Hey all miners,
there are several different pools to choose from, and for the security of the bitcoin and namecoin network, spreading the computing resources out is the sound way to go.
Smaller pools solve blocks less often than the bigger pools, but on average over time, the earnings will be the same, if not more, because smaller pools take less comission, if
any.
You will notice you get paid more pr. block on a smaller pool, because the blocks are solved more infrequently.
If a big pool take 3% comission and you make 300 BTC over a year, then 9 BTC goes to the pool operator, while if you mine at 0% or slightly more (please reward pool operator
if you like the pool), then less than 9 BTC goes to the pool operator, and you get more to play around with.
Another thing is that the bigger pools are subject to ddos-attacks, and if you have your mining rig hours offline, then you surely lose out a lot.
Of course you can set up failover when a pool fails, but I guess most miners/users are not that advanced.
Be patient, and spread your resources, please. You'll be better off, and the network will be better off.
Sorry if this comes accross as very obvious, but it seems like some miners need instant gratification to keep going, use your logical thinking, and have some patience, over the
long run, you will see what I say is to be the truth.
Here's a list of pools to choose from:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Comparison_of_mining_pools
