I've been a BB'er for 35 years (at the same hospital) my very first manager (who was a good, seasoned BB'er) used to tell us........., "if you have to hunt for it - it's not there".
As you become more adept at reading tube reactions - your eyes will not fail you! Trust your gut.
As for your technique - it all sounds good! Practice with a few techniques to find the one that works best for you
I "tilt and giggle", button up, The tilt helps with seeing Mixed Field - which we tend to see a lot here - It also helps with seeing "how" cells are falling off the button - are they chipping off or are they "swirling" off.....or is there a little of both? (For some reason I always think of the "tail" of an old RPR test .....which probably dates me, LOL!)