of course you would experiment playing free games and not cash games. once you are more confident to which strategy best works for you then you can BRING IT in cash games
my main advice is NEVER to practice the same way. but not only that be OBSERVANT while you are practicing. if you are an observant gamer you can better learn and understand the mechanics of the game better. what cause what chains or combos. it helps you understand WHY that move had the effect it did and what you did in order to make or setup that move. etc
see when you are observant while playing, let's say you get a HUGE COMBO! or high scoring move!, if you are observant you will NEVER find yourself saying "OMG!!! WOW! I GOT ALL THESE POINTS AND CLEARED THE BOARD! but i dont know how or why the fock it happened" LOL!
once you do those 2 things, you can pretty much master any game you set your heart on!
Good luck Jeannie! sorry i am not a big money master to better help you out