Development is the payment
You give the d-pawn to get both knights and the light bishop into play before Black. That lead in development is the compensation, so do not spend time winning the pawn straight back when it costs you the initiative.
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An opening course for White (ECO C44)
Scotch Gambit
The Scotch Gambit runs 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4: instead of recapturing on d4, White develops the bishop to its best diagonal, aims it at f7, and races to open lines while Black is still untangling. It is not refuted. In many lines White simply regains the pawn and keeps the more active pieces; in the sharp Max Lange lines White stays down material for a real attack. The repertoire follows open theory (Wikipedia, the Wikibooks opening pages, and open repertoire sites), with every move re-checked by Stockfish and every board claim tied to the position. Move order matters: we play 3.d4 before Bc4 so Black cannot answer an early Bc4 with ...Bxd4.
This course is part of your daily work.
Before the moves: the big ideas
f7 is the pressure point
The bishop on c4 stares at f7 from move four. Paired with Ng5, Qb3, Qd5, or Qh5, that one square is behind most of the tactics in the opening, including the punishment of 5...dxc3.
Castle, then the e-file
Short castling and Re1 turn Black's uncastled king into a target. The rook on e1 is the most important quiet move in nearly every sharp line, above all in the Max Lange Attack.
One weapon, two doors
5.O-O against both 4...Bc5 and 4...Nf6 funnels into the same Max Lange complex, so the sharp theory is learned once. The quieter 5.c3 recovers the pawn and steers into an isolated-queen-pawn middlegame you can play on understanding.
The lines, chapter by chapter
Learning order, one scoresheet per chapter. The coach serves review one line a day; enter any line directly when you want it now.
Start Here: The Gambit Idea
One line, the whole point. Learn why the pawn goes and what you get for it before any theory.
4...Bc5: The Main Test
Black's most popular move. Meet it with 5.c3: you regain the pawn and reach an Italian middlegame you understand, and you punish Black for getting greedy.
4...Nf6 and the Max Lange Attack
Black's other main move. Castle into the Max Lange, the sharpest line in the gambit: you keep the initiative for the pawn, and Black has one narrow path to equality.
The Quiet Replies
When Black develops modestly and gives up the fight for the centre, do not gambit at all. Just recapture on d4 and enjoy a free tempo and the better position.
Puzzles from this opening
Club games that started in the Scotch Gambit produced these tactics, and you solve every one from White's side, the seat you actually sit in. Difficulty follows your solving, the same as the puzzle room.