For my birthday I was getting some magic tricks and finally I got half of the orders yesterday, and so I have started reading one of them... tarbell's course in magic volume 1, and I learned that the coin tricks are hard!!! it takes more practice then I thought. but anyways, should I be learning the courses in a step-by-step fashion or can I skip around to sections I want to do first. thanks for helping.

Good start, Ray. Tarbell's was written over 50+ years ago, but is still full of excellent instruction and information. A more modern book (even though it dates back to 1970) is Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. Coin magic takes some paractice. It is not the sort of thing that you are going to read how a trick is done and half an hour later be doing it for your friends (which you should never do anyway). But with a little effort and practice it becomes some of the most useful magic you will ever learn. For impromptu magic you can't beat coin magic. You or someone will have a coin or two on them. In my teen years when I couldn't afford a lot of commercial magic, I worked on coins and never ran out of new material to learn.
Rope magic is another form of very visual magic, which costs very little, just like coins. You can do single routines or whole shows with rope. Tarbells has some good rope material in it as well as coin material.
Practice can be frustrating at times, but when you are finally able to do that knuckle busting move, it makes it all worth the effort. Good luck with it.

There are very few tricks that can be picked up instantly. Even those that are self working need practice to get your patter and movement ready for performance. Coins are a little more difficult than some other forms and requires more practice. It is well worth the effort. Take your time and learn as much as you can. Magic is a lifelong journey. Do not try to rush into it. There are many performers out there that rush things and preform a trick before you are ready. Take your time and get your trick perfectly.

Wow, just for a total of how much I practice today, I practiced 3 hours and 5 minutes... wow that's a lot.

I've just taken out vol 4,6,7 & 8 of Tarbell to look over the mentalism in these books.What amazes me is that I always find something new-an idea,move or effect.
Tarbell is brilliant-period.
As for coins,only a few palms are needed to start:Thumb Palm,Finger Palm and Classic Palm.If you can, try to get David Roth Expert Coin Magic made easy vol1 DVD
as a visual aid.The word 'natural' never dawned on me until I saw how magician palmed on T.V.(some 20+ yrs ago--we didn't have magic clubs then, so I couldn't see real magicians doing it).That is why I suggest the visual aid.

Good luck
AJ