You only get payouts because they are finding blocks and you helped them to do it with your hash power. If you solo mine, you also get payouts, but the reward is split one way, to the one member of the pool - you. Might be a minute before you get a payout, also. Want to stay awake at night? Your Bitaxe may have caught that block you got a payout on, but the reward was split among all the others in the pool. 🤯 😂