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Advanced Method
This is the full CFOP (or Fridrich) method. 'CFOP' refers to the steps involved - Cross, F2L, OLL and PLL. This
involves remembering a lot of algorithms to cope with dierent situations, so you can use some 2-look OLL
and PLL to reduce the amount of algorithms you need to know.
This page is quite heavy on the old word count. This is because the dierent sections need a bit of
explaining (I'm looking at you, F2L) because they're so dierent from the beginner method. If you are happy
just being able to solve the cube, I'd stick to ol' reliable, the beginner method. But if you want to start
properly speedcubing and pushing down your solve time, you're going to need the methods outlined here.
I'm sure if you're actually interested in speedcubing and the fame, money, and glory it will certainly bring
you, you won't mind reading a few paragraphs.

Step 1 - The Cross

This step is the same as all the other methods - forming a cross on the rst layer to get this:

The more astute among you will notice something dierent about this picture. It is upside down because
there is one key dierence - the rst cross is done on the bottom layer. This means that you can't always
see what is happening with the cross, which sounds like a good way to just make solving the cube more
dicult. The reason for doing the cross on the bottom layer is that you then don't have to turn the cube
over when starting the second layer. This saves time not only by not physically moving the cube, but while
you are completing the cross you can be looking ahead for your rst move of F2L.
At this stage, a lot of people still nd it quite dicult to intuitively manipulate the cube. This means that
doing the cross on the bottom is dicult, as they have come to rely on algorithms for moving pieces that
suddenly don't work because everything is upside-down. It is dicult to teach intuition, but through practice
it will eventually just click. Don't be disheartened if doing the cube on the bottom takes many times longer
than doing it on the top - if you're doing it at all, you're improving. Also, don't be afraid to be move on in the
advanced method while not being able to do the cross on the bottom. I have found that F2L (the next
section) hugely helps people to understand how to move cubies to where they want them, a skill that they
can later use for the cross. You may never even go back to the cross, and continue doing it on the top. This
is ne for most people, but if you really want to be pushing your time down to less than 20 seconds, you will
need to learn at some point.

All of that being said, I will give you some situations to look out for whilst doing the cross on the bottom.
Some of them may seem obvious, but they are here for people who need them.

F2

U' R' F R

F R2 D2

The rst two cases here are quite similar to those given in the beginner method for the rst cross on the top
layer. They are quite simple, and you should be able to deal with them with relative ease. The third case is a
little more complicated. You should, by now, be able to immediately recall that green is opposite blue and
orange is opposite red. So instead of putting the white-orange edge piece where it needs to go and then the
white-green edge piece, they can both be put in the opposite locations, i.e. the white-orange piece in the
white-red location and the white-green piece in the white-blue location. After a simple D2, they are both in
the correct place.
If you can comfortably form the cross on the bottom layer, your work is still not over. Now you need to start
practising doing it eciently. This means looking ahead, i.e. thinking about what you are going to do next
when you've completed whatever it is you are doing. Again, this is not something that is easily taught dierent people will solve the same cube in dierent ways, and will likely disagree on the best or most
ecient way of doing something. However, a good method for practising this is solving the cube very, very,
slowly but without stopping. The biggest problem with eciently solving the cube is not performing
algorithms quickly, but deciding which algorithm to perform. By solving slowly but smoothly, you'll be
practising this ability and you will get quicker and more condent with the cube until you too have your own
version of the best way.

Step 2 - F2L
This step involves solving the rst layer corners and second layer at the same time, to get this:

The basic idea behind F2L is to pair a corner piece with its edge piece and then put them both where they
need to go. We can see in this basic example that a simple R would pair up the white-red-blue corner with
the blue-red edge piece. A further U aligns the two pieces to the red-white edge piece on the red face, and a
R' puts the two pieces where they need to be.

R'

There are a few dierent situations. In this example, the corner cubie has the white face pointing upwards.
We'll solve this in two parts - pairing the edge and corner pieces, and then putting them in the right place
together.

R U2 R'

U R U' R'

Another important part of F2L is solving the situation without aecting any of the other F2L cases you may
have already solved. For example, in this situation:

F U2 F'

Doing F U2 F' does successfully pair the red-blue corner and edge pieces, but it also lifts out the blue-orange
pair that had already been solved and ruins it. Instead, we should do this:

U' R U2 R'

A simple U' at the start means that the pieces from the rst and second layers that are lifted out are where
we want the blue-red pieces to go. The lifted pieces are ones we don't care about, as they weren't supposed
to be there anyway. This process of using the destination of the pieces we want to solve in order to
manipulate those pieces is crucial in learning F2L.
Before you dive in to F2L and start trying to gure it all out, there are a few more things you should try to
bear in mind.The rst of which is that cube turns are bad. They are slow to do, as you have to shift the cube
from one hand to the other. While this might seems trivial, you're probably reading this page because you
want to get better and faster at cubing, and a few seconds can be very important. Nearly every one of the
algorithms for F2L below can be performed without shifting the cube, as most only use two faces that one
hand can easily do. To this end, some of the algorithms use d instead of U y', as the y' means turning the
cube. I'm sure you remember that d is a double layer D, i.e. turning D and the middle layer at the same time,
because you read the notation page (notation).
Try to also remember that you (probably) have two hands. While also an excellent life tip, some situations
are just better handled on a specic side of the cube. Take this example:

You might do something like y' U R U' R' U y' R' U' R, as your natural instinct will likely be to use your right
hand. Instead, L' U L U L' U' L works a lot better, as you avoid the slow cube rotations.
One last thing - slow and steady will make you win this race. In much the same way as the previous section
with the cross, practising F2L in a slow but continuous way will allow you to practice your lookahead skills,
allowing you to constantly be looking for the next move while you are in the middle of performing another.
Ok, so on to actually learning the F2L. When doing this, it is really useful to have a table of algorithms so you
know the best way of handling each situation you come across. Some of them, such as the rst two
examples, are relatively trivial and you may be able to easily see the best, simplest way of solving that
particular situation. While this intuitive thinking will take you far in F2L, there are a few cases where a simple
algorithm is far less obvious but a much quicker way of doing it. For example, this situation:

An intuitive way of thinking about it might produce an algorithm like (R U2 R') (F' U2 F) (U' R U R'). If you
remember, the brackets in the algorithm only serve to split up the algorithm, usually into parts that are easy
to perform. Here, the algorithm has split into three parts: taking the two pieces into the top layer,
separating them, and lastly rejoining them and putting them where they need to be. Indeed, an intuitive
approach. However, the algorithm (R U R' U') (R U R' U') (R U R') is much faster to perform, as it is essentially
the same move performed three times.
Here are the cases that you should watch out for, as the listed algorithm is not an intuitive one:

Here are all of the F2L cases. They are here so you can see optimal ways for each situation, so don't rely on
them for every single F2L case you encounter - try and do each case intuitively. I'm going to say it one more
time. Intuition good. Memorising bad.

Type 1: Basic cases

These are the four most basic cases, some of which you might remember as an upside-down version of step
2 of the beginner method. A lot of the F2L cases revolve around getting to one of these four cases and then
solving them normally.

R U R'

F' U' F

U R U' R'

U' F' U F

Type 2: Corner pointing outwards and edge in top layer

From here, the algorithms are bracketed to show the two parts of the algorithm: putting the two pieces
where they can be easily solved (usually a basic case), and then solving them.

(U' R U' R' U) (R U R')

(U F' U F U') (F' U' F)

(U' R U R' U) (R U R')

(U F' U' F U') (F' U' F)

(U F' U2 F U') (R U R')

(U' R U2 R' U) (F' U' F)

(R U' R' U) (d R' U' R)

(F' U F U') (d' F U F')

(U F' U2 F) (U F' U2 F)

(U' R U2 R') (U' R U2 R')

(U F' U' F) (U F' U2 F)

(U' R U R') (U' R U2 R')

Type 3: Corner pointing upwards and edge in top layer

(R U2 R') (U' R U R')

(F' U2 F) (U F' U' F)

(U R U2 R') (U R U' R')

(U' F' U2 F) (U' F' U F)

(U2 R U R') (U R U' R')

(U2 F' U' F) (U' F' U F)

(R U R' U') U' (R U R' U') (R U R')

y' (R' U' R U) U (R' U' R U) (R' U' R)

In these last two, the two adjacent Us in the middle could be a U2, but it's split to show that the rst and second
bracketed bits are the same. Sometimes it's easier to perform two Us than a U2!

Type 4: Corner in bottom and edge in top

You might remember the rst two algorithms here from step 3 of the beginner method!

(U R U' R') (U' F' U F)

(U' F' U F) (U R' U' R)

(F' U F) (U' F' U F)

(R U' R') (U R U' R')

(R U R') (U' R U R')

(F' U' F) (U F' U' F)

Type 5: Corner in top, edge in middle

(U F' U F) (U F' U2 F)

(U' R U' R') (U' R U2 R')

(U F' U' F) (d' F U F')

(U' R U R') (d R' U' R)

(R U' R') (d R' U R)

(R U R' U') (R U R' U') (R U R')

Type 6: Corner in bottom, edge in middle

(R U' R' U R U2 R') (U R U' R')

(R U' R' U' R U R') (U' R U2 R')

(R U R' U' R U' R') (U d R' U' R)

(R U' R' d R' U' R) (U' R' U' R)

(R U' R' d R' U2 R) (U R' U2 R)

Step 3 - OLL
This step involves orienting all of the last layer cubies so the yellow face is complete, like this:

Crosses
R' U2 R U R' U R

L' U R U' L U R'

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

R U R' U R U' R' U R U2 R'

R' F' L F R F' L' F

R' F' L' F R F' L F

R2 D R' U2 R D' R' U2 R'

Dots
R U B' l U l2' x' U' R' F R F'

R' F R F' U2 R' F R y' R2 U2 R

y L' R2 B R' B L U2' L' B M'

R' U2 x R' U R U' y R' U' R' U R' F

R' U2 F R U R' U' y' R2 U2 x' R U

F (R U R' U) y' R' U2 (R' F R F')

R U R' U R' F R F' U2 R' F R F'

M' U2 M U2 M' U M U2 M' U2 M

All Corners
L' R U R' U' L R' F R F'

M' U' M U2' M' U' M

Lines
R U' y R2 D R' U2 R D' R2 d R'

R' U' y L' U L' y' L F L' F R

F U R U' R' U R U' R' F'

L' B' L U' R' U R U' R' U R L' B L

Big Ls
R' F R U R' F' R y L U' L'

L F' L' U' L F L' y' R' U R

R B R' L U L' U' R B' R'

L' B' L R' U' R U L' B L

Ts
F R U R' U' F'

R U R' U' R' F R F'

Zs
R' F R U R' U' y L' d R

L F' L' U' L U y' R d' L'

Cs

R U x' R U' R' U x U' R'

R U R' U' x D' R' U R E'

Little Ls
F R U R' U' R U R' U' F'

F' L' U' L U L' U' L U F

L U' y' R' U2' R' U R U' R U2 R d' L'

R' F R' F' R2 U2 x' U' R U R'

R' F R F' U2 R2 y R' F' R F'

L F' L' F U2 L2 y' L F L' F

L F R' F R F2 L'

L' B' L U' R' U R L' B L

U2 r R2' U' R U' R' U2 R U' M

U2 l' L2 U L' U L U2 L' U M

x' U' R U' R2' F x R U R' U' R B2

R' U' R y' x' R U' R' F R U R'

R U R' y R' F R U' R' F' R

R2' U R' B R U' R2' U l U l'

U' R U2' R' U' R U' R2 y' R' U' R U B

U' R' U2 R U R' U R2 y R U R' U' F'

R' U2 l R U' R' U l' U2 R

F R' F' R U R U' R'

r' U2 (R U R' U) r

r U2 R' U' R U' r'

Ps
L d R' d' L' U L F L'

R' d' L d R U' R' F' R

F U R U' R' F'

F' U' L' U L F

Ws
L U L' U L U' L' U' y2' R' F R F'

R' U' R U' R' U R U y F R' F' R

Step 4 - PLL
This step involves permuting all of the last layer cubies so the cube is complete, which you probably know
looks like this:

Here are all of the PLL case algorithms, again in what I think is a logical order:

x R2 D2 R U R' D2 R U' R

x z' R2 U2 R' D' R U2 R' D R'

M2 U M2 U2 M2 U M2

R' U' R2 U R U R' U' R U R U' R U' R' U2

R' U R' U' R' U' R' U R U R2

R2 U' R' U' R U R U R U' R

R' F' L' F R F' L F R' F' L F R F' L' F

U' R' U R U' R2 F' U' F U R F R' F' R2

R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'

R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U'

L' U' L F L' U' L U L F' L2 U L U

R' U2 R U2 R' F R U R' U' R' F' R2 U'

L U2 L' U2 L F' L' U' L U L F L2 U

R' U R' U' B' D B' D' B2 R' B' R B R

F R U' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R F'

R' U R U' R' F' U' F R U R' F R' F' R U' R

R U' R' U l U F U' R' F' R U' R U l' U R'

y R2' u R' U R' U' R u' R2 y' R' U R

R' U' R y R2 u R' U R U' R u' R2

y R2' u' R U' R U R' u R2 y R U' R'

y2 R U R' y' R2 u' R U' R' U R' u R2