Times-tables tricks
The times tables look like 100 facts to learn. With a few tricks, you really only need to memorise about half. Here they are.
Trick 1 — commutativity (the order doesn't matter)
a × b = b × a
So 4 × 9 and 9 × 4 give the same answer (36). If you've already learnt one, you've already learnt the other. That cuts the work in half.
Trick 2 — doubling
If you know the 2× table, the 4× table is just double. The 8× table is double-double.
3 × 7 = 21
6 × 7 = 42 (double)
12 × 7 = 84 (double again — bonus!)
The 4× and 8× tables both come from the 2× table this way.
Trick 3 — split into two
When a number is hard, split it into two friendly parts.
6 × 8 = ?
6 × 8 = 6 × 5 + 6 × 3
= 30 + 18
= 48
You replaced one tricky fact with two easy ones (5× and 3× table).
Trick 4 — patterns in single tables
Each table has its own little signature:
| Table | Pattern |
| 2 | always even |
| 5 | ends in 0 or 5 |
| 9 | digits add up to 9 |
| 10 | always ends in 0 |
| 11 (bonus) | the digit repeats: 11, 22, 33, …, 99 |
Trick 5 — the symmetric grid
When you write the full 10×10 multiplication grid, the diagonal cuts it into two halves that are mirror images. That's commutativity again — every fact above the diagonal has a twin below it.
How to actually get fast
Speed comes from practice in short bursts. Five minutes a day for two weeks beats one long session.
- Day 1–2: 2× and 10× tables (warm-up).
- Day 3–4: 5× and 4× tables.
- Day 5–6: 3× and 6× tables.
- Day 7–8: 9× table (with the finger trick!).
- Day 9–10: 7× table — only the two genuinely new facts.
- Day 11+: full mixed practice.
Aim for an answer in under 3 seconds. When that happens for every fact, you have it.
Try it
- ⚡ Times tables — quick drill — speed practice
- 🧩 Fill the missing table cell — pattern practice