Dw or d moves in F2L

While in practice, I realized the importance of "Dw" or "d" moves in F2L. Dw and d are the same move, but have different names. Note, a "D" move is different from the moves previously mentioned. The difference can be found on the notation page. Anyways, while in practice I often found my self needing to make a Y rotation and then do a U turn to be able to insert an F2L pair. Well as a speed solver you want to try and make as few Y rotations as possible during a solve. Then I realized that within a d or Dw turn, there is a hidden Y rotation because the middle layer is rotated as well changing the position of the centre pieces. And because the top layer is not rotated along with the middle and bottom, there is also a U rotation made relative to the centre pieces. So basically, a d or Dw turn is basically a Y rotation plus a U rotation. This can be used to substitute for an actual Y and U rotation. This has become incredibly useful during F2L. It allows me to insert pairs that would normally require a slow cumbersome Y rotation very quickly. Here is an example. Normally to solve this case, I would have done a Y rotation, and then a U turn when yellow is in the front.




















Then after i had done the Y rotation and U turn I could insert the red yellow pair with an R U R'. However, as I said before Y rotations should be avoided as they are very slow so the Y rotation and U turn can be replaced by a Dw move. This is a lot quicker and allows you to move into the insertion of the pair much quicker.

This tip won't drop your times drastically, but it does come up often enough to make it a useful thing to know.