How Do You Figure Out What Factoring Strategy to Use?

If there is a GCF among a bunch of factors, we can just factor out the GCF
There are different things we can do depending on how many terms are left in the polynomial
Try the guess and check method or the A-C method to factor a trinomial
We can repeat the second step as many times as we need to factor the polynomial

1. GCF stands for greatest common factor
2. If there is a GCF among a bunch of factors on in a polynomial, we can just factor out the GCF and work with what is left
1. GCF stands for greatest common factor
1. There are different things we can do depending on how many terms are left in the polynomial
1. We can try to group similar terms in a polynomial together to see if there is a GCF in each grouping
2. GCF stands for greatest common factor
1. A binomial is a polynomial with two terms
1. We are trying to factor a trinomial into the product of two binomials
1. There are formulas to help us factor the difference of squares, and the sum or difference of cubes
1. The cube of some number 'x' is just x•x•x, or x³
2. The square of some number 'x' is just x•x, or x²
1. In step 2 we figured out how many terms were left in the polynomial, and then used an appropriate factoring technique
1. A prime polynomial is a polynomial that can no longer be factored into anything but itself and 1

How do I determine the correct factoring strategy?