I have some algorithms that I am considering patenting, but I wonder whether I should just trust that rivals won't simply read the patent papers and copy my ideas.

While I hope that my inventions will soon improve my financial circumstances, I currently do not have the time, money or skills to determine whether another commercial software application is stealing my ideas. Their software would be closed-source, so the only ways to verify that they are infringing my intellectual property would be to either to seek a whistle-blower within that organisation or to reverse-engineer their application. And then I still have to come up with the money to sue!

Do the pros of having a patent outweigh the cons?