There are 4 ways to put a card into a slot (magnetic stripe top or bottom, left or right). Sod's law suggests that you should always get it right on the 4th try -- but that assumes you can remember reliably which orientations you have already tried.

There are 4 ways to put on a T-shirt (inside out or not, backwards or not). But before you can try any of them, you have to figure out which of the 4 openings you should put your head into, which you should poke it out thru, etc. Paying attention sometimes helps.

And on and on.