How a pool works
A pool assigns miners work with an easier target — shares. Shares statistically show what portion of the total work a particular participant has completed. When a share also meets the network target, the pool has found a block.
The pool then distributes the reward according to its payout rules. PPS usually provides more predictable payment for shares, while PPLNS depends more strongly on actual blocks and the share window.
- look at the fee and the actual payout rules
- check the minimum payout
- choose a server with low latency
- never store a seed phrase in a pool account
When solo mining makes sense
Solo mining can be interesting for a large farm, an experiment or a miner who consciously accepts high result variance. For one or a few ASICs, a pool is usually more practical.
Compare more than the pool-fee percentage: consider stability, transparent statistics, operating history and support quality.
Real photos and source material
These photographs and diagrams are sourced from public archives. Open the source link to check the author and license.
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