Tricks for knowing when a cheesecake is correctly done
I use a therometer. 

King Arthur flour suggests measuring 1 inch away from the edge of the cheesecake and looking for a temperature between 165F and 170F. 

Americas Test Kitchen/Cooks Illustrated has recommended 165F in the center (checked in 20 minute intervals, provided that you're not close to 165F). However, I remember on the television show that they said 150F many years ago (their blog uses 150F in the center for some recipes too; others say 150F but don't say where to measure it). 

I find that the King Arthur method comes out a little bit overdone, so I generally err a bit lower to 160F for 1 inch away from the edge of the cheesecake. 

This is all assuming a 9 inch springform (certainly, this will make a difference for the edge based methods, not sure for the center based methods if you change the size of the pan); Your desired temperature will vary based on recipe, but I've tried this with a few recipes and had good results. I generally use recipes which have just cream cheese, eggs and sugar (and maybe a bit of flour) along with add-ins (pumpkin puree+spices for pumpkin cheesecake or lemon zest + berries for a berry cheesecake) for the filling (no sour cream or ricotta or other stuff). Some of the recipes I've tried don't use water baths, others do. 

As for aesthetics, I always poke in the same place, and make sure when slicing that I cut through the hole. People don't notice -- they're too busy stuffing their face with cheesecake.