i've read toaster's beginner's guide and i've recently taken up playing free "play money" games at a few sites.

the question is...are these sites really that good to begin with? i find alot of these people are just unrealistic calling stations, people who drop ridiculous amounts (like dropping 1/2-all their stack before the flop constantly) on absolutely nothing, and maniacs everywhere. i'm sure that if i continue practicing on these tables i can maybe figure out how to beat them (play very tight and calling the maniacs..?), but is it even worth it to learn how to beat these tables when "the real world" doesn't even work like this (maybe)?