Chink-a-chink surface

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I'm starting to learn chink-a-chink from the Roth book, and I was wondering what surface is best to use if it has to be portable. I have a Gibson close-up mat, but I'm not sure it's the right thing to use. The coin makes a scratching sound when it moves and clings a bit to the felt. Is there something better?

Thanks,

Alex

[Brian Marks]

well the best surface is a soft surface. I usually perform it when I am sitting with a group of friends in a restaurant at a table with a table cloth. I have performed it on a hard wood surface of table you might find in a bar if there is enough ambient noice to block the dragging of coins. I would suggest a David Williamson version of it with classic palming on Sleight of Dave and probably his book.

[Guest]

Scuba wet suit material.You can spill anything on it.Great for certain card tricks also...Howard

[Guest]

If by "portable" you mean "How can I perform this impromptu?" A suggestion I can give is to use a padded stool. If in the pub or at work and I feel like performing chink-a-chink I get on my knees and do it on a stool or chair. It gives a good overhead view of the procedings. Alternatively, use a coat or similar item of clothing over a table or chair. For a more formal performance there are various types of close-up mat available, I favour the plush velvety type not the nylony sheeny type (best descriptive terms I could muster). This is due to my nails or hard skin catching on the fabric fibres and the feel of it sets my teeth on edge.

[Guest]

One of my favorite situations in which to perform it is when there happens to be enough bottle caps around (which might also indictate the the audience is primed for magic...). The tops of the caps slide perfectly on a table cloth, rug, etc., and you can classic palm a cap right off of the surface.

-David L.

[Guest]

Thanks to everyone for their advice. To Andy (and others): I didn't mean to be restricting myself to impromptu surfaces. I'm happy with a close-up mat, but as I said originally, I'm not sure my Gibson mat is the best surface.

What do the pros use when they perform this in a formal setting?

[Guest]

On one of his T.V. shows Chris Angel used a pool table, which looked very good.
I had to make up my own close-up pad because the one I used was a nylon type which gripped the coins.

[timbrown]

I saw Al Goshman many years ago at a lecture in Illinois. He carried a large folded up piece of pool table felt which he laid out onto whatever surface he encountered.

[Guest]

I use an upside-down closeup mat. It's similar to the wetsuit material mentioned above, I'd imagine.
Or I wet (lick) the fleshy pads at the base of the thumbs, which works for a right-side-up closeup mat.

The bottle cap idea sounds good--I sometimes use peanuts in the shell.

Neil H

[Dan LeFay]

As for formal close-up situations nothing can compare with a Dean Dill close-up pad. About everything is easier on that thing!

And yes, a pooltable surface rocks, plus the amount of space you have gives the trick a new dimension.

Also cool (with a little backnoise) is a glass table top or a glass counter. coins seem to float!

[Jonathan Townsend]

Originally posted by Alex R:
...what surface is best to use if it has to be portable...

Is this going from table to table, or just for packing purposes.

Some folks have made one side of their cases soft.

If you mean portable for transport, you would be amazed at how useful a nice towel, folded once, can be when tucked under the tablecloth.