The only thing I want to add to this at this time is that the OP, and players in the same boat as the OP, really should give networks like WPN, Revolution, Bovada, and Merge a shot at this point. WPN's software is clearly the best available right now and with the bonus specials running this month as well as the new Sit and Crush promotion - it's really not a bad place to play poker. PT4 and HM2 work great and the software on WPN has gotten pretty good. Obviously PokerStars is the best in the biz when it comes to software but I honestly have to say that WPN's software is not too far behind at this point. I think a lot of people are basing their impressions of these sites on how things were 6-12 months ago. There have been a lot of improvements and changes since then and you would have to see for yourself to truly grasp how much progress has been made.

Give it a shot. Throw $50-$100 onto one of the sites and start playing the microstakes while using a free trial of PT4 or HM2. I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised with what you see.