So, ive never done anything like this before, but i keep seeing three questions cropping up on the forums as of late due to the changing nature of the game. So i thought id put a little post together to explain what i think are key concepts to new players, especially at the moment.
They are:

1. Whats a good winrate?
2. Should i get better or build a big bankroll?
3. Do i bonus whore?

When most new players find out about PT its such a magical instrument It gives you all these cool stats that show you how you play. And yet the two stats you always come back to are winrate and $$$$ won.
Lets get one thing clear straight away: 10k hands is not a sufficent sample size, nor is 30k and to be honest 100k might just about make it into the very smallest of acceptable sample sizes to draw solid conclusions from.
To put this in context, if you 4 table 6max playing approx 300hands per hour you would need to play for 333 hours to have a sample of 100k hands. For the average new beginner who migh play 10hours per week, thats 6months.
This is why when new players ask if their winrate is any good, or what constitutes a good winrate, the answer for any player playing 100nl or less is: winrate is unimportant.
This is because your sample size will be so small at 25nl and 50nl and 100nl that you will have no idea if you just ran good for 30k hands or so, or had a horrible downswing for 10k hands that lost you $500, 10buyins at 50nl.
In other words: just becuase you are beating small stakes games does not mean you are a winning player, and just because you might be losing does not mean you suck!
With all that in mind just let me repeat, you arent going to play enough hands at 25nl and 50nl combined to create any sort of adequate sample size that indicates your skill level. Even if you run through 100nl in 30k hands, you will still be short of anything like a decent sample size.
I hope that makes sense.

So, how do you measure your success at small stakes then?
The answer is via your bankroll.
All those players who play 200nl+ will tell you the same thing, there is little difference between 25nl and 100nl. Hence, the first benchmark for your poker career is a bankroll of $2500.
This magic number is 25 buy ins for $100nl and is a sufficent bankroll for you to start improving your game at 100nl.
For instance, if you slave away at 50nl with a 3bbs/100 winrate for 15k hands and dont move up because you feel your winrate sucks, and you play 15k more hands at 50nl you have lost money. When you have the bankroll to move up, just do it because the games really are no different.

Ok so what about if you think you suck? or your winrate is pretty small? Well the fact is that set campers get paid at 100nl just like they do at 25nl. Just because you move up stakes does not necessarily mean your winrate will drop: afterall, getting it all in preflop with AA doesnt suddenly become -ev does it?!?!?
Thus, learn to be a tight aggressive set camper player and get to 100nl as fast as possible, becuase you'll make money doing what you did at 25nl at 100nl. Trust me.

Of course, some people actually want to be good at poker, it isnt all about the money now is it?
Well it is sometimes, but certainly you need to get good, but like i said there is little difference between 100nl and 25nl so dont spend time on a site like stars if you dont have to because there is no need for you to be 'good' at 25nl. You dont want to be hanging around there long anyway, and you probably wont anyhow.
So in answer to questions about getting better, forget it. Get a $2500 bankroll and THEN think about getting better and improving your post flop play etc.
After just 100k hands you wont have much of a clue about reading people or how to be really goot post-flop anyway, but you should be starting to have ideas at the very least.

This leads to the final point; bonus whoring. Below 100nl, and arguably sometimes at 200nl you should always be playing for a bonus if possible. Just because you like stars software and XXXXrandompoker.com has the worst software ever, this does not excuse you from not going to play for a bonus. Sure, you might be able to satellite into the million, but be realistic, are you going to win it? Na, so stop dreaming and think about getting to the stage where you can just buy into a full satellite or the event itself each week. Use those fpps for these books we rant on about like Sklansky's T+P etc, dont waste em in a 500fpp satellite!
Bonus whoring is like an apprentiship. You've learnt the basics of set farming and now you need to do the shitty work to get yourself some respect and experience, and thsi is always a hard slog.
Well in poker, that hard slog involves hours playing on software that is just plain crap at times, but if you want to eventually get better, you need to sacrifice.
So if anyone posts they arent leaving stars' games because the software is good and some other sites' software is crap, you will know you are making an error in judgement.

Also, where you can, get rakeback deals even if you are doing a bonus. In the long run when you find that the smaller sites on the web have super soft medium stakes games you'll look back and be happy that you signed up for that affiliate deal with some dodgy geezer like triptanes or which ever site we at FTR have sent you to.

I hope i didnt rant, but this should answer a lot of key questions to new players in the changed atmosphere of the post US online poker ban.
Just remember not to overvalue stats in small stakes games, its about getting money together and then consolidating you position/knowledge before making the next step into medium stakes games 200nl etc.