Times tables tricks: one easy trick for every table

Last updated: 17 October 2026

Every times table from 1 to 12 has one simple trick that turns a hard fact into an easy one: for ×10 put a 0 after the number, ×9 is ×10 take away the number once, ×6 is ×5 plus the number once more. Learn the easy tables first, use the turn-around (3 × 8 = 8 × 3), and practise a few facts every day until the answer comes without the trick.

In Times Galaxy every new fact comes with its trick as a dot picture. Free, 5 minutes a day.

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Which two rules cut the work in half?

The turn-around. 7 × 8 and 8 × 7 are the same fact. So the 144 facts up to 12 × 12 are really 78 facts, and only 55 up to 10 × 10.
Use the trick of the easier table. For 6 × 7, use the 6 trick, not the 7 trick: 5 × 7 = 35, plus 7 more = 42. For 6 × 2, just double 6.

What is the trick for each times table?

	The 1 times table: Times 1 stays the same.1 × 8 = 8
	The 2 times table: Double it: add the number to itself.2 × 7: 7 + 7 = 14
	The 3 times table: Add the number three times.3 × 6: 6 + 6 + 6 = 18
	The 4 times table: Double it, then double again.4 × 7: double 7 = 14, double again = 28
	The 5 times table: Count by 5s.5 × 6: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
	The 6 times table: Times 5, plus the number once more.6 × 7: 5 × 7 = 35, plus 7 more = 42
	The 7 times table: Times 5 plus times 2.7 × 7: 5 × 7 = 35, plus 2 × 7 = 14, together 49
	The 8 times table: Double three times.8 × 7: 14, 28, 56
	The 9 times table: Times 10, then take the number away once.9 × 7: 10 × 7 = 70, take away 7 = 63
	The 10 times table: Put a 0 after the number.10 × 6 = 60
	The 11 times table: Up to 9: write the number twice. After that: times 10, plus the number.11 × 4 = 44 · 11 × 12: 120 + 12 = 132
	The 12 times table: Times 10 plus times 2.12 × 12: 10 × 12 = 120, plus 2 × 12 = 24, together 144

In which order should my child learn the tables?

Easy tables first, because each new table leans on one before it: ×4 is double ×2, ×8 is double ×4, ×6 is ×5 plus one more, and ×9 is ×10 minus one. Times Galaxy uses this order of planets:

×1, ×2, ×10, ×5, ×3, ×4, ×6, ×9, ×8, ×7, ×11, ×12.

By the time your child reaches the 7 times table, almost all of it is already known from the other tables: up to 10 × 10, only 7 × 7 is new.

Are tricks enough?

No. A trick is a bridge, not the goal. It helps your child find the answer while a fact is new. After that, short practice on later days turns the fact into quick recall, so the answer comes in 2–3 seconds without the trick. Our 5-minutes-a-day guide shows how.

How does Times Galaxy show the tricks?

Each new fact gets a card with a dot picture that shows the trick, so a child never counts single dots. For 6 × 9, the picture shows 5 rows of 9 in one colour and 1 more row in another, with the totals 45 and 54 at the end of the rows. Zib, the alien co-pilot, reads the trick aloud. Then the child answers the fact, and it comes back a few questions later and on later days.

Questions

What is the easiest times table trick?

The 10 times table: put a 0 after the number, so 10 × 6 = 60. The 1 times table is even easier: times 1 stays the same.

What is the trick for the 9 times table?

Times 10, then take the number away once. For 9 × 6: 10 × 6 = 60, take away 6 = 54.

What is the trick for the 7 times table?

Times 5 plus times 2. For 7 × 7: 5 × 7 = 35, plus 2 × 7 = 14, together 49. If the other tables are learned first, 7 × 7 is the only new fact up to 10 × 10.

What is the trick for the 8 times table?

Double three times. For 8 × 7: 14, 28, 56.

Which times tables are the hardest?

Many children find the 6, 7, 8 and 12 times tables hardest, for example 7 × 8 = 56 and 6 × 8 = 48. Learn them last, when the easier tables can help.

Should children learn tricks or just remember the answers?

Both. The trick helps while a fact is new. Practice on later days then makes the answer quick, so the child does not need the trick anymore.

The tricks on this page are the ones Times Galaxy uses on its new-fact cards.