I was trial and error as a teen, and now super analytical about it coming back in my 30s.
I've learned more tricks in the last 2 or 3 years than I ever had as a kid, so I know which method works for me.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Change foot position, change upper body position, change weight distribution, direction of flick, etc etc etc... I've had tricks not work at all for tons of tries, then moved my back foot a bit and voila, first time.