I've been playing a lot of chess over the past year or two. One thing that upped my game a lot was watching videos on Youtube about common openings and traps. I

I've been playing a lot of chess over the past year or two. One thing that upped my game a lot was watching videos on Youtube about common openings and traps. If you regularly lose right away, you're probably falling for traps. Once you know about them they're easier to spot. You can also attempt to spring them on other people, which is fun (though unlikely to work against anyone serious about chess). Learn about the basic tactics like pins and forks and get better at spotting them. My advice is to learn maybe 3-4 openings and just use those every time. It narrows the field of possibilities. You'll get acclimated to the different ways they tend to play out. Of course, people will use others that you're unfamiliar with and you'll probably lose. Otherwise, just play a lot. I like bullet chess (1 minute games). The fast pace means lots of reps and you get good at assessing the board quickly.