user7052: If I want to make a bitcoin transaction I need to wait 3-6 confirmations for my transaction to be accepted (by say an exchange etc)
Is it possible to run a miner so that it is listening out for transaction on my address, to have my transaction confirmed sooner?
Or at least have the first confirmation confirmed sooner?
(Plus would I be able to recoup some of the transaction fees?)

user9505: No.
The only way to speed up the first confirmation is for you to (not guaranteed, but generally works) pay a higher transaction fee or for you to own a significant amount of the hashing/mining power and implement rules so that your mining farm always includes your transactions.  Keep in mind that even if you owned 100% of the hashing power (of which you always prioritised your own transactions), the best you could ever get is your transaction in the next block which will take 0 to 10 minutes.
Note that once your transaction is included in a block, it's generally 10 minutes per confirmation after that (unless the block chain forks and your transaction needs to be re-included in the new chain), so it would take from 50-60 minutes for 6 confirmations anyway.
At the moment, If I pay a transaction fee of 0.0003BTC (30 cents!) my transaction is normally included in the next block.  A fee of 0.0001 can take hours.

user942: Yes, there are a few ways you can do this.
First, you could solo mine using GBT from Bitcoin-Qt, and prioritise your own transactions. But unless you find a block, this does no good.
Second, and perhaps easier, you could use a pool like Eligius which offers prioritisation as a perk to its miners.

7052: <p>If I want to make a bitcoin transaction I need to wait 3-6 confirmations for my transaction to be accepted (by say an exchange etc)</p>

<p>Is it possible to run a miner so that it is listening out for transaction on my address, to have my transaction confirmed sooner?</p>

<p>Or at least have the first confirmation confirmed sooner?</p>

<p>(Plus would I be able to recoup some of the transaction fees?)</p>
 9505: <p>No.</p>

<p>The only way to speed up the first confirmation is for you to (not guaranteed, but generally works) pay a higher transaction fee or for you to own a significant amount of the hashing/mining power and implement rules so that your mining farm always includes your transactions.  Keep in mind that even if you owned 100% of the hashing power (of which you always prioritised your own transactions), the best you could ever get is your transaction in the next block which will take 0 to 10 minutes.</p>

<p>Note that once your transaction is included in a block, it's generally 10 minutes per confirmation after that (unless the block chain forks and your transaction needs to be re-included in the new chain), so it would take from 50-60 minutes for 6 confirmations anyway.</p>

<p>At the moment, If I pay a transaction fee of 0.0003BTC (30 cents!) my transaction is normally included in the next block.  A fee of 0.0001 can take hours.</p>
 942: <p>Yes, there are a few ways you can do this.</p>

<p>First, you could solo mine using GBT from Bitcoin-Qt, and prioritise your own transactions. But unless you find a block, this does no good.</p>

<p>Second, and perhaps easier, you could use a pool like Eligius which offers prioritisation as a perk to its miners.</p>
