Getting smoked playing E5

Any tips/tricks for playing E5 vs E4? My win percent has dropped to almost 40% playing E5. I'm not looking to learn a new defense quite yet because I'm focusing on really learning the italian game right now. Just trying to find some ways to firm up. Maybe some book recommendations. 

Learn general opening principles. It's enought for <1500 player.

Better to invest that time in learning chess in general and improve your thinking process. I mean, that stronger player can play unknown system fo him and get much-much better results because better thinking system and better general understanding. Your problems not in opening at the moment.

For example. This game: https://www.chess.com/live/game/4246531732?username=retiornot92
At first of all, you've played 3.Nf6. It's 2 knights defence not exactly italian. I would not suggest you to play this system unless you know theory well in this line. Better to play italian with 3. Bc5. Just a safer option.

Secondly, you lost this game not becouse of opening, but because you blundered a piece, because you wasn't able to see responces of your opponent, and nf6+ in particular.

OK here are 2 suggestions. 1. Get Rheinfeld's "complete book of chess openings". It will be about 2$ and will give you an overview of the e4 e5 openings and describe some ideas on how to continue after the first few moves. (Of course something modern could be better but more expensive.) 2. Get "200 open games" and start playing through them- when you lose a game in an opening, play through the games that feature that opening. [and of course analyze your loss]

you are gonna get smoked in the beginning but that is exactly why playing 1.e4 e5 is considered so important to play. you get exposed to so much tactics in open positions. When it start to turn and you start getting good in those positions you are a much better chessplayer

+1 

By the way, what was your prior response to 1.e4 if not e5 then @RetiOrNot92 ? French Defense, Sicilian, some other lesser known miscellaneous line? I used to play the French Defense, but I now use e5 to counter 1.e4 because I like the resulting middlegames that arise. It is good to have alternative openings to fall back on though. As the expression goes, "you don't want to be a one trick pony." Even if you play one opening out of a repertoire choice, it is still good to have some insight into other openings. Not only is it a good way to throw off your opponents from trying to prepare against you, but you also learn how to handle various positions and that skill alone may prove useful if you ever find yourself in a thematically similar spot.

That's all I have for now. E5. Just started playing a couple of months ago. So still working on learning the italian game before I start trying to learn a black opening. 

That's why God invented the French.

Of course, their wine is superb too.

I tried the French, and really didn't work out well. But I could get a book and really devote some time to figuring it out i guess. But not right now. 

Ahhh, the venerable 2CV. The first time I saw one parked on a Paris street, I wondered if I could take it home in the overhead compartment of the airplane. I still think it might have been possible.

For instance, the French player should castle into the Alekhine-Chatard attack, and then carry the guillotine to White’s queenside. 

After 11...gxh4 white has nothing better than a perpetual in that 6.Bg5 - 11.Qh5 line. There is no way to let a rook quickly participate in the attack. 5...0-0 isn't any worse than 5...d6, unless you don't want to allow a forced draw.

Makes sense. OK I'll just keep practicing. By getting smoked though, I meant its my weakest matchup by far. I have literally spent 0 time on learning defense to D4, but my win percentage is 54%. But I have spent a some time working on my E4 defense, but my win percentage is 41%. What makes defending E4 so much more difficult than D4 at my level? Is it just the increase in tactical possibilities? And that most 1300 D4 players aren't yet strong enough positionaly? 

For Instance this is my last game I played. 

Thanks that answered none of my questions.... 

This is literally 90% of the advice I get on here... At least they're consistently self-contradictory. Though I must state. I think pfren is probably the worst at it. I can't tell if he's just a troll or is oblivious to it. 

Check it out...

Good Chess Openings Books For Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-openings-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Perhaps it would be a good idea to start with Discovering Chess Openings, a book about opening principles.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

Possibly helpful:  First Steps 1 e4 e5
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7790.pdf

https://chesscafe.com/book-reviews/first-steps-1-e4-e5-by-john-emms/