[melioris]

for the sake of clarity, all my comments apply to 6-max games.
I spent a lot of time down in the uL trenches, happily grinding away and pulling out monies now and then for special treats. There is no shame in being a micro grinder. It is the best place to learn the fundamentals of the game, as rarely there is anything more complicated going on.

go back and reread this . Look at the chart, understand the chart. Playing straight off the chart should put you somewhere around 24/20 preflop. But the numbers don't really mean shit if you are not spending time understanding why people love those numbers. Think about why it is good to have the initiative (why every time you are opening you should be raising), why position has such influence over starting hands, why you would call 3-bets preflop and why you would want to 3-bet yourself.

I could tell you my thoughts about those preflop questions, but I am not the one mashing the buttons at your table. Tell you what though, if you spend some time thinking about those questions and start a new thread with your answers, I will happily tell you my answers in that thread. Something that The Storm (Wes-why did THAT name stick??) said has really struck a nerve and I think it applies to all levels. Most people are lazy and don't actually spend the time to think about the game, both when they are playing it and when they are away from the tables. Spend half an hour figuring out your answers to the above questions, understand the theories behind your answers, and your game will improve drastically. And post some hands.

As a general guideline, I like to think of $25NL as mostly a preflop game. If you have a solid grasp on preflop play, you should be able to crush $25NL.