What I do (or did, see below) is kick it through a couple of times, find first compression (after the "long" stroke), ease over that (using valve lifter) to second compression, and stop there. What I used to do was ease over that too, then kick. (And kick and kick and kick and...) Now sitting on second compression, piston BTDC, pull the lifter and kick simultaneously, releasing the lifter as fast as poss. Quite why starting the kick earlier in the "cycle" should work so well, I don't know, but 1) it feels slightly different and 2) it works nine times out of ten. Or no fewer than seven anyway.
In fact what I now do, having bought a Yuasa YTX14H-BS battery, the H indicating 20% more cranking power than the one without the H, is push the la bouton rouge, even when the outside temperature is 7 deg, and the motor is cold. And BINGO! She lives! And so does the battery - the non-H model was on it's knees after two attempts. OK in Italy in summer, but not Scotland in winter. The bad news is that it costs about £90 - but money well spent if you live in a cold climate.
Sods Law: after oodles of research, and taking years off the life of my knee, I find the reliable way to kick the beast, and having done so, find how to eliminate the NEED to kick it...