Before beginning, you should know that beating low limit texas holdem isn't easy, in many ways consistently winning at middle limit is easier. However, the fact is that most places are aimed at the upper limits where using the same strategy than you would at lower limits often results in a loss. Also, when you're starting out, unless you have deep pockets and don't care,you have no knowledge or bankroll to build upon. Your foundation is little or nothing, and a weak foundation will sabotage any efforts of success. 

When you are learning holdem at the low limits, you will not find many good players. You might get a warped view of how the game should be played correctly. If a player was really good and capable of winning, they would have progressed up the limit ladder to bigger games. That said, by no means should you think that you need to start higher. Although the learning curve may be sharp, once you get over the hump, moving up the ranks should be far easier than when you first started.

The difference is that you have prepared sequentially and have an edge over every other player that's facing the same challenges. Taking the steps to learn strategy, as opposed to just haphazardly playing, gives you a major advantage. Studies show that 95% of people who set goals and pro-actively follow them, end up achieving what they want.

In the long run, some players consistently win and others lose.  Why is this? When you look at the overall patterns, luck plays a very small role when you think about how many hands a player is dealt in the course of a year. Perhaps the following analogy will help you in seeing a different perspective. Poker is much like investing; the best investors are those that take calculated risks, only putting their money into ventures that have a good chance of succeeding. Do you think if Warren Buffet put his money into every stock across the board, he would be as successful as he is?

And yet, newbies tend to do exactly that in every hand. They'll start out with a hand that would take a miracle to win, and after seeing the flop, they invest more into it either by either ignoring or being oblivious to the fact that another player has a better hand. 9 out of 10 times a smarter player gladly takes their money.

What is then the first step in being strategic? You can't be a winning player if you play every hand. You need to be selective and tighten" up, meaning playing fewer but better hands than your opponents. You need to take calculated risks and only then put your money behind them. When a fighter pilot gets an enemy in the cross-hairs, he's said to have "tone"; it's the same thing in poker, you wait for your cards, and only after you get tone do you fire, kill, and take the pot. Taking the shot before is only a waste of ammo, which in the end will get you killed.