Mini-Steps vs regular 20+2 sng's: What sample size do i need?

[theordinaryboy]

hey there

after apathy's rantings and ravings and frustrations over no-one seeming to take it on board i'm gonna do a test of my own on the mini-steps.

Based on the results it will determine whether or not i play the steps or just stick to the regular sng's.

My test involves buy-ing in at level 2 of the mini steps for 20+2 x amount of times. Buying-in directly for the x amount of times and then playing all the freerolls i accumulated over and over again until i only have step 5's left.

After i have done this i will play all the step 5's and then can begin to make notes on my results.

Of key importance is:

1. Net Profit i.e. amount of money won (if any) minus the amount bought in for.

2. Hourly rate i.e Net profit divided by hours played

3. Amount of Rake payed to Party

Of course there will be plenty of other data, but those three will do for now.

This will then be compared with playing the same x amount of buy-ins at a regular 20+2 sng.

I will then compare the results of the three factors

I am predicting (with no basis whatsoever) that the net profit will be higher in the steps. However the hourly rate will be better in the regular sng's. Obviously the rake will be higher in the steps (the 3rd factors is merely to see how much rake i am paying by playing the steps).

Now this is where i need help.

What should my sample 'x' size be for this experiment for my results to be of value???

Thanks