But if my setup process was off, how did I pull it off?
You did it fine but you want to be able to do these tricks consistently, so repeating a near-perfect setup each time is key. "Looking to the left a little" is a massive variable and isn't a consistent move and will give you inconsistent results each time.
Tricks like the DoT Skip, ESS Escape, Hookshot Bridge Skip, etc. require very specific setups or you will fail them every time.
Pokey Escape Setup:
1. Crouch-stab sign to get rid of it.
2. Face the wall and walk against it.
3. Tap Z to become parallel with it.
4. Flick the control stick to the right (Link should turn a perfect 90 degrees) and back up into the Kokiri.
5. Push C-UP to go into first-person mode and align the sword hilt's gem with the light-green streak on the wall.
6. Crouch and stab wall.
7. Press A after the sword hits the wall (timing for this takes practice).
The best way to learn setups is to watch other's videos and mimic them very carefully. I put instructions in the video description for most of my trick videos
.
Good luck with future tricks!