The fact that you're playing for opening tricks is the reason you're only rated 1200. Play conventional openings. Use the opening to reach a playable middle game. Do lots of tactics puzzles and learn about endgames.
That will help you win more games than any change to your opening repertoire.
For someone seeking help with choosing openings, I usually bring up Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014).
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
I believe that it is possible to see a fair portion of the beginning of Tamburro's book by going to the Mongoose Press site.
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Perhaps DeathTank3 would also want to look at Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006).
"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
"There is no such thing as a 'best opening.' Each player should choose an opening that attracts him. Some players are looking for a gambit as White, others for Black gambits. Many players that are starting out (or have bad memories) want to avoid mainstream systems, others want dynamic openings, and others want calm positional pathways. It’s all about personal taste and personal need.
For example, if you feel you’re poor at tactics you can choose a quiet positional opening (trying to hide from your weakness and just play chess), or seek more dynamic openings that engender lots of tactics and sacrifices (this might lead to more losses but, over time, will improve your tactical skills and make you stronger)." - IM Jeremy Silman (January 28, 2016)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/opening-questions-and-a-dream-mate
https://www.chess.com/article/view/picking-the-correct-opening-repertoire
http://chess-teacher.com/best-chess-openings/
https://www.chess.com/blog/TigerLilov/build-your-opening-repertoire
https://www.chess.com/blog/CraiggoryC/how-to-build-an-opening-repertoire
https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-an-opening-to-memorize-or-understand
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-perfect-opening-for-the-lazy-student
https://www.chess.com/article/view/3-ways-to-learn-new-openings
https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-understand-openings
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9035.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627110453/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen169.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9029.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/has-the-king-s-indian-attack-been-forgotten
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7277.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9033.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9050.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627104938/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen159.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627022042/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen153.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
"... Overall, I would advise most players to stick to a fairly limited range of openings, and not to worry about learning too much by heart. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... Once you identify an opening you really like and wish to learn in more depth, then should you pick up a book on a particular opening or variation. Start with ones that explain the opening variations and are not just meant for advanced players. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf
"... To begin with, only study the main lines ... you can easily fill in the unusual lines later. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... I feel that the main reasons to buy an opening book are to give a good overview of the opening, and to explain general plans and ideas. ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... If the book contains illustrative games, it is worth playing these over first ..." - GM John Nunn (2006)
"... the average player only needs to know a limited amount about the openings he plays. Providing he understands the main aims of the opening, a few typical plans and a handful of basic variations, that is enough. ..." - FM Steve Giddins (2008)
"... For inexperienced players, I think the model that bases opening discussions on more or less complete games that are fully annotated, though with a main focus on the opening and early middlegame, is the ideal. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2010)
"... Everyman Chess has started a new series aimed at those who want to understand the basics of an opening, i.e., the not-yet-so-strong players. ... I imagine [there] will be a long series based on the premise of bringing the basic ideas of an opening to the reader through plenty of introductory text, game annotations, hints, plans and much more. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627055734/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen38.pdf
"The way I suggest you study this book is to play through the main games once, relatively quickly, and then start playing the variation in actual games. Playing an opening in real games is of vital importance - without this kind of live practice it is impossible to get a 'feel' for the kind of game it leads to. There is time enough later for involvement with the details, after playing your games it is good to look up the line." - GM Nigel Davies (2005)
Possibly of interest:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
http://dev.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Simple-Attacking-Plans-77p3731.htm
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1948)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-back-to-basics-tactics
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Studying Chess Made Easy by Andrew Soltis
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090448/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review750.pdf
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092617/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review560.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
The fact that you're playing for opening tricks is the reason you're only rated 1200. Play conventional openings. Use the opening to reach a playable middle game. Do lots of tactics puzzles and learn about endgames.
That will help you win more games than any change to your opening repertoire.
I think the OP has a valid strategy.
If the goal is to beat some player at a particular skill level and that skill level happens to be weak against certain tricks, then it is the most direct way of beating those people.
Whether this is the best method to overall improve in the shortest time is debatable, it is a good method to win against a section of people.
it would be even better if the unconventional trap is a transposition from a few moves into a "normal" open (like 1. e4 e5 ..or 1.d4...). This way, the opponent will be less prepared to think deeply to counter the change until too late!
I didn't really mean a trap, just something people would not normally face at around a 1200 USCF rating. For instance, Henrik Danielsen plays 1. f4 2. Nf3 3. g3, and he is a grandmaster. The opening works even at that level, but people at ~1200 USCF would never have heard of it, making it easier to get a slight advantage in the opening, just by learning some basic ideas.
Try out 1.b3, the Nimzo- Larsen attack. It is not very forcing but in a blitz game you can get a strategic, off beat position with some tactics unique to the position. Also, give the Dutch a try, since there are several ways to play and set this up. Most everyone at my club hates playing against this opening.
Possibly helpful:
The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Move by Move (2013)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052905/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen175.pdf
Play 1 b3!
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627104235/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen114.pdf
"Many opening monographs have enthusiastic titles of the form Winning with the... and invite the reader to ingest some marvellous system or other and rack up points - either by encyclopaedic knowledge of main lines or the methodical application of simple strategies. So let us make it clear, first of all, that White has no advantage in the Nimzo-Larsen. The lines in ECO, for example, conclude mostly in '=' (equal) or 'unclear', with just a few '+=' (White stands slightly better) and even these '+=' seem optimistic. Nor is the Nimzo-Larsen a 'system' opening in which the first moves are played parrot-fashion regardless of the replies. There are system-like elements in some variations - the plan Bb5, Ne5, f2-f4 in the reversed Nimzo-Indian (Chapter 4) for instance - but more often White (and Black) can do just about anything. Anyone who likes to win their games in the opening should therefore look elsewhere." - Byron Jacobs & Jonathan Tait (2001) in Nimzo-Larsen Attack
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626223637/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen27.pdf
1. b3 The Nimzo Larsen Attack might be a viable choice for your purposes...
https://www.amazon.com/Play-1-b3-Nimzo-Larsen-Attack-Friend/dp/9056912569/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516720109&sr=1-1&keywords=ilya+odessky
https://www.amazon.com/Nimzo-Larsen-Attack-Move-Cyrus-Lakdawala/dp/1781941122/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516720187&sr=1-1&keywords=nimzo+larsen+attack
https://www.amazon.com/Nimzo-Larsen-Attack-Everyman-Chess-Jonathan/dp/1857442865/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1516720187&sr=1-2&keywords=nimzo+larsen+attack
Many people at those lower ratings don't have tons of experience with bold gambits like the traxler counterattack, the muzio gambit, or the Danish gambit. And, a couple of these (like the danish) have pretty playable middle games if you're willing to study up on them a bit; they're all pretty intense if the opponent falls for it. However, all of the other posts are correct; if somebody just so happens to know how to refute the traxler then you're in hot water so use the gambits with caution lol
Many people at those lower ratings don't have tons of experience with bold gambits like the traxler counterattack, the muzio gambit, or the Danish gambit. And, a couple of these (like the danish) have pretty playable middle games if you're willing to study up on them a bit; they're all pretty intense if the opponent falls for it. However, all of the other posts are correct; if somebody just so happens to know how to refute the traxler then you're in hot water so use the gambits with caution lol
I used to love the Danish gambit a lot, but the only problem is lately after 5.bxb2 d5, there is too much counter play for black. Although it is a fun opening, I can't see myself getting too far with it, especially since I find myself with lots of people who don't fully accept the gambit anyway.
As for the Muzio Gambit, i'll give it a try 
seems like fun!
Something that people at ~1200 USCF have never heard of, that can have really strong attacking chances (Preferably when they have studied it a bit as well). I've tried the reverse Leningrad (Polar Bear System), but I want to expend my repertoire, since I face the same people a lot in my local tournaments and they might pick up on my tricks.