talkmagic.co.uk

Hi guys,

Hoping there's no such thing as a stupid question:

What should I look for in a performance/close-up mat?
What's the best material?
What's an ideal size?
Does colour matter?

Thanks for your help,

Brad

Look for quality and that doesn;t always mean the most expensive.

One of the best that I've used is a neoprene mate but they are hard to find. Trevor Duffy sold the ones that I bought but I'm not sure if he does them anymore.

You could condider a table hopper from Five of HEarts magic. If you work tables then I wouldn't bother with a mat as there is nowhere to put one down most of the time.

Colour is a personal choice but I'd avoid red if you use red backed Bikes. Blue on blue is OK surprisingly.

I make my own mats and they vary is size, colour and finish. They are not cheap but they will last a lifetime and are top quality.

I use a pine back, neoprene on top and then a cover of high quality velvet which is stretched and pinned to the back of the pine. There is then a wooden surround to keep it all in and that can be coloured too.

For the cheapest option, go to a carpet shop, they sell the pages out of the sample books, I bought two for around 25 pence each, was a bargain, and they are ideal for close up work.

I have a mate that uses carpet tiles which are OK for practice but if you're working then to be honest they look cheap.

I make my own aswell, have done for many years. I use a combination of ideas that have already been mentioned. A wooden base (im not fussy about the type of wood as its never seen anyway), a piece of carpet, and the top covering.

Some carpets work better than others and you'll have to experiment to see what suits you. Ive tried many different top coverings over the years - velvet can be nice, velveteen can be used which will give you the feel of many comercial mats. Some fleece blankets can work surprisingly well, i have one that ive been using for about 5 years which has a fleece covering and is still in very good condition. Ive been looking at some lately though and the material seems to have changed.

The carpet is cut to the same size (or a few millimetres short on all sides) as the board and placed on top - there is no need to glue it down. Your choice of material can then be stretched over the top and tacked underneath. You can make these as simple or flashy as you like. An edge could be put round in wood which will give a very proffessional look, but is far from necessary. They can also be used as a table top using a standard mic stand as legs.

When the material needs cleaned it is simply unpinned and flung in the washing machine.

jim

Thank you all for your advice and suggestions.

I got a pair of velvet curtains from the charity shop.
Washed them, then just covered a board using carpet adhesive.
Cleaned up the edges with some beading, then fitted 4 rubber door stoppers to the bottom.
Looks really professional, & only cost about £3.50.

CArl...

mini mouse mat from pound shop. was perfect size and right texture. you can just fold it up and put in pocket

If you are in the UK the card collection has an excellent range. The prices range from roughly five pounds to forty.

Ordered one online last night for £7

This seems fairly reasonable to me

I ordered black, because I use red and blue back decks and I always think coins stand out well on black

I've never really understood the need for a mat. I'd be interested in hearing why those who use them like them.

It makes gambling routines with lots of shuffling cutting and dealing much much easier

You need a soft surface for some coin routines. Sympathetic Coins (matrix) is a good example; I normally do it on a carpet, but I'd need a mat for a table unless it had a thick cloth on it.

BTW, speaking of neoprene, I recently bought one of these (mine's for a 7" tablet) and I imagine it would make a good mat as well as something to carry your stuff in:
http://tinyurl.com/3f82xym


Barry

Thanks. That makes complete sense. T.

I ordered mine because I wanted a consistency when doing routines such as the Chop cup