How to learn F2L (the intuitive method)

Updated October 2026

What F2L is

After the white cross, four slots remain around the bottom layer. Each slot needs one white-layer corner and one middle-layer edge, eight pieces in total. Instead of placing the four corners and then the four edges, F2L places each corner and its edge as a pair. That is why the second layer of a beginner method is not needed.

Before you start

• Solve the white cross on the bottom, with each cross edge matching its centre.
• Hold the cube with white on the bottom and green at the front. The diagrams use that orientation. Red is on the right.
• If your cube uses another colour scheme, swap the colours. The shapes stay the same.

Notation in 30 seconds

Each letter is a face of the cube. A letter on its own turns that face a quarter turn clockwise as you look at it; ' (prime) means anticlockwise; 2 means a half turn.

Lowercase r and f are wide moves: they turn the outer face and the middle slice next to it together, in the same direction as R or F. M turns the middle slice between left and right, in the same direction as L. x and y turn the whole cube like R and U.

Step 1: find a pair

Pick a white corner. Its two other colours tell you where it goes. For example, the white-green-red corner belongs in the slot between the green centre and the red centre, which is the front-right slot. Its partner is the edge with the same two colours, green and red.

All the diagrams below show that slot. The dashed outline marks the slot, which is empty because the pair is still in the top layer.

Step 2: the two joined cases

A joined pair is a corner and edge that sit side by side and show the same colour on one side. It moves as a single block, so these inserts take only four moves.

Step 3: when the pieces are apart

When the corner and edge are not touching, the shortest sequences using only R, U and F turns take seven moves. These six cases cover the situations where both pieces are in the top layer with the corner above the slot.

Experienced cubers use other sequences too, and learn to join the pieces first. These always work for the case shown.

What these sequences do to the rest of the cube

Each sequence leaves your cross and the other three slots exactly as they were. Only the top layer and the front-right slot change. We checked this by running every sequence on a simulated cube.

Solving the other three slots

Turn the whole cube with a y rotation (like a U turn of the entire cube) so the slot you want sits at the front-right, then use the same cases. The colours change; the shapes do not.

If a piece is stuck in the slot

Lift it into the top layer first. Doing R U R' on the front-right slot moves its corner and edge out into the top layer. Then use the cases above.

Step 4: practise

1. Untimed pairing (10 minutes). Solve the cross, then work on one pair only. Take as long as you need and ask: which corner, which edge, where do they go?
2. Slow solves. Turn at roughly 60–70% of your normal speed and look for the next pair while you insert the current one. This is how you build lookahead.
3. Review your pauses. After a slow solve, note where you stopped to search. Drill that situation.
4. Use a trainer. The AnyCube F2L trainer lets you repeat one case until it is automatic.

Common mistakes

• Searching only after finishing a pair. This creates a pause between every pair. Start looking for the next pair before the current insert ends.
• Breaking pairs you already solved. Check which slots are done before you turn a side face.
• Rotating the cube too often. Learn to insert the pair where it is.
• Memorising everything at once. Learn a few cases, practise them, then add more.

What to learn next

Once F2L feels natural, move on to the 2-look OLL and PLL guide. For the full picture of how many algorithms each stage needs, see how many algorithms you need for CFOP.

Related guides

• How many algorithms do you need for CFOP?
• 2-look OLL and PLL: all 16 algorithms with diagrams
• CFOP vs Roux: which is faster and easier to learn?
• Best cubing timers and apps (2026)

Frequently asked questions