What Is “Variance” in the Context of Mining Pool Luck?
Variance, in mining, refers to the statistical deviation between the actual number of blocks a pool finds over a period and the mathematically expected number based on its hash rate. Due to the probabilistic nature of the Proof-of-Work lottery, a pool can experience "good luck" (finding more blocks than expected) or "bad luck" (finding fewer blocks than expected).
Variance is a short-term phenomenon; over a very long period, the actual results tend to converge with the expected results.
