If I stay with the pool, but switch to a different coin would I still keep my shares that Ive been mining for the last 12 hours on BTCZ? I don't want to miss the payout by switching and then the pool finding a block a minute later.
I can't say this is the way of
all pools but most of the pools you see will pay you for shares you've submitted -- even if you leave before finding a block. Some pools have a minimum payout amount so they may just hold your balance until you reach that.