Should I Play Opening Traps?

I was talking to a friend about how I was on a losing streak and they recommended traps. So I was wondering if it would increase my Elo. I’m a bit hesitant though cause pretty much every trap I see either relies on opponents making very specific moves, or when they don’t fall for the trap it’s an unplayable position.

Learn opening traps to avoid them. Not to play them. Once you reach a certain rating (not much higher than you are now), you'll pretty much hit a brick wall if you try them on anyone. It also won't help you to develop any skills, as you'll just be playing the same moves in hopes that your opponent does what you want (AKA "Hope Chess").

Case in point: My opponent in this game tried to get a speedy checkmate with the Tennison Gambit (4. Bc4 threatens 5. Bxf7#) and proceeded to play horribly after the trap failed, blundering two pieces and outright hanging a third, before resigning.

Thank you for the advice

That being said, there are some opening traps that aren't entirely useless. The ones that can happen naturally in a solid position and don't rely on dirty tricks are quite viable, as you'll still be OK if the other side doesn't fall for them.

For example, there's the Elephant Trap:

Playing Kxd8 right away is also fine (in fact, the engine considers it to be slightly better) because the queen is pinned (so it's not going anywhere) and the bishop is protected.

Honestly just keep playing with ALL your pieces in mind. I had a passion in 6th grade and went from 300 to 900 after grinding. Now I'm about 1100 to 1400 level (idk since I never tried grinding again)