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First of all, don't despair! I guarantee you'll be doing this trick in no time. It's actually very easy once you get the mechanics down and I think it's one of the best looking tricks there is. It's impressive, but not overly showy, and it's very versatile as a gateway to or in combination with other tricks. Plus chicks love it.

-Start off in a place where you feel safe jumping and rotating as high as you can. I used a gymnastics crash mat when I learned, other people use pools or trampolines (although I don't recommend those options because with the former you're not getting experience with the landing, which is vital, and with the latter the nuances of the takeoff are completely eliminated so you can be totally wrong and still do a backflip). The hardest part of getting a backflip is the mental aspect. You can't see where you're going so you just assume that you're about to eat dirt. That's why safety is important: just stop thinking about it and just do it, you most likely won't land it, but once you've done a couple and messed up and seen that it isn't so bad, you'll have the confidence you need to really hammer the trick. The initial jump in the takeoff is probably the most important part, so make sure you're thoroughly comfortable with your vertical jump technique before you start flippin' (knees bend, upper body bends slightly forward as hands drop down and back/knees straighten, upper body returns upright as arms are thrown UP).

-To reiterate, the jump is probably the most important part. It's where the majority of your height comes from and with a good jump you can even do things like delay the tuck or add a spin or two, if your heart so desires. When you jump, make sure you're jumping UP, not BACK. Jumping back will negate your height and make you more likely to land on your face. Make sure you're jumping UP UP UP, same with the arm swing. Arms should swing UP over the head, like you're trying to grab the sun, not back behind. Your rotation comes from lifting your knees up hard to your chest and throwing your head back at the apex of your jump. The goal is to make your backtuck look like those old Shaw Bros. fighters, or the Yuen Biao jumping rope in Knockabout (watch the motion at :23). Just a smooth, tight, up and down, ideally landing in or near the same spot you took off from.

-The tuck itself is, IMO, not as imporant as people usually tell you. It can definitely make the backflip look better, tighter, more smooth, and it makes getting rotated all the way a hell of a lot easier, but don't worry if you're not Samus right before your landing. I deliberately leave my tuck a little lax most of the time, as I think the kind of whipping motion looks a lot cooler and it helps my landing, but you should learn how to do it properly with the tuck before trying anything screwy.

-It's hard to explain when exactly to open the tuck to spot your landing, but you generally have a sense of where you are in the air after a few times and you "just know." The landing can be kind of tricky because it's easy to under or overrotate, but with practice it will be as simple as scratching your nuts.

Just remember: big jump UP, swing arms UP, pull knees UP, rotate like clockwork, spot, untuck, land. Sounds like a lot but it's a very fluid motion and it all naturally comes together very well.

Give it some practice and then video a couple to let us see your progress!