What should I expect if I'm solo mining?

[trumpetx]

I'm using the Phoenix miner @ ~ 162Mhash/sec

Up until now I've been mining with bitcoinpool.com.  But after some hack attempts and some connectivity issues with the pool, I've decided to give solo mining a whirl.  I'll probably do something like mine for a month and then rejoin the pool regardless of if I find a block(s) or not.

I've set up my bitcoin.exe -server with a fancy dancy username and password and I have phoenix crunching away with my personal wallet as the (hopefully) lucky recipient.

1) I realize my chances of finding a block are pretty small, but lets just assume I do.  What happens?  Does my wallet just go up by 50 btc one day and I'm like WTF I R rich!?

2) I saw a btc video shortly after the /. story about some guy running a mining rig and he said something like "transaction fees are almost more profitable these days."  How do I get paid these transaction fees?  Again, do they just randomly show up in my balance?  What's up with that?

3) Phoenix miner shows my Mhash/sec, but shows 0 accepted/rejected.  I assume that's there cause I'm not mining with a pool and there's no one to accept or reject my stuff.  I just crunch numbers and hope I hit the jackpot.  Do I have this configured correctly?

PS- The bitcoinpool.com folks are REALLY cool.  They've even taken care of the "Issues" I mentioned earlier...  I don't want this post to somehow construe them in a negative light.

PPS- Thanks for your helpful responses in advance

[NghtRppr]

What should I expect if I'm solo mining?

I think that pool mining is more psychologically gratifying, especially if you can't mine 24/7/365. It really sucks to mine for a few days straight, get nothing, and then have to stop for whatever reason, to play a game, etc.

[trumpetx]

I mine for about 22 hours a day sans for the 2hrs I'm playing WoW.

[[Tycho]]

I'm using the Phoenix miner @ ~ 162Mhash/sec

With current difficulty it may take about 4 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 39 minutes, and 50 seconds to find a block if mining solo. It's not guaranted, may be less and may be much longer. (Difficulty will jump ~40% up in less than a week).

1) I realize my chances of finding a block are pretty small, but lets just assume I do.  What happens?  Does my wallet just go up by 50 btc one day and I'm like WTF I R rich!?

Yes, you will see a generation transaction in your wallet. Then you'll have to wait ~20 hours for 120 confirmations and if it's not failed then your balance will go 50 (+fees) BTC up.

2) I saw a btc video shortly after the /. story about some guy running a mining rig and he said something like "transaction fees are almost more profitable these days."  How do I get paid these transaction fees?  Again, do they just randomly show up in my balance?  What's up with that?

He is wrong, transaction fees are about 0-0.05 BTC per block, rarely up to 0.1.
They will be added to your +50 at the time when block is found.

3) Phoenix miner shows my Mhash/sec, but shows 0 accepted/rejected.  I assume that's there cause I'm not mining with a pool and there's no one to accept or reject my stuff.  I just crunch numbers and hope I hit the jackpot.  Do I have this configured correctly?

You will see "1 accepted" if you hit the block.

PPS- Thanks for your helpful responses in advance :)

Welcome to my pool :)

[IlbiStarz]

What should I expect if I'm solo mining?

I think that pool mining is more psychologically gratifying, especially if you can't mine 24/7/365. It really sucks to mine for a few days straight, get nothing, and then have to stop for whatever reason, to play a game, etc.

Are you saying that if you stop, your progress gets lost or something? I've been stopping a lot because I can't mine 24/7...
WHATTT?

[BitLex]

there is no progress to get lost.
you can only try one hash at a time and it's either a winner or not, makes no sense to save it.

[grue]

probablity of you finding a block:

Code:

Probability Time
Average 33 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes
50% 23 days, 7 hours, 50 minutes
95% 100 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes

What should I expect if I'm solo mining?

I think that pool mining is more psychologically gratifying, especially if you can't mine 24/7/365. It really sucks to mine for a few days straight, get nothing, and then have to stop for whatever reason, to play a game, etc.

on the other hand, you could get 2 blocks on the same day . Since the money i make via mining is minimal, i go solo mining. nothing to lose...

[NghtRppr]

What should I expect if I'm solo mining?

I think that pool mining is more psychologically gratifying, especially if you can't mine 24/7/365. It really sucks to mine for a few days straight, get nothing, and then have to stop for whatever reason, to play a game, etc.

Are you saying that if you stop, your progress gets lost or something? I've been stopping a lot because I can't mine 24/7...
WHATTT?

Your progress doesn't get lost. I was just referring to the psychological aspects. If you mine with a pool, you get something sooner rather than later. I think most people prefer instant gratification. 

[Xian01]

is there any uptodate thread regarding solo mining?

particularly on the avalon asics.

Holy thread necro !

It's not worth it to solo mine unless you have several TH at your disposal.

Stick with a pool.