As for the “keeping the back of your throat closed” RC, I believe I read the same post you did about it, and the thing is: that RC is flawed. I tested it myself, and it caused me to have a missed dream-sign. However, it’s not to be tossed aside just like that. Look at it this way: The epiglottis closes all air contact when shut, it’s meant to. Simply sucking in air while “keeping your throat closed” closes your epiglottis. So ask yourself this: How does the nose-plug RC work? It shuts off the outside contact with the airway. The epiglottis is still open to receive air with this RC. So, for the “keeping the back of your throat closed” RC, shutting off the internal contact with the airway is no good. So modify the RC! Instead of shutting your epiglottis by breathing in with your throat, make a seal with your lips and try and breathe in through them, just like you would try and breathe through your nose with the nose-plug RC. Simple as that.
*Note: It’s still yet to be tested, however the theory is nearly bulletproof from what I can see. It might work, it might not, I’ll leave that conclusion for the next time I get lucid. It also looks just a tad goofy if you make it too obvious, so you might want to do it when not too many people are around, or you can look away from them for a moment without looking too conspicuous.
Right then, onto the RC’s I use. I keep a watch on my person at all times, and I’m surrounded by clocks not only in my home but in my workplace, and even in my dreams most days. However, my watch is a liar. I have it permanently set two hours ahead of time, any time I want to do an RC, I check my watch, and memorize the time it tells me. However, considering I know my watch is a devious little bastard, I look at the clocks around me, and expect them to say the same time. Since I memorized the time on the watch, and I’m not expecting the time to be any different on the other clocks, how should the time be any different? The fact of the matter is: If I’m dreaming, it shouldn’t. The clocks should all be the exact same. However, if I’m not dreaming, and am in fact within the usual reality, my watch should be the lying little devil it always is.
They key here is expectation. I can’t expect my watch to always be off-time considering I am a lucid dreamer, sometimes, it will be on time, and once it is, I will be lucid dreaming. However, if I knew that my watch was always a liar, and honestly expected the other clocks to be two hours behind my own, then I would be defeating the purpose of the RC.
You must acknowledge the fact that every clock has the possibility to show the exact same time when using this RC, otherwise, you wont ever dream when using it.
Of course, this leaves a considerable margin for error, but it’s the most subtle, yet effective RC in my arsenal, all it takes is a bit of LL.
So, to recap:
Get yourself a watch, set it two hours ahead of time.
Expect your watch to tell the truth, and memorize its’ shown time.
Look at another clock, expecting it to show the exact same time.
If it doesn’t show the same time as your watch, you know your not dreaming. If it does, congratulations! Your in a dream!