Five seconds is a fascinating number when it comes to Pyraminx. Like getting sub-15 on 3x3 cube, breaking the five-second barrier for Pyraminx is when solvers often experience a sharp increase in difficulty. The reason behind this is, like essential milestones for other puzzles, getting under five seconds requires a reasonable degree of proficiency in many areas of solving, not just a few. For Pyraminx, these areas are the use of inspection, look-ahead, finger tricks, and efficiency.
The importance of inspection for this event cannot be overstated, especially when you solve time reach the five-second range. As Pyraminx is a very short event, inspection time can be used to plan a large portion of your solution, especially given the simplicity of the puzzle. To improve how effectively you use your inspection time, I suggest using unlimited inspection time to plan the first step of your solution and gradually decreasing this time until it goes under 15 seconds.
Look-ahead is a factor of solving pyraminx which is very interconnected with inspection, as they both involve wasting as little time as possible in not turning during an attempt. Doing untimed, slow turning solves are very helpful for developing this skill, as they allow you to track pieces you would not be able to track when turning faster. From there, gradually increasing your turning speed and timing the solves will enable you to refine this skill, further decreasing the pauses in your attempts.
Due to its unique shape, Pyraminx is an event where finger tricks can make or break the solve. When it comes to Pyraminx finger tricks, the key is to have the least number of regrips and unnecessary finger movements as possible. Wherever your finger is after the last turn, do the next turn with that grip to ensure fluid movement of the Pyraminx cube. These finger tricks include flicks with the front and back of the pointer finger on both hands and turns with three fingers using the entire wrist to have various turns that can be used for different situations.
The final aspect of Pyraminx solving that can be improved to get sub-5 is efficiency. Regardless of what method you use, being efficient is extremely important to ensure fast solves. Seemingly small mistakes such as extra U moves and inadequate tip solutions can accumulate to many seconds added to the time, which are detrimental in a quick event like Pyraminx. I would recommend avoiding moves to look for pieces and doing tips in a configuration that leaves only one tip at the end of a solve. While not completely necessary, I would also recommend learning the advanced version of whatever method you are using, whether V first or top first. As a V first solver, I would wholeheartedly recommend learning L4E, a method that allows you to use one algorithm after solving the V on the bottom layer to finish solving the puzzle. It is possible to be sub-5 with the beginners V first method. While seemingly simple, the Pyraminx has a series of tiny intricacies that can stack on top of each other to significantly increase a person’s solve times. With these tips, I am confident that, with a lot of practice and commitment, any cuber can become sub-5 on Pyraminx!
3 comments
skj
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skuh
why. i have sub 1 average with lbl method
Arsalur Rehman Saadi
That was interesting
Thanks
now I hope I can also be sub 5 on a pyraminx