I'have noticed that you need a lot of luck to get a big upvote on what you post. It also seems rather random what those upvotes land on, so there's no real way to target them. I'm quite happy for the few that I've gotten, but I haven't gotten very many of them.
I don't have the financial ability to invest in steem, I've had to earn all of what I currently have. I think my vote is worth 8 or 9 cents at 100%, but I have to ration that out or I run down my percentage pretty quickly.
I guess it just is what it is on here. The whales control the pot, just like the owners of the casino.