Lesson 5 of 6 · Toward 15 seconds
Finishing F2L while orienting the corners
With the Winter Variation, insert the last pair and orient the top corners in a single algorithm.
Keyboard: Enter to continue, ← to go back. Keep your hands on the cube.
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When the last pair is ready to go in with R U R’ and the yellow cross is already done, you can do better: insert the pair and orient the top corners at the same time.
The top is then all yellow: you skip OLL and go straight to PLL. That’s the Winter Variation (WV), 27 cases.
Start with the 3 most common cases, below. The others will come once these are automatic.
Remember: Don’t try to recognize WV every time: only when the yellow cross is done before the last pair.
The cases
- WV 1: R U R'. Inserts the last pair (ready for R U R’) while orienting the top corners.
- WV 2: R U' R' U' R U' R'. Inserts the last pair (ready for R U R’) while orienting the top corners.
- WV 3: R U2 R' U R U2 R'. Inserts the last pair (ready for R U R’) while orienting the top corners.
Troubleshooting
- I don’t see the case in time
- Look at the top corners before inserting the pair, not after.
- The pair breaks
- WV only works if the pair is ready, above its slot, just like for R U R’.