Minecraft wiki entry for Speedrun, associated text: Make sure you have enough food and materials, then create a nether portal. Even if you have a diamond pickaxe, with some practice you can make a nether portal using a bucket, water and lava more quickly than mining 10 obsidian. Dig out a frame for the nether portal, if necessary, or pillar up 5-6 blocks and place your water source using the bucket. Now scoop up lava and place it next to the water to make obsidian. Keep adding lava until you have the 10 obsidian blocks in place to make the portal. If your lava makes cobblestone next to it instead of turning to obsidian, move the water source block until it's flowing next to the lava.