Playing on Gandalf's server is a fantastic way to get into it. I have played a bunch of blitz games over there and lost a whole lot and won some (well one
).
The games are small but always interesting. The maps are good. I think Gandalf randomly generates bunches of maps and then host games using the ones that look fun. If you join one of Gandalf's games - throw away anonymity and advertise it here (start a game thread) - you will be able to fill the remaining slots in good time.
I have switched over to using llamabeast's server simply because the games have more players (though I still lose everytime).