Had my first game online last night (rant)

Title.... So ya i decided to give AOE 2 online a try after watching and "spirit of the law" videos and it was an okay experience. First game was a 6 man free for all, and it was meh (ill explain). So the game started out being on a tiny island with just a lumber yard, and barely any trees (which sucks but i can deal with it). Started out pretty well, knocking out two other people on similar tiny islands from aggressive rushes. I started my 3 bases on each of the 3 tiny islands I claimed when I started encountered red team..... Red team seemed to have endless resources and was really just trolling me by limiting my movement to the tiny islands. I eventually gave up and resigned. With the map revealed, I discovered Red team started at a huge island, with plentiful amounts of wood and gold, while every other player started on tiny islands all grouped in a corner with very little resources.... So my question is why? Or more like wtf? Is this a normal thing for AOE 2 online; Where a troll will set up a game with a superior starting spot and everyone else at lesser crap spots?? If this is a common theme, how do I avoid these games?

P.S. Congrats "nobody" (the red team guy) you sure showed us on that free for all game. You're obviously a pro