2-Look PLL: 6 Beginner PLL Algorithms with Pictures

What is PLL?

PLL stands for Permutation of the Last Layer. It is the last step of CFOP, right after OLL. When you start PLL, the whole top face is already yellow. All that is left is to move the top layer pieces around so the colours on the side faces match the centres.

According to the SpeedSolving Wiki, full PLL has 21 cases, and the step was proposed by Hans Dockhorn, Anneke Treep and Jessica Fridrich (SpeedSolving Wiki). Ruwix also suggests that if 21 algorithms feels like too many, you can use 2-look PLL: only 6 algorithms, but a little slower (Ruwix).

What is in 2-look PLL?

The SpeedSolving Wiki splits 2-look PLL into two steps (SpeedSolving Wiki):

• Step 1, swap corners: 2 cases. Two corners next to each other need to swap (there are headlights), or two corners diagonal from each other need to swap (no headlights).
• Step 2, swap edges: 4 cases: Ua, Ub, H and Z.

J Perm counts them the same way: 2 corner algorithms, fairly long but similar to each other, and 4 edge algorithms, short and easy to remember from the picture (J Perm).

If you have already followed how to solve the last layer of the Rubik's Cube, you already know one of them: the algorithm that puts the yellow edges in place, R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2, is Ua.

How to hold the cube and read the pictures

• Yellow face on top, with OLL done (the whole top face is yellow).
• Green face at the front. In the pictures, the right face is orange, the left face (hidden) is red and the back face (hidden) is blue.
• Each picture has two cubes. The cube on the left is the case you have, and the cube on the right is what you get after the algorithm. Only the pieces you need to look at are coloured; the rest are grey.
• The pictures only show the front and right faces. The colours on the left and back faces are given in the text.

If the notation is new to you, see Rubik's Cube notation for beginners. The two edge algorithms H and Z use the move M: turn the middle slice (between L and R) the same way as L. In the picture labels, M is written as 2L, meaning "the second layer from the left face", which is the middle slice.

What are headlights?

The most important word in PLL is headlights: on one side face, the two corner stickers are the same colour. They look like the two headlights of a car seen from the front.

Headlights tell you those two corners are already in the right place compared with each other. Go around the top layer and count how many faces have headlights:

• One face has headlights: two corners next to each other need to swap. Use the T-perm.
• No face has headlights: two diagonal corners need to swap. Use the Y-perm.
• All four faces have headlights: the corners are done, so go to step 2.

Step 1: swap the corners

In this step you only look at the four corners. If the edges are out of place, ignore them; step 2 will take care of them.

Headlights: T-perm

Turn U so the headlights are on the left face, then do:

R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'

In the picture, the headlights are on the front face: two red stickers on the two corners of the top row. Turn U once to bring them to the left, then do the T-perm.

The T-perm starts with R U R' U', the four-move sequence you have already used many times. Read the rest in chunks: R' F, R2 U' R', U', R U R' F'. Ruwix splits the algorithm into exactly these groups (Ruwix).

If the headlights are on another face and you still do the T-perm, the corners will not end up in place. Always move the headlights to the left first.

No headlights: Y-perm

No need to turn U; you can hold the cube any way. Do:

F R U' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R F'

In the picture: the front face has a green corner and a blue corner, and the right face has a red corner and an orange corner. No pair is the same colour.

The Y-perm is 17 moves long, but it splits into two halves: F R U' R' U' R U R' F', then R U R' U' R' F R F'. The second half is OLL 33 from the 57 OLL algorithms. After the Y-perm, the corners are right compared with each other; you may need to turn U so they match the side faces.

A corner with two colours that look wrong?

If you see headlights on exactly two or three faces, look again. If two faces have headlights, the third and fourth must have them too: the number of faces with headlights can only be 0, 1 or 4. The most common mix-up is reading red as orange under yellow light.

Step 2: swap the edges

Now the four corners are right compared with each other. First, turn U so the corners match the centres on the side faces. Then look at the top row of each side face: is the edge in the middle the same colour as the two corners yet?

• One face is solved (the whole top row is one colour): Ua or Ub.
• No face is solved: H or Z.

Ua: the front edge needs to go right

Turn the whole cube (or change how you hold it) so the solved face is at the back. If the front edge has the colour of the right face, it is Ua:

R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

In the picture: the top row of the front face is green - orange - green, so the front edge needs to go right. The right edge needs to go left, and the left edge needs to come to the front.

Ub: the front edge needs to go left

Keep the solved face at the back. If the front edge has the colour of the left face, it is Ub:

R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R'

In the picture: the top row of the front face is green - red - green, so the front edge needs to go left. The right edge needs to come to the front, and the left edge needs to go right.

Ua and Ub are the two directions of the same three-edge cycle. If you pick the wrong one, you will see another U case: do it one more time and you are done.

H-perm: two pairs of opposite edges

No face is solved, and each edge has the colour of the opposite face. The front face has a blue edge and the right face has a red edge. You can hold the cube any way:

M2 U M2 U2 M2 U M2

The algorithm is only M2 and U. Ruwix uses this exact algorithm (Ruwix). Tip: M2 turns the middle slice half a turn, so you do not need to remember a direction. Other versions of the H-perm, such as one that only uses R and U, are in the post H perm and Z perm algorithms.

Z-perm: two pairs of neighbouring edges

No face is solved, and each edge has the colour of a neighbouring face. Turn U so the front edge and the right edge are a pair that needs to swap: the front face has an orange edge and the right face has a green edge. Do:

M2 U M2 U M' U2 M2 U2 M' U2

This is the Ruwix Z algorithm (Ruwix). If you hold the cube so the pair to swap is front and left, the algorithm will not solve it. Turn U once and look again. If you are not used to M moves yet, the post H perm and Z perm algorithms has a Z-perm that only uses R and U.

Telling H-perm and Z-perm apart

Look at the top row of the front face. If the middle edge has the colour of the back face (opposite): H. If it has the colour of the left or right face (next to it): Z.

Which case comes up most often?

We counted every possible top layer arrangement after OLL on the simulator. When the cube is scrambled at random, each case comes up this often:

So the T-perm is the algorithm you will use most in step 1, and Ua and Ub make up two thirds of the time in step 2.

Quick list of the 6 beginner PLL algorithms

Each algorithm comes with a picture of the case it solves. For the T-perm, remember to turn U so the headlights are on the left first.

• T-perm (headlights): R U R' U' R' F R2 U' R' U' R U R' F'

• Y-perm (no headlights): F R U' R' U' R U R' F' R U R' U' R' F R F'

• Ua: R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

• Ub: R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R'

• H-perm: M2 U M2 U2 M2 U M2

• Z-perm: M2 U M2 U M' U2 M2 U2 M' U2

What order to pick them up in, and how to practise

J Perm advises against taking on too many at once, and stresses that practice matters more than knowing the algorithms (J Perm). An easy order to follow:

1. Ua. You already know it from the beginner method. A quick refresh is enough.
2. T-perm. It comes up most often, and it replaces the "put the corners in place" step of the beginner method.
3. Ub. Do it right after Ua so you can tell the two directions apart.
4. H. The shortest one, only M2 and U.
5. Z. Do it after H, and practise telling the two cases apart.
6. Y-perm. The longest, but the second half is already familiar from OLL.

How to practise a new algorithm:

• Starting from a solved cube, do the algorithm backwards (read it from the end and reverse each move) to set up the case. Then solve it again with the algorithm.
• Say the name of the case before you do it: "headlights, T-perm", "back face solved, Ua".
• Once you know all 6, solve the whole cube and time yourself with the 3x3 timer.

Common mistakes

• Doing the T-perm before the headlights are on the left. Always turn U first so the headlights are on the left face.
• Forgetting to adjust U before step 2. If the corners do not match the centres yet, you will misread which face is solved.
• Holding the solved face at the front for Ua and Ub. The solved face must be at the back.
• Mixing up H and Z. Look at the colour of the front edge: the opposite face's colour means H, a neighbouring face's colour means Z.
• Mixing up M and M'. M turns the same way as L. If the Z-perm does not solve the cube, the usual cause is doing M' the wrong way.

What to do next

With 2-look OLL and 2-look PLL, you can solve the whole cube with CFOP using 15 last layer algorithms. The next step is to slowly pick up all 21 PLL algorithms: each new one saves you one pause to look. Alongside that, get the hang of how to recognise PLL from two faces, so you can spot the case without turning the cube to look for headlights. The post What is CFOP has the overall path for the whole method.

Video

The pictures show each case; the video shows the real speed and hand rhythm. The video below by J Perm (in English) goes through 2-look PLL. It may use different algorithms for a few cases; pick one set and stick with it so you do not get mixed up.

With the EasyRubic app, you can scan your real cube with the camera and see the solution step by step on a 3D cube.

Get EasyRubic to practise each PLL case on your own cube.

Sources

• CFOP Method – J Perm
• 2-Look PLL (SpeedSolving.com Wiki)
• PLL (SpeedSolving.com Wiki)
• Permute the Last Layer (PLL) – Ruwix