[adanthar]

First and foremost: get ONE stakes level for SNG's and ring games and ONE range of buyins for multis (5's-30's, 50's-100's, 150+) and stick with those ranges. Obviously, this doesn't mean to play 15/30 with a 5K roll, so stick to something you know you can consistently beat. After playing for a month, post some stats in the appropriate forum.

5K is a nice amount of seed money, but not a roll you can't blow through, especially if you start playing 215's out of your league. If you're average but break even or do slightly better at lower stakes, start with something like 2/4 - $22 SNG's - $10 multis and stay there until you feel you play better than them.

Post lots of hands while you do that and you'll get way better.