Pointy end goes up, flat end goes down.

Thanks Mentha will it still work if I poked the other side too??

The tooth picks are only to keep the plant above the water. You need to poke three or so along the sides (between the pointy and flat and put the blunt end right about 1/4 of an inch in the water for it to work. Once it starts rooting you should lower the water level to right below the seed. I have a thread with a few pictures that might help show what I mean. This should help

The pit is a big seed. When it sprouts, a taproot comes out and the 2 halves are the cotyledons. Sticking toothpicks into them causes damage and reduces that sprouts' potential for success because cotyledons are stored energy for a sprout to get growing and start forming some leaves.

Laying the pit on the soil surface is the way to go. Here's one of many. I literally threw the pits into a flower bed, with no intention of growing a tree.

7/10/13: If trying on the ground outside, it would be easy to scoop up at this point.

7/25/13: I never pulled that up to put in a pot, just doesn't do much for me, but have enjoyed watching many of them sprout, a fun novelty.

Squirrels seem to know avocado seeds are poisonous to them. I have tons of them and they never bothered any avocado pits.

Plant the pit in a good potting mix and forget about the water. Be sure that the avocado is a very ripe one.