No doubt they've a method when to come/go, and how much work to do, to maximise profits..
You can't do this with PPLNS. That is the whole reason PPLNS was invented, to prevent pool hopping.
Pool hopping was a problem in the olden days when pools used the proportional reward method. You can read about it here:
https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5072/what-is-pool-hoppingHi Doc, sure appreciate that, didn't mean hopping as such.
There's no other stat anywhere they're keeping an eye on/evaluating, or even gambling on?
(At either Bitminter end, or whichever pool(s) they're bouncing between?)