You'll ramp up to full payouts over the first "roughly 8days 2hrs" (see https://kano.is/index.php?k=payout), but if you ever quit mining, your payouts will ramp back down even after you stop mining.
In a nutshell, it's awesome, and that's why we're ~1,000 strong rebellion against the evil empire of corporate pools.
well, i agree with you in a long term ~6-12 month. But in short term (up to month), big corporate pools - more reliable, and provide stable daily income. I understand people who left small pools and cannot wait for 5-6 days for next block, due to operational spendings and credits.