What is the 9 times table finger trick?

Hold both hands up. To multiply 9 by any number from 1 to 10, put down that finger (counting from the left). The fingers to the left of the folded finger give the tens digit, and the fingers to the right give the units digit. For example, 9 times 7: fold the 7th finger. You see 6 fingers on the left and 3 on the right, so the answer is 63.

How do you quickly multiply by 11?

To multiply a two-digit number by 11, add the two digits together and place the sum between them. For example, 36 times 11: 3 + 6 = 9, so the answer is 396. If the sum is 10 or more, carry the 1.

What is the trick for the 4 times table?

Double the number twice. For 4 times 7: double 7 is 14, double 14 is 28. This works because 4 equals 2 times 2.

Times Tables Tricks

Stop memorizing — start seeing patterns. Every times table has a shortcut that makes it effortless.

The 2s, 5s, and 10s

These are the anchor tables. 2s are just doubling. 5s always end in 0 or 5. 10s just add a zero. If you know these three, you can derive almost every other table.

The 9s Finger Trick

This is perhaps the most famous mental math trick. Hold both hands up, palms facing you. To multiply 9 by any number from 1 to 10, fold down that finger (counting from the left).

Example: 9 \times 7 Fold down finger #7 Fingers to the left 6 (the tens digit) Fingers to the right 3 (the units digit) Answer 9 \times 7 = 63

There's also a digit-sum pattern: the digits of any multiple of 9 always add up to 9 (until you reach 9 × 11). This serves as a quick self-check.

Try it yourself

9 × 4 = ?

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9 × 8 = ?

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The 11s Insert-Sum Rule

Multiply any two-digit number by 11 by inserting the sum of its digits in the middle. If the sum is 10 or more, carry the 1 to the left digit.

Example: 54 \times 11 5 + 4 = 9 Insert between the digits 5 [9] 4 = 594

With carry: 78 \times 11 7 + 8 = 15 Insert 5, carry 1 [7+1] [5] 8 = 858

The 4s: Double-Double

Multiplying by 4 is just doubling twice. This is faster than recalling a memorized fact because doubling is the most natural mental operation.

Example: 4 \times 7 Double 7 = 14 Double again Double 14 = 28

The 25s: Quarter of 100

Since 25 × 4 = 100, multiplying by 25 is the same as dividing by 4 and multiplying by 100. For even numbers this is trivially easy.

Example: 25 \times 16 16 \div 4 = 4 Multiply by 100 4 \times 100 = 400

Summary Table

2s — Double the number

4s — Double, then double again

5s — Half the number, then × 10

8s — Double three times

9s — ×10 minus the number (or finger trick)

10s — Append a zero

11s — Insert the digit sum

25s — Divide by 4, then × 100

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