You're doing okay! It's a pretty hard game. Here's some advice:
- At the start of the game, avoid playing anything above a 4 - the enemy will immediately be able to take out your 5 with their 3, your 6 with their 2, etc.
- You can "gain some time" by first playing a 4, then playing your 3 to take back the 4, then playing your 2 to take back the 3, etc. - try to bait the enemy into playing one of their high cards, and then eliminate it with one of your low cards!
- A 4-4 trade is another way to gain time - if the enemy has placed their 3 and 1 in the same row/column, using your 4 to discard them is a good move - it makes your 5 and 7 relatively safe for the late game. Even playing your 4 to eliminate the enemy 4 can be smart - it forces the enemy to do something else (which you can react to), and clears the board for later trades.
- Pay attention to what's in the enemy deck - even in the late game, if the enemy still has their 3, prefer placing your 6 than your 5.
- Pay attention to the enemy moves. Sometimes it'll set up an exchange by moving your card up or down a row - it only does that if it knows it can make a good trade next turn.
- The game looks innocent, but it requires a cool head. Play along with your morning coffee/tea, not late at night. Hasty play is sloppy play!
- A draw is still good in my book! If the computer doesn't make any early game mistakes, it can be very hard to force a win. Even experienced players struggle to win more than half the time.
Hope you manage your first win soon :)