At some point the protocol stops paying rewards to a pool once it hits the saturation point.  When a pool reaches saturation, any rewards that are earned for a particular pool are split among more (stake) people.  This means everyone in that pool will earn less rewards for that epoch.  If a pool is saturated it is best for everyone to choose a different pool until the pool falls back below saturation.

Stake pools need to be ready to make their assigned blocks at all times.  Multiple factors determine a pools ability to create blocks when the time comes.

• Server up time – is the pool server always available to make blocks
• Block height – is the pool always in sync with the network
• Redundancy – backup block producer and multiple relays

Pools charge fees to provide the service of having a simple way for everyone to delegate stake to the protocol to support the network.

• Fixed fees – Static fee for each epoch
• Variable fee – Percent of the total rewards for each epoch

Operator experience can play a big part when it comes to running a Stake Pool.  Proper server setup and node configuration can mean the difference between making a pools assigned blocks or missing them.

• Linux Experience
• Cardano Node Experience

CROWN has been involved with running a pool going back to the Networking Testnet prior to the Incentivized Testnet.