Initial advance is usually detected when your engine is hard to crank over at start up, very often being sensitive (harder to start) when everything is fully hot and heat soaked.
This means you should be certain your start circuit is good.
Battery is good, all electrical connections are clean and sound, and battery/starter cables are proper gauge and in good condition BEFORE deciding you have too much, or not enough, initial advance based on how easy it starts hot.
The more inportant aspects of ignition timing are total advance and the advance curve.
Learn to read your plugs. Modern electric ignitions make this more difficult, but still viable.
Learn how to do a "shut down run" and find a good place to do them.
Find the total advance and advance curve your engine likes and stick with that.
Once you know the total, then you can dial in the intitial to suit your car.
As a general starting place FE's like the 32-38* total advance, 12-18* initial, and a moderate curve that starts around 1,100 rpm and is all in by about 2,800-3,200.
Of course this is a guesstimate because your specific engine build paramaters will determine the needs.
Start with total advance, read the plugs after a shut down run looking for signs of detonation.
Advance until you see signs of detonation, then back off 2*...make another shut down run...make adjustments...lather, rinse, repeat until total is found.
Then move on to advance curve.
Once the curve is right you are likely at your initial setting by virtue of other parameters being set...but if you find you need less initial you must make adjustements and reset total.
If you find you can take more initial you must make adjustments and reset total.
A proper initial will clean up idle, improve starting, help with plug life around town and cruising, and can even increase economy if you don't have a vacuum advance distributor, but it is the least important of the advance adjustments.
1) Total advance
2) Advance curve
3) Initial advance
4) Vacuum advance
Last, be certain your carb is set up right before going too deep with the advance tune.
Very often I begin my timing tune sessions with a carb adjustment, but this can be a bit of a double edged sword because many "carb issues" are are actually ignition based.