand Eric limebacks?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncpkVvIEcKc&feature=channel


oh and byu, an R2 tutorial would be pretty nice


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## Chuberchuckee (Apr 11, 2009)

byu said:


> Anyone have any suggestions for future BLD videos?





byu said:


> [...]I finished making my M2/R2 videos, it will take a while to import them to my computer, compress them, and upload them, but I hope that they will all be up sometime between tomorrow and Saturday.[...]



I think you should get the M2/R2 videos up if you haven't already; I'm sure they'll be very helpful to many people.


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## byu (Apr 11, 2009)

Wow, can't believe I forgot to upload them. I shot them last week. I'll try to upload tomorrow.


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## Rubixcubematt (Apr 11, 2009)

a 4x4 bld solve i think is wat u should upload.


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## byu (Apr 11, 2009)

I'll try to start that today, don't know when it will be uploaded


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## Chuberchuckee (Apr 15, 2009)

How about a 3OP guide/tutorial?


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## byu (Apr 15, 2009)

I never liked 3OP, but I'm sure that some people do. I got sub-3, a while back, with 3OP, I haven't used it in months. But, if you want one, I'll try to make one. I'll have to go back and read up on corner orientation, I may have forgotten that part.


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## Chuberchuckee (Apr 15, 2009)

That was a suggestion, not a request. If you're not too skilled at it, it might not be a good idea trying to teach it.


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## byu (Apr 15, 2009)

Yeah. I'm pretty good at 3OP, not as good as non pre-orienting methods such as Old Pochmann and M2/R2. But even though I haven't used 3OP in a while, I'm going to try right now. If I get a success, then I'll make a tutorial. If I don't, then I wont. If I come close, well, I'll think about that later.

EDIT: Success in 2:42. Not as great as my normal BLD, but not bad for a first 3OP in months.


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## Zeroknight (Oct 9, 2009)

I was looking over this, and while practicing the method (no blindfold), I noticed that you have no setup moves for shooting an edge to LU. I suspect that this is just the flipped edge case, but when I checked it, I'm not sure it was. What am I doing wrong? (I'm not using M2 btw). Also, I understand how that edge method works and I have solved it many times with it(again, no blindfold) thus familiarizing me with that method. Should I move onto M2, even though I've never solved a cube BLD, but I understand the other edge method anyway?

Thanks in advance.


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## xXzaKerXx (Nov 12, 2009)

I have a few questions:

how do know if there is a parity error? do you count the number of times u solve the edges/corners?

will the parity algorithm always be the same in the same location?

how do you memorize the corners? do you label each orientation with some scheme?

can you give me some ideas about letter pairs sounds method for memorizing the edges? (ex.Yellow Green-YG-Ygnite u get the idea)

thanks so much every bit of information given will be appreciated


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## xXzaKerXx (Nov 12, 2009)

can you please be more specific about solving the corner orientation problem in section 1.82? like, the orientation of the ocrner piece and how you must shoot it to in what direction etc thanks


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## kamikazz7 (Feb 21, 2012)

*orientation then permutation*

ive seen on utube another way to solve blindfolded which u orient the corners and then u permute them
then u do the same with edges

where can I find an article expalining this method as you did above

thanks


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## learypost (Jun 20, 2013)

How do you tell the difference between the 3 sets of corner orientations, e.g., UFL, FLU, and LUF?


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## wontolla (Jun 20, 2013)

The first letter represents the sticker. So, UFL is white, FLU is green and LUF is orange.


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## MarcelP (Jun 20, 2013)

I want to learn BLD and I subscripbed to this topic. When I subscribed there where Youtube video's in the first post (if my memory serves well). Where have the video's gone?


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## moralsh (Jun 20, 2013)

MarcelP said:


> I want to learn BLD and I subscripbed to this topic. When I subscribed there where Youtube video's in the first post (if my memory serves well). Where have the video's gone?



Marcel, watch Noahaha and Zane_C M2 + OP videos, and if M2 seems complex try badmephisto's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2UBYhX5uM


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## MarcelP (Jun 20, 2013)

moralsh said:


> Marcel, watch Noahaha and Zane_C M2 + OP videos, and if M2 seems complex try badmephisto's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2UBYhX5uM



Thanks Raoul, I will definatly look into Badmephisto's video. I did not know he had one. He is the best cube tutor in the world


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## JasonK (Jun 20, 2013)

MarcelP said:


> Thanks Raoul, I will definatly look into Badmephisto's video. I did not know he had one. He is the best cube tutor in the world



Just bear in mind that the memo method badmephisto teaches is pretty bad. You'd be much better off with Noah's tutorial for memo at least.


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## GarethBert11 (Mar 11, 2014)

One Question, what is the difference with UR and RU???


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## notfeliks (Mar 11, 2014)

GarethBert11 said:


> One Question, what is the difference with UR and RU???



The letter that comes first is the face that it is on. RU would be the sticker on the right face of that edge piece and UR would be the same edge piece but with the sticker on the U face.

As a warning, you probably should have asked that question in the one answer blind question thread (http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?27353-One-answer-BLD-question-thread-blind). Stefan will eat you otherwise.


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## ChickenWrap (Mar 11, 2014)

GarethBert11 said:


> One Question, what is the difference with UR and RU???



Depending on what method you are using, it means that you are cycling your piece to the same spot, but with a flipped orientation. 

Hold your cube with yellow on top and orange on front. UF is yellow-orange, since the U corresponds to yellow and the F corresponds to orange. Since you have a fixed orientation when BLD solving, this shouldn't be too difficult.

Edit: ninja'd


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## PenguinsDontFly (Dec 26, 2014)

Is the r perm alg for parity Ra or Rb? I'd like to find a better alg.


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## theROUXbiksCube (Dec 26, 2014)

PenguinsDontFly said:


> Is the r perm alg for parity Ra or Rb? I'd like to find a better alg.



@PenguinsDontFly its the Lefty one I believe, Ra I think


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## PenguinsDontFly (Dec 26, 2014)

theROUXbiksCube said:


> @PenguinsDontFly its the Lefty one I believe, Ra I think



Ok ty


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## biscuit (Mar 1, 2015)

Thread has been dormant for a bit so sorry for bumping. How do you know when you are done with memo? I am currently working on edges (will work on corners later) how do you know when you have memoed all the edges? do you just have to keep track if you have done each one? also how do you keep track of cycles? Do you have to remember where the piece that goes in the buffer is in memo? Thanks!


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## DeeDubb (Mar 1, 2015)

biscuit said:


> Thread has been dormant for a bit so sorry for bumping. How do you know when you are done with memo? I am currently working on edges (will work on corners later) how do you know when you have memoed all the edges? do you just have to keep track if you have done each one? also how do you keep track of cycles? Do you have to remember where the piece that goes in the buffer is in memo? Thanks!



You don't need to remember where the cycles end, you just need to make sure to letter them correctly. As for knowing when you're finished, at first it can be quite difficult, but eventually (at least for me) I started figuring out if I had anything left by deduction. For example, I know if I had 10 targets with no cycle break before hitting my buffer, then I had once piece left. If I hit my buffer and it's oriented correctly (I finish on the DF sticker rather than the FD for M2), then the last edge is already finished, and if I hit the sticker oriented incorrectly (FD instead of DF), then I know the last edge needs to be flipped. If I have0 cycle breaks, I should have 11 targets, 1 cycle break, then I should have 12 targets, 2 cycle breaks, I should have 13 targets, etc. I don't really consciously thing that way now, I just get the feeling that something isn't right with my edges and I need to check for a solved or flipped edge.


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## biscuit (Mar 2, 2015)

DeeDubb said:


> You don't need to remember where the cycles end, you just need to make sure to letter them correctly.



I don't quite get what you are saying. What I am asking is how do you know if you have a new cycle break (after the first) with out remembering where your buffer piece is? Is it possible? do I just need to remember? 

Thanks for the advice on knowing if you are done with memo. That makes sense!


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## Rocky0701 (Mar 2, 2015)

biscuit said:


> I don't quite get what you are saying. What I am asking is how do you know if you have a new cycle break (after the first) with out remembering where your buffer piece is? Is it possible? do I just need to remember?
> 
> Thanks for the advice on knowing if you are done with memo. That makes sense!


If you have a second cycle break then whenever you reach the buffer the second time the solve should be done. Also, if your buffer ever comes back flipped then you have another flipped piece too that you need to fix. Like DeeDubb said, after a while you begin to just instinctly know if you are done with your memo and stuff.

It's awesome that you're working on BLD, I wish that it was an event in the comp next month. If I do end up organizing a comp I will definitely have it.


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## biscuit (Mar 2, 2015)

Rocky0701 said:


> If you have a second cycle break then whenever you reach the buffer the second time the solve should be done.



So how do I know if I have reached my buffer again? do I have to remember where the buffer piece is? What if there are more than two cycles?


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## obelisk477 (Mar 2, 2015)

biscuit said:


> So how do I know if I have reached my buffer again? do I have to remember where the buffer piece is? What if there are more than two cycles?


What I do is have a standard order of new cycles to break into. I memo until I reach the buffer the first time. Then I just T perm to break into the cycle that starts at UL, if UL or LU has not already been memoed. Then memo again until you get back to UL or LU. If you get there without having memoed all edges, you need to start another, so you repeat with a different piece. My order is UL, UB, UF, DL, BL, then FL, for no particular reason. I realize that this is more cycles than you would run into in a solve, but if you solve UL UB and UF in the first cycle, you might need the rest


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## biscuit (Mar 2, 2015)

obelisk477 said:


> What I do is have a standard order of new cycles to break into. I memo until I reach the buffer the first time. Then I just T perm to break into the cycle that starts at UL, if UL or LU has not already been memoed. Then memo again until you get back to UL or LU. If you get there without having memoed all edges, you need to start another, so you repeat with a different piece. My order is UL, UB, UF, DL, BL, then FL, for no particular reason. I realize that this is more cycles than you would run into in a solve, but if you solve UL UB and UF in the first cycle, you might need the rest



Thanks! That makes sense. I usually just T-perm if possible to. I'll play around with that.


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## Amin (May 2, 2015)

*Useful File - No Explanation*

Rubik's Cube 3X3X3 Blindfolded.pdf


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## adimare (May 2, 2015)

Just looked at the 3x3 guide, seems like a useful tool for a newcomer to have, only problem is that it doesn't explain what the algs are supposed to do, and the columns aren't labeled. It just says stuff like "A UFL YRB F R' (Y) R F' ", took me a bit to figure out that means A: label of the sticker (why not use Speffz? most people use Speffz), UFL: Up Front Left, YRB: yellow red blue (again, might be better to use white top green front since it's what most people use), F R' (Y) R F': alg that exchanges UBL with UFL, if you just added a small paragraph explaining that's what the alg does, it'd go a long way.


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## h2f (May 2, 2015)

adimare said:


> only problem is that it doesn't explain what the algs are supposed to do, and the columns aren't labeled.


I think this is main problem. Reading this tutorial I still cant figure out how to solve 3x3 blindfolded. That's why I think it is useless for newcomer. 

How to solve edges with this method?


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## adimare (May 2, 2015)

h2f said:


> I think this is main problem. Reading this tutorial I still cant figure out how to solve 3x3 blindfolded. That's why I think it is useless for newcomer.
> 
> How to solve edges with this method?



To be honest I wouldn't recommend Old Pochmann for edges, M2 is faster, more efficient, and (at least for me) easier to execute. The best video series out there that explains how to solve it is Noah's.
Video 1 here.


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## h2f (May 2, 2015)

adimare said:


> To be honest I wouldn't recommend Old Pochmann for edges, M2 is faster, more efficient, and (at least for me) easier to execute. The best video series out there that explains how to solve it is Noah's.
> Video 1 here.



Yeah, I agree. I use M2 for a months. I've learnt from tutorial you've linked. But I know Old Pochmann (I started from it). And I wonder what the algs from right column mean?


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## SiTeMaRo (Mar 26, 2016)

Please, can you solve this problem for me: I'm solving with the red in front and white on top, and when I'm solving the edges, I say for example, the UR piece is solved before other edges. I start solving some edges, and doing that the white and blue piece is solved; in this case how I can solve the other edges because I must switch to an edge that's not solved.For example, I shoot to UL then to BL, and the piece white and blue that was in the BL has returned to UR, in the correct position.Now I can't shoot anywhere that piece because it's in the correct position.

Sorry for my bad english, but please help me with this.


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## SiTeMaRo (Jul 14, 2016)

_"The way we do this, is we choose any random *edge* that is still unsolved. DFL is a good choice in this case. Where does this go?"_
Did you mean: *corner*.
Also thanks for the tutorial. It's really good.


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## Ayman (Jan 21, 2017)

For some weeks, I am trying to learn BLD. I am having problem in Memorization. But specially problem in Corner Solving Setup moves... So does anyone has any advice or links for me. And also can you pls tell me a easy but fast method for BLD, like CFOP in normal solving.. Thats all, and wish me luck so i can learn it....

Best Regards,
Ayman,
The Robocuber
...


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## mark49152 (Jan 21, 2017)

Ayman said:


> I am having problem in Memorization. But specially problem in Corner Solving Setup moves...


If your problem is with setup moves it sounds like it's during execution not memorization. My advice is to learn to do your execution method sighted. Solve the cube one piece at a time using your BLD method and watch how the method works. That way you will see your mistakes too.

A good method to start with is M2/OP. It's a lot more efficient than OP/OP but only a little more difficult.


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## Ayman (Jan 23, 2017)

mark49152 said:


> If your problem is with setup moves it sounds like it's during execution not memorization. My advice is to learn to do your execution method sighted. Solve the cube one piece at a time using your BLD method and watch how the method works. That way you will see your mistakes too.
> 
> A good method to start with is M2/OP. It's a lot more efficient than OP/OP but only a little more difficult.



thanks for the advice. But you see i am having problem with memorization and execution of the corner. Cant i do the corners with anyother method. and which is the fastest method or fast enough for bld...

thanks again, 
Ayman,
RoboCuber
...


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