Gadling has an excellent post on the finer points of flying standby - a potentially time-saving approach that requires flexibility and and information. One of the essentials:
”Don’t check luggage. If you can’t confirm a standby seat at the ticket counter, you’ll have to try to get in at the gate. Unfortunately you can’t fly without your luggage (and they won’t move it for you), so you can’t standby if you checked it.”- Grant Martin at gadling.com