Moving on to CFOP — why, and in which order

CFOP is the method used by almost every competitor. Its name comes from its four steps: Cross, F2L, OLL, PLL.

What actually changes

Your beginner method has seven steps. CFOP has four:

Beginner method	CFOP	Gain
1 · white cross	Cross — the same thing, done better	moves
2 · white corners 3 · second layer	F2L — both at once	huge
4 · yellow cross 5 · placing the edges	OLL — orient the whole face	algorithms
6 · placing the corners 7 · orienting the corners	PLL — permute everything	algorithms

The one change that really matters

F2L merges steps 2 and 3: instead of placing a corner and then an edge separately, you join them into a pair and insert them together.

That is what halves your time — and it requires no algorithm to be learned by heart. If you do only one thing from this section, do that one.

The order to learn things in

Many people fail by attacking the 57 OLL first. That is the worst route: a lot of effort for very few seconds. Here is the profitable order.

• Step 1 — intuitive F2L

  Understanding F2L. No algorithms. This is the bulk of the gain, and it can take a few weeks to become natural. Do not skip it.

• Step 2 — the last layer in 4 looks

  The 4LLL: 16 algorithms instead of 78, for a complete last layer. It is the bridge nearly everybody crosses.

• Step 3 — full PLL

  The 21 PLL. PLL comes before OLL: fewer cases, more seconds saved per algorithm learned.

• Step 4 — full OLL

  The 57 OLL. To be learned in small batches, over months. It is the last thing to do, not the first.

What to expect

Level	Average time	What you have mastered
Beginner method	2 to 3 min	the 7 steps
Fluent beginner	1 min 30	same steps, without thinking
Intuitive F2L	45 to 60 s	Cross + F2L + 4LLL
Full CFOP	20 to 30 s	78 algorithms, lookahead

The plateau everybody hits

Between 45 and 30 seconds, algorithms are no longer the limit — lookahead is: looking at the next piece while your fingers execute the previous one. See Getting faster.