Using the bot route is a bit of a gamble. It was working for me initially, then it all went downhill. Non bid bots were an option, you get almost all back, then your profit is in SP. It's not feasible, now that the price of Steem is down. Winning is the best, if you are good at what you do. All the steem in my account now, (120) I won them within a two week period.
I plan on sticking to that.
Regards