exactly.
i started with playmoney tourneys on stars and that helped me fund my buck real money tourneys and all the sats to big events too.
to this day, i havent deposited one red cent, and have no intention to.
p.s.: fyi, again, im a recreational player and play only buck real money tourneys and sats on stars. no cash games or big(ger) buyin real money tourneys for me (no need/interest); i do however, regularly observe in their entirety the highest buyin tourneys on stars which i always find very informative.