I am a noob too and my opinion is that you are insane if you want to jump into NL cash games.

Tournaments are one thing - they are generally small risk with a large potential reward, and if you get a decent run of cards, that can often be all you really need to finish in the money.

NL cash games require you to buy in for a larger amount of money and what you win is what you win.

The real problem is that you are MUCH more likely to run into better players at a NL table - especially as compared to a tournament - where players will likely run the gamut from very good to very very bad.

IMHO, the absolute best way to improve at first is at limit games - there you can learn how to read the strength of your hand against others and when to bet, call or fold.

Only then, once you have the basic principles down, can you expect to be truly proficient at NL.

Learn to crawl before you try to fly.