[copirate]

There's no edge. Having spent time mining in the past doesn't increase your odds of finding a block in the future.

[adwn]

The idea is that you can start with the next head earlier than all the others, giving you an edge in being the first to find the next block.

[copirate]

But what do they gain by doing that? What's the edge? Starting earlier doesn't give you any advantage.

[palata]

> Starting earlier doesn't give you any advantage

It's a race. Starting earlier obviously gives an advantage?!

[copirate]

No it's not a race, it's a lottery.

It would be like saying you've an edge if you start earlier at the roulette.

[palata]

I think you're confused.

In a lottery, the more tickets you buy, the higher your chances to have the winning number.

If we played with a roulette and said "the goal is to be the first to have a winning number at the roulette" and I could try 50 times before you started, obviously I would be more likely to win our game, wouldn't I?

[copirate]

> In a lottery, the more tickets you buy, the higher your chances to have the winning number.

Yes, and it's exactly the same in bitcoin with the hashing power. Each hash is a ticket.

> If we played with a roulette and said "the goal is to be the first to have a winning number at the roulette" and I can try 50 times before you start, obviously I am more likely to win our game, am I not?

In bitcoin the goal is not to be the first. The goal is to find a winning hash that's on a chain that will not be abandoned. As soon as a new block is propagated you start mining on the new head. It doesn't change anything that you previously worked on another chain. The time spent on the previous chain is not wasted, unless finding a block wouldn't have got you the reward.

There is a kind of a race if 2 blocks are found simultaneously. But that's not really what this discussion is about, and in this case the outcome depends mostly on network connectivity.

[rkagerer]

...it's not a race, it's a lottery.

Yes, but everyone else is still buying tickets for yesterday's jackpot, while you're busy accumulating them for tomorrow's.

[copirate]

But yesterday's jackpot is still running, here. If you find a block on the public chain while the other miner kept their block secret, your block becomes the main chain. If they publish their block after you, both blocks compete for the head, but it's usually the first published one that wins.

[sjducb]

There is an advantage because occasionally you find the second block while the first block is still secret, then you release the two blocks in quick succession. That’s the edge.

[copirate]

What advantage does it provide vs not withholding? If you don't keep your first block secret and find a 2nd block, you get the same rewards.

On the other hand, if someone finds a block while you're keeping yours secret, it's very likely you'll lose the reward of your block.

So, you get a chance to discard the block of another miner, but you have to put your own block at risk of being discarded. Maybe there's a gain here, but it's not clear.