Standarized Combat Opening (DM Advice)

So combat is about to begin. For you, combat's been a bitch and you want to speed things up without just completely taking it over. May I suggest getting a little chart of the following with just the bonuses for each player:

Initiative
Spot Checks
Listen Checks
Knowledge Checks (Each One Individually)

Now have each player roll ONE 1d20. That's it. No need to add anything to it, just give me a 1d20, because combat is starting. Then using the same roll, go down the list for each person.

Initiative is order.
Spot Checks give you a good idea what they see.
Listen checks give you a good idea what they hear.
The knowledge check gives you a good idea how you should describe the critters they are facing. The guy with the high Arcane roll will know more about the magical beast then the guy without.

Now, it is rather brutal leaving it up to one die roll, but on the other hand, it makes it go faster and it makes the start of combat just that much more lucky. The guy who rolled the  20 knows all, and the guy who rolled a 1 just can't put two and two together. By simplifying the combat this way, you make things run smoother for you and the players, and don't have to spend ten minutes just figuring out every minute detail.