Know knots or tie lots! Knowing a few different knots for a variety of situations comes in handy. The right knot holds properly and can usually be undone when needed without having to cut it out. If you're starting out then the square knot, two half hitches, taught line hitch, clove hitch, and bowline cover most use cases. And, yes, those are among the basic ones taught to Scouts.
My personal list is the uni-knot, sheet bend(Along with the slipped and double versions), tautline hitch, alpine butterfly loop, highwayman's hitch, and clove hitch. And of course the double slipped square knot. I always have trouble with it, the right over left and left over right steps slow me down trying to make sure I don't accidentally tie a granny. But once it's done it's really obvious to anyone how to untie i…
The rolling hitch [1] is a slight variation that works great as a drop-in replacement. For attaching a rope to a pole, I go as far down this list as is feasible and/or necessary:
- two half hitches [2] (this is actually just a clove-hitch around the standing end)
- round turn and two half hitches [3] (like the above, but a little more secure and it takes the load while you tie it)
- anchor hitch [4] (even more secure, but harder to tie under load)
[1]: https://www.animatedknots.com/rolling-hitch-knot
[2]: https://www.animatedknots.com/two-half-hitches-knot
[3]: https://www.animatedknots.com/round-turn-two-half-hitches-kn...