I personally think that the better methods are kicked out with the back foot and not so much with the front foot. That is more snowboard style and more appealing to me. The board should be almost perpendicular to the boat, so that you can see the entire bottom of the board and the tip and tail are basically equi-distant from the boat. My personal opinion. A few good examples:
And, one of my better attempts...I've had a hard time getting this trick and have only hit a few that have felt good. This is one of them:
I think that Heavy is right, though. Keep the handle in tight. I think about giving a tug with my back hand and even moving my hips towards the handle on the pop. I get into trouble when I try to throw it too soon. Get your pop, then go for the poke. I also think that you'll see from the pics, especially the first one, that the front leg is not poked. Its pulled up to the chest and twisted. Good luck.