Although I've only propagated about a dozen varieties so far this way, I'd say, of all the varieties I've tried (including HTs, and other moderns), around 60% have rooted in water; out of those plants that have rooted in water, 80% survive the transplant.
Like I mentioned, the ones that root most reliably are usually OGRs or of china heritage.
The trick is just being careful and specially for me, not to do it on the hottest months of the year.
You should use a fine substrate too.
I used to pass them to long sphagnum moss but later found out normal potting mix works better in this case, since any air pockets between the root and the substrate are detrimental. The potting mix has finer particles, they fill up small spaces easier.
Sphagnum is better if you're growing them directly on a substrate though, just a side note.
I use plastic cups with a hole in the bottom, fill at 1/3 with the potting mix, then hold the cutting above, being careful with the roots, and pour the rest of the soil on it.
Then I just tap it on a countertop to get rid of any pockets.
Last I only dampen it, without making it drip, and put the whole thing in a ziploc (I've used large ziplocs with expandable bottoms and also normal ziplocs with a small hole trough which the cane can be out but not lose moisture too fast inside) for about a week or up to a month (depends a lot on the variety). This is done inside.
When I see the roots have grown through the transparent plastic, I move it out to a proper container outside if the weather's good, preferably on the shade until it starts sending canes and showing normal vigor.
I don't do this with all the plants, only with the ones I definitely do NOT want to lose. Digging a hole and just placing them like any normal plant works 100% for some of the most prolific ones.
I also think people just skip using some disinfectant to get rid of that slime that grows on the canes after a while, they just change the water. I would guess that's probably about 50% of the issue.
Sorry for the long-winded response, I just felt like I should elaborate. Let me know if something's not clear.
Q