1. Keep your cross; align the side colors
Make a white cross with all four side stickers matching their centers. Then hold white down. Keep this cross intact after each complete F2L insertion. You do not need a faster cross technique before learning the next steps.
Need help with the cross? →2. Pair a corner with its middle edge
Find a white corner and the edge with the same two side colors; the edge must not contain yellow. Their destination is between those two side centers. Turn the whole cube between pairs to put that slot at front-right. During a formula keep that front fixed.
- Bring the pieces to the top. If one is trapped in an unfinished front-right slot, R U R′ takes pieces out; check that you chose an unfinished slot first.
- Use U turns to separate the two pieces if they are joined incorrectly. Move the corner away, open its empty slot, bring the matching edge beside it, then close the slot. Watch the pairing example below rather than guessing a formula from the white sticker alone.
- Once the two pieces form a matching pair, move it above the destination and compare with one of the two insertion diagrams. Insert the pair and check the cross and the pairs you already finished. Repeat for all four slots.
Not every starting pair matches these three examples. If you cannot pair it yet, finish that corner and its edge using the beginner first-layer and middle-layer steps, then resume here. That slower fallback still takes you to the same two completed layers. Corner and middle-edge fallback →
R U R′
A connected pair goes into the front-right slot from this starting position. Compare both side colors, not only white.
R U R'Insert the white corner and its matching edge into the front-right slot. Keep the cross and the other three finished pairs.
F′ U′ F
The same front-right destination, approached from the front. Match this mirrored starting pair.
F' U' FInsert the white corner and its matching edge into the front-right slot. Keep the cross and the other three finished pairs.
F2L · pair + insert
The corner and edge start separated. Pause after the fourth move to see the pair, then follow it into the slot.
U' R U R' U2 R U' R'Insert the white corner and its matching edge into the front-right slot. Keep the cross and the other three finished pairs.
3. Two-look OLL: edges first, corners second
First make a yellow cross using the line, L or dot case. Ignore yellow corners at this point. If the cross is already there, skip this first look. Then match one of the seven corner patterns below, including the yellow stickers on the sides. A solid yellow face means you can go straight to PLL.
Which pattern is on your top face?
Look straight down at yellow. Count only the four edges beside the center. Gray squares can be any color.
Hold the yellow edges left to right, like a horizontal line. Do the six moves once. All four top edges will face yellow up.
F R U R' U' F'In plain words
FFront layer · clockwise 90°RRight layer · clockwise 90°UTop layer · clockwise 90°R′Right layer · counterclockwise 90°U′Top layer · counterclockwise 90°F′Front layer · counterclockwise 90°
Directions are always as seen looking straight at the named face.
Already complete: both lower layers. They stay colored and are restored after each full formula; the top corners can wait.
F R U R' U' F'Check after the whole formula：The yellow cross is ready. Side alignment and corners are still unfinished.
Already have four yellow edges? Second look: match the yellow corners
One or three yellow edges, with the first two layers complete, is a reason to check for a flipped edge or an input error.
A line: Hold the yellow edges left to right, like a horizontal line. Do the six moves once. All four top edges will face yellow up.
An L shape: Put the two yellow edges at the back and left of the top face. Do the formula once to make a horizontal line, then once more for the cross. Keep the same front.
Just the center: None of the four top edges is yellow. Yellow corners do not count. Do the formula once. Turn only the top layer halfway (U2) to put the new L at back-left. Do the formula twice more.
Second look: match the yellow corners
Finish the first two layers before these formulas. Hold white down, yellow up and the same front throughout a sequence. In our examples green faces you and orange is on the right. R still means right, not red. Turn U to align a case before starting; do not rotate the whole cube halfway through.
Read the top-view diagram like a map: F is the edge closest to you, B is the far edge. The narrow strips show the stickers on the sides of the top layer. Match the yellow pattern for OLL; for PLL, match which stickers have the same color and where they belong. Colors may be different on your cube.
Rw means the two right layers together (also written r). R turns only the outside layer. Keep the front fixed. The T and L cases below use Rw; the animation highlights both layers.
Sune
One yellow corner faces up at front-left. Match the yellow side stickers too; the mirror case uses Anti-Sune.
R U R' U R U2 R'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
Anti-Sune
One yellow corner faces up at back-right. Check the side stickers to distinguish it from Sune.
R U2 R' U' R U' R'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
H · OLL
H: no yellow corner points up. Check the yellow side stickers as well as the top.
R U R' U R U' R' U R U2 R'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
Pi · OLL
Pi: no yellow corner points up, but the side pattern differs from H. Turn U to match the diagram.
R U2 R2 U' R2 U' R2 U2 RMake the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
U · OLL
U: two adjacent yellow corners point up. The other two yellow stickers face the same side.
R2 D R' U2 R D' R' U2 R'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
T · OLL
T: two adjacent yellow corners point up; their side pattern differs from U. Use two layers for Rw.
Rw U R' U' Rw' F R F'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
L · OLL
L: two diagonal yellow corners point up. Match the side stickers before starting.
F R' F' Rw U R U' Rw'Make the yellow face. Keep the completed lower two layers.
4. Two-look PLL: corners first, edges second
Yellow must already fill the top. First look at the two corner stickers on each side. A matching pair of side stickers is called headlights. With exactly one pair, put it on the left and use T perm; with no pairs, use Y perm. Four pairs mean this step is done. Turn U to align the corners with the side centers before looking at the edges.
T perm
The two corners on the right need swapping. The diagram also shows the paired edge swap. Use only this pattern after the top face is oriented.
R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'Put the last-layer corners in place. Edges can still need another formula.
Y perm
No headlights: swap the diagonal corners with Y perm. Ignore the edges for now. Then turn U to align the corners.
F R U' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R F'Put the last-layer corners in place. Edges can still need another formula.
Second look: match the edge cycle
All four corners must now be in their correct slots. One correct edge: rotate the whole cube to put it at the back, then compare Ua with Ub. Do this between formulas, keeping yellow up; turning U alone would undo the corner alignment. No correct edges: H swaps opposite edges; Z swaps neighboring pairs. Four correct edges: you are done. The H and Z options here use outer turns; Z repeats the familiar Ua sequence and is longer than a speedcubing slice-turn version.
Ua perm
Corners are already correct. Keep the complete top row at the back. This formula sends the front edge to the right, right to left, and left to front.
R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2Put the top edges in place. Keep all corners and the lower layers.
Ub perm
Corners are already correct; the complete top row stays at the back. The edge cycle is the reverse of Ua: front to left, left to right, right to front.
R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R'Put the top edges in place. Keep all corners and the lower layers.
H perm
Opposite edges trade places: front with back, left with right. Corners stay put.
R2 U2 R U2 R2 U2 R2 U2 R U2 R2Put the top edges in place. Keep all corners and the lower layers.
Z perm
Neighboring pairs trade places: front with right, back with left. Corners stay put.
R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2 U' R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2 UPut the top edges in place. Keep all corners and the lower layers.
Finish by checking all six faces
After PLL, turn only U if the entire top layer needs alignment. Each face should be one color. If the lower layers changed, stop: compare the original case and replay the full formula slowly. Do not add random turns to repair it.
Practise one case at a time
Use the setup in each 3D practice panel on a solved cube, perform the algorithm, then check its stated result. Learn recognition before speed. A gray sticker can be any color; finished lower layers stay visible. Reset view changes the camera, not the cube.
If your case does not match, return to the corresponding beginner step or enter your current colors in the solver.