If you can't beat the microstakes on any site, then you are not a good player. Sure some sites have players with better skill levels than others, but below 100NL the play is nothing short of horrendous all around. I played around half-million hands of 25NL and below on stars before I "understood" how to play.

Like you, I started with play money and TV and that experience was useless. Poker is not poker unless there is a risk. You're bankroll management is horrendous. You have to set stringent rules and ABIDE by them. For the first 9 months I played poker, I was a winning player but couldn't get past a $1000 or so bankroll because of bad bankroll management. I would play 2-$300 worth of tournies in a night and run horribly. I'd then build it back up again in a few days mega-multi-tabling SNGs and then blow it all again. I was stuck in a rut, just trying to get a big score. I couldn't blame the bad beats, just bad BR management.

After cashing out all my money except for $100 because of a very expensive vacation in May, I decided to adhere to strict bankroll management when I got back in August. I layed out a game plan that I promised I would adhere by. I set thresholds. For example: I'd play $1.10 SNGs until $200 when I would play $10NL. If i fell to $150 I'd go back to the SNGs. It was great bankroll management and after only a month I was up to $2000 (I played a crapload of hands). Then I got $4.3k in the $3rebuy, cashed out back to $2000 and am now playing $100NL with a 3.1k bankroll after losing 5 buyins at 200NL. I've now decided to move up to 200NL when I hit $5000 and I'm STICKING TO IT.

The point of my success story is not to brag, but to encourage. Many newbies have the idea that they want to play "good players" who respect their raises so they don't get sucked out on. Let me tell you about good players: they would own you. Solid players at $400NL and above would beat you and I down so fast we wouldn't know what hit us. But that's because we aren't there yet. And if we do get there, we'll adjust to the level.

Right now, you need to adjust to YOUR level; and your level is donkstakes. So play solid poker and good bankroll management and I PROMISE you, in the long run, you will win. All experienced players on this great site had to go through the same thing you're about to, so don't be discouraged. Instead, read, learn, play a lot of hands, and most importantly, be smart about your bankroll.