ok, so where in these forums can i find some discussion about the different mining pools out there I would like to make a decision on joining one. Or perhaps we can discuss some options here. It seems like deepbit is a popular option.
pools decrease your variance, but the problem is, you may get less overall than solo mining, due to fees, or pool hoppers. Try to join a pool that has no fees, and it's not too big (DO NOT JOIN DEEPBIT, IT'S TOO BIG).