Les has offered excellent advise on coming to terms with using an astronomical telescope.
Which is the best phase to view the Moon?
Every phase is!
Sorry Allan, but I will have to challenge you
for once!
Tony, have a look through this following thread. It will take you through some of the ins and outs of using your scope with the Moon and planets, plus give you insight into what can be seen not just on the planets, but also the Moon at is different phases. Many people dismiss the full Moon as featureless, but if you know where to look then you will have found the full Moon's hidden treasure!
IIS thread:
Observing the Moon and planets - the good juice and cheats
The Moon is also not just about craters. There is so much more. Most people are aware that the darker features are lava fields. What most people then don't consider is if there are lava fields, then there are volcanoes too! The Moon harbours literally hundreds of volcanic domes and long extinct vents, and a myriad of other volcanic features. As there is no air or water for erosion to take place, the Moon is an open and uninterrupted history book spanning some 4 billion years. And once you know that markers to look for, you will find features that are among the oldest and the newest right beside each other.
The thread also discusses lunar libration the Les mentioned, and how it can be used to advantage to observe features that are along the limb.
Alex.