Getting Faster At Blindfolded

Full Advanced Blindfolded Playlist

Advanced 3x3 Blindfolded techniques range from a simple, yet significant method change (M2 Method), to a fully intuitive method requiring your full dedication (3-Style method).

However, like with any puzzle, your results will largely depend on your fundamentals. This means being familiar with the lettering scheme, finding pieces and imagining images quickly, and thinking ahead to your next step while solving to avoid pauses, which mostly comes from experience.

M2 Method (edges)

The M2 Method for edges is similar to the beginner (Old Pochmann) method. You solve 1 piece at a time using a setup moves and a swapping algorithm. But in this case the swapping algorithm is just 1 move (M2).

The buffer is at DF, the target is at UB, and the parity algorithm is different.

M2 is conceptually the same as Old Pochmann, but 4 of the letters are special cases, which must be solved differently at times.

Many intermediate solvers use M2 for edges and Old Pochmann for corners.

General 3x3 Blindfolded Solving Tips

This video includes tips such as how to memorize faster, coming up with images for letter pairs, solving flipped pieces faster, and more!

With these tips and lots of practice, it is very reasonable to average under 2 minutes, and it is possible to average under 1 minute.

Commutators

A commutator is an intuitve way to cycle 3 corners or 3 edges, and is useful for the 3-Style method, as well as intermediate 3-Style methods.

Note: Commutators are useful as a skill on their own (outside the context of blindsolving), so it can be fun to learn. But within blindsolving, commutators are not necessary unless you are very serious about improving, and plan to learn 3-Style.

3-Style Method

3-Style uses intuitive commutators to cycle 3 pieces at once. One of these pieces is always the buffer, so you can solve 2 letters with each algorithm.

This is the method that the fastest blindfolded solvers in the world use. Currently, the fastest solvers average under 20 seconds!

Next Steps

I personally don't use 3-Style (but I do know how the method works). Anything after 3-Style is beyond my expertise, but there are other advanced techniques to learn. For example:

I don't know the details of these, but they're worth searching for on your own. If you're interested, you can also learn how to solve a 4x4 blindfolded!