Traps are fun to play, yet many beginner and average level players (myself included) fall into trouble if the traps backfire, or the line doesn't work at all and we're not properly prepared.
1. Before planning to play any sort of trap that you learned from Youtube, lichess studies, etc. it's a good idea to check the database for the success rate of tat trap, for your skill level and game type.
For example, if you're a 1500-1600 player playing blitz, check up under those criteria the success rate of the trap line you want to play. By success rate, I mean the percentage of players in the database who've "taken the bait" relative to all the games played in that position. Keep in mind that some traps require multiple moves by your opponent any one of which if not played will veer of into another line.
For a specific example, lets say you want to see the success rate of the Englund gambit against a 1600 blitz player. After 5...Qxb2, The database show 935/(935+1197) players falling for the trap, i.e. 44%. Keep in mind that this position may not even be reached if your opponent didn't play the first 4 moves this way, and study some of the alternate lines. This brings me to my next point:
2. Never underestimate people. If your going to insult someone's intelligence by playing a trap line, you should at the very least give them enough credit that perhaps they're not going to blunder. Check what the engine evaluation is if your opponent doesn't fall for the trap. This as well as the percentage above will tell you the inherent "risk" involved in playing a particular trap.
And most obviously, you should learn how to play the lines where the trap fails.
As I'm sure many have said before, learning trap lines is important so that you don't fall for them, but learning them for the purpose of using them will not make you better at chess (better to learn tactics and strategy). If however you do play them, at least do your homework first.
I hope this helps.
1. Before planning to play any sort of trap that you learned from Youtube, lichess studies, etc. it's a good idea to check the database for the success rate of tat trap, for your skill level and game type.
For example, if you're a 1500-1600 player playing blitz, check up under those criteria the success rate of the trap line you want to play. By success rate, I mean the percentage of players in the database who've "taken the bait" relative to all the games played in that position. Keep in mind that some traps require multiple moves by your opponent any one of which if not played will veer of into another line.
For a specific example, lets say you want to see the success rate of the Englund gambit against a 1600 blitz player. After 5...Qxb2, The database show 935/(935+1197) players falling for the trap, i.e. 44%. Keep in mind that this position may not even be reached if your opponent didn't play the first 4 moves this way, and study some of the alternate lines. This brings me to my next point:
2. Never underestimate people. If your going to insult someone's intelligence by playing a trap line, you should at the very least give them enough credit that perhaps they're not going to blunder. Check what the engine evaluation is if your opponent doesn't fall for the trap. This as well as the percentage above will tell you the inherent "risk" involved in playing a particular trap.
And most obviously, you should learn how to play the lines where the trap fails.
As I'm sure many have said before, learning trap lines is important so that you don't fall for them, but learning them for the purpose of using them will not make you better at chess (better to learn tactics and strategy). If however you do play them, at least do your homework first.
I hope this helps.