What criteria should I consider?
A pool that is not online when it is supposed to write a block does not get any rewards. So it doesn’t bring much as a staker.
-> Rule: The pool should be online 99.999% of the time & communicate it that way.
A pool that is saturated (=saturated) does not get any more rewards.
Therefore, it does not bring much as a staker.
-> Rule: Saturation should be below 60%.
A pool that does not produce any blocks does not get any rewards.
So it doesn’t bring much as a staker.
-> Rule: A pool should produce at least one block per epoch.
The return, provided the above conditions are met, is always about the same (long term), at about 5% per year (in ADA).
-> Large pool -> more blocks -> more frequent rewards -> is divided by many delgators
-> Small pool -> less blocks -> less frequent rewards -> will be divided by few delegators
Delegating my stakes to smaller pools (even though a block may not have been produced yet) promotes the decentralized idea & thus the core of the Blockchain and Cardano approach.
Who operates the pool? Is it a centralized organization like a CEX (Centralized Exchange) that already has 8 pools full & is now filling the 9th?
Is it a nerd who installed a node on his laptop as a side experiment for fun, which is online but I know nothing about it?
Or is it a small group / a person who runs the whole thing cleanly & transparently & is at work with the necessary seriousness & transparency?
Like.. guess who..
Ticker: SUI
Pool ID: 71499ef7ad908b4d456955fd6eac7fe4986991cde9f3f38b5abbd58b