Pool is up coins on me

[chondrite]

I'm mining litecoins at notroll (3% pps) and since I started I've found 7 blocks and received 270 LTC's through the PPS system.  If I would have been solo mining I would be up 80 LTC.  The difference is still small, but I am wondering how this will play out in the future.  Should I be solo mining or am I just getting really lucky with finding the blocks?  Is this situation typical?  I'm at about 1100 kh/s if it matters.  

Thank you for any replies.  

[Aseras]

Finding a block at a pool is not the same as finding them solo. Pools reduce variance, but the payout over time should be similar, except for fees.

[chondrite]

Finding a block at a pool is not the same as finding them solo. Pools reduce variance, but the payout over time should be similar, except for fees.

I do not understand how there is a difference between finding a block in a pool vs. finding one solo.  Could you/someone explain?  When I find a block in a pool I assume that I would have found the block solo mining the same, how would it be different?

Reducing variance is great, its the reason I joined a pool.  The idea was that I would be keeping a steady balance between the blocks I found for the pool and coins awarded to me.  Now the pool is getting a good jump on me and I am now down coins against them along with fees.  How far does the difference in pay between expected solo mining profits vs. pool mining profits need to be before 'reducing the variance' become not worth it? 

[eleuthria]

Finding a block at a pool is not the same as finding them solo. Pools reduce variance, but the payout over time should be similar, except for fees.

I do not understand how there is a difference between finding a block in a pool vs. finding one solo.  Could you/someone explain?  When I find a block in a pool I assume that I would have found the block solo mining the same, how would it be different?

Reducing variance is great, its the reason I joined a pool.  The idea was that I would be keeping a steady balance between the blocks I found for the pool and coins awarded to me.  Now the pool is getting a good jump on me and I am now down coins against them along with fees.  How far does the difference in pay between expected solo mining profits vs. pool mining profits need to be before 'reducing the variance' become not worth it? 

Think of it as lotto numbers.  The pool picks a first batch of numbers, and you fill in the second while mining for them.  Solo mining, you pick all the numbers.  So if you had been solo mining, it doesn't mean you would have found the blocks.  You may have found even more, you may not have found one yet.

[chondrite]

Think of it as lotto numbers.  The pool picks a first batch of numbers, and you fill in the second while mining for them.  Solo mining, you pick all the numbers.  So if you had been solo mining, it doesn't mean you would have found the blocks.  You may have found even more, you may not have found one yet.

Thank you for explaining that for me. 

So how does one decide if the awards from a pool are better than solo mining?

[eleuthria]

Think of it as lotto numbers.  The pool picks a first batch of numbers, and you fill in the second while mining for them.  Solo mining, you pick all the numbers.  So if you had been solo mining, it doesn't mean you would have found the blocks.  You may have found even more, you may not have found one yet.

Thank you for explaining that for me. 

So how does one decide if the awards from a pool are better than solo mining?

Solo mining is technically always the highest payout on average.  The problem is a matter of scale.  At 1 GH/s on the Bitcoin network at this difficulty, it would take you about 8 months to find a block.  You get the payment all at once, nothing before you find it.  It could take you 4 years.  It could take you 4 minutes.  But "on average" it would be around 8 months.

The question is are you willing to make a gamble with that kind of payoff time, and are you really sure the market & network speed will be roughly stable during those 8 months?  Because if you don't find a block early when network difficulty is rising, that 8 month average will keep increasing.  If the market crashes before you find your block, you'll end up with less USD/EUR/etc. than you would have if you had been mining at a pool and selling the whole time.

[chondrite]

Solo mining is technically always the highest payout on average.  The problem is a matter of scale.  At 1 GH/s on the Bitcoin network at this difficulty, it would take you about 8 months to find a block.  You get the payment all at once, nothing before you find it.  It could take you 4 years.  It could take you 4 minutes.  But "on average" it would be around 8 months.

The question is are you willing to make a gamble with that kind of payoff time, and are you really sure the market & network speed will be roughly stable during those 8 months?  Because if you don't find a block early when network difficulty is rising, that 8 month average will keep increasing.  If the market crashes before you find your block, you'll end up with less USD/EUR/etc. than you would have if you had been mining at a pool and selling the whole time.

I'm mining LTC and according to my pool I find a block every 24-36 hours. 

[eleuthria]

Solo mining is technically always the highest payout on average.  The problem is a matter of scale.  At 1 GH/s on the Bitcoin network at this difficulty, it would take you about 8 months to find a block.  You get the payment all at once, nothing before you find it.  It could take you 4 years.  It could take you 4 minutes.  But "on average" it would be around 8 months.

The question is are you willing to make a gamble with that kind of payoff time, and are you really sure the market & network speed will be roughly stable during those 8 months?  Because if you don't find a block early when network difficulty is rising, that 8 month average will keep increasing.  If the market crashes before you find your block, you'll end up with less USD/EUR/etc. than you would have if you had been mining at a pool and selling the whole time.

I'm mining LTC and according to my pool I find a block every 24-36 hours. 

I'm providing the response as it relates to Bitcoin (since this is the Bitcoin forum, not Alternate Currency forum).  The same concepts apply for LTC, just on a much smaller scale since the network (and thus difficulty) is extremely small in comparison.