Esports betting Guide: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

16/07/2021 | Categories: Gambling Guides | Published by: cmk4 | Last updated: 01/04/2022

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive commonly termed CS: GO is a first-person multiplayer shooting game where 5 players form a team and battle against the opponents. The teams play as terrorists, the T-side for one half while the other plays as Counter-terrorists, the CT-side at the same time and they switch the respective sides after 15 rounds. The team that wins 16 rounds with a difference of at least two rounds is declared the winner (in case the teams end up winning 15 rounds each, there’s overtime). CS: GO is one of the favorite esports for gamblers as they bet game items like gun skins while some bet real money and crypto on the matches. In this guide, we will discuss the various betting options and how to make your bets in a smarter way.

Team Combination and Roles

Entry Fragger: A player who initiates a fight by either getting the first kill for his team or by providing enough space for the team to make a favorable play. Entry fraggers are usually players with good aim, sharp reactions, and an attacking mindset. It is not an easy task to force a play because, at such a high level of gameplay, opponents will capitalize on even the smallest mistakes.

In-Game Leader (IGL): The leader is responsible for all the calls and plays a team makes during the game. This role is usually taken by someone who has a good understanding of the game, has a cool head under tough situations, and even has the awareness to outplay the opponents by calling out quick rotations. The leader decides which weapons his team will carry into the next round and what would be the pace of the round, sometimes quick entry while sometimes patiently letting the enemy waste all their utility (throwables like stun grenades, smokes, and grenades) before executing the play. An IGL is not defined by his stats because he has much more thinking to do as compared to other players.

Sniper: A player good at covering sharp angles and fast but precise on the trigger. Since the AWP is expensive, the player must have the ability to utilize it properly and play at safe positions because a sniper doesn’t want to engage in a skirmish. At times the player will look to save the gun for the next round instead of giving it away cheaply.

Lurker: Sometimes confusing but a lurker can win rounds within a matter of seconds as they hide in clutch positions and communicate with the team about the position of enemies and based on the information gathered by the lurker, the team makes their play. One important feature of the lurker is their knowledge of the map and the useful positions.

Support: As evident from other esports, the support duty is underrated because you won’t see a support player making highlight plays or clutching an unfavorable position (they might do at times, but not something you expect from a support player) but they are important for the team combination and flashing out enemies such that their entry fragger can take the advantage or smoke to stall the enemies from rushing are some of the examples how the support players contribute to the team.

Markets available for CS: GO and ideal choices for betting

Round Winner: It can be a pistol round (the pistol rounds in the game are 1st and 16th rounds, namely the first round of each, the T and CT side) or it might be a gun round. Betting on the round is unpredictable but based on the economy of the teams you may be able to get an idea of who could win the round. A team with better utility and guns is expected to win more rounds. Also, some teams are better than others in pistol rounds so you can use that to your advantage while betting for the round winner. Some of the best pistol players are Aleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev, Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbau and David “frozen” Čerňanský.

1st Kill for the round: I would suggest avoiding betting on this because it’s a completely random possibility and considering the house edge on sports betting is higher, I would suggest betting on markets you can strategize for.

Total Rounds in the Map: The minimum number of rounds possible in a map is 16, given one team wins every round and comes out unscathed taking the map 16-0. But this doesn’t happen in professional Counter-Strike because all the players are similar in skills and you cannot expect one team to dominate the entire map. The usual score of a map is something like a 16-9 and based on the past performances of the team on a map, you can estimate how many rounds the map may go on for. Normally, betting on over is the ideal choice because even when a team is down and low, a single-round win can bring multiple rounds because the economy plays an important role in deciding the winner for each round.

Map Winner: One of the most intelligent betting options because there is data for every team and if you carefully analyze the two teams on a particular map, you may be able to find a clear favorite. An example could be, Evil Geniuses on Inferno are usually very solid. Keep in mind that a team might be down in rounds on a particular side but bounce back on the stronger side of the map. For example, the CT-side of the Nuke map is very strong and if a team manages to win just 5-6 rounds on T-side, they can easily bounce back when they play as the CT side.

Outright Winner: Of course, the most favorite betting market. No matter how your team performed in a particular map and round, you know there are some teams who will emerge victorious at the end. Sometimes teams may lose badly on the opponent’s map pick but come back strong in their own map choice and even carry the momentum to win the third map eventually.

Betting Tips for CS: GO

Never go all-in: No matter how much confidence you have in a bet or a team to win, don’t go all-in because esports is full of surprises and morale is a huge factor for lesser-known teams to perform against the giants. It’s always better to spread your bets into multiple markets and matches.

Avoid Rage-Betting: Just like the players playing the game can rage sometimes, the bettors can rage after a frustrating loss. It’s important to calm yourself down and realize that rage betting will only make things worse by digging the hole deeper. If you can’t think wisely after a few bad losses, take a rest and avoid betting.

Value betting: Although odds are best at describing how favorable a match is for the participating teams, there are times when a team has already qualified for the next round while the opponents need the win at any cost to stay in the tournament. Those are times when you will see upsets because one team is playing casually while the other is focused as ever. Odds providers might not take into account such things and it’s a good way to get value bets.

Research: Always do some research before you make bets. There are platforms like HLTV where you can get data on the teams and their recent results which can help you understand how teams are performing along with any roster changes made by them recently. There are coach changes too and that’s something you must keep an eye on because coaches don’t participate in the game but plan everything prior to the game. Astralis have always been so successful because of their coach Danny “zonic” Sørensen.

Conclusion

While making your bets for a CS: GO game, ensure that you have researched enough about the game and have also checked for any replacements and substitutions. Pick your markets wisely based on the tips we shared above. Though esports betting can be frustrating when things are not going your way and during such times, take a break and come back stronger. Remember gambling is meant for fun and you shouldn’t be taking too much stress while gambling. To further lessen your stress, we are going to mention some promotions which help you cut out losses.

Stake is offering a money-back promotion of up to $100 if your team wins the first map and loses the match. You can read about it here: Stake’s CS:GO First Map Insurance

Oh, wait, no coins? No problem! Join using our link below and get $7 for free!

Claim your $7 free bonus at Stake now Claim your $7 free bonus at Stake now