Welcome. I use a smooth mat (Omnigrid) and my personal opinion is that a textured mat would probably dull your blades more quickly. As someone else mentioned, if your ruler is not stable even with a textured mat you could still have mis-cuts. I have 4 rubber dots on the corner of my ruler. Works great for me. Ruler does not slip on the fabric at all. Also remember to keep one finger (I use my pinky finger) off the ruler and onto the fabric as you are 'walking' your hand up the ruler to do your cuts. Makes a big difference as well.