How To Make Money From CSGO eSports Betting

Counter-Strike has become one of the most popular video games on the planet, and credit has to be given to its professional scene. With the game having such a high skill ceiling, every Counter-Strike fan enjoys watching the best players compete against each other in massive tournaments.

This is where betting comes into the mix. On top of watching professional teams go head-to-head, fans can also wager money on teams during their matches, giving an additional layer of thrill and excitement when spectating the game. 

That being said, CSGO betting falls under a subcategory of gambling, but it is a smarter alternative since outcomes are not purely based on luck. Bettors can conduct research before placing a bet. Now, let’s go over a full guide of how you can make money from betting!

First and foremost, like every other sport or esport, you must have a good understanding of the game you’re betting on. This means you must have at least intermediate knowledge of Counter-Strike, how the game works, and the professional space in general. 

At this point, you should already know how the game’s objectives work, how many rounds are required for a team to win, and what are the winning conditions of rounds and matches. If you do not know the basics of the game, we highly advise you not to bet on Counter-Strike yet. 

Key Terminologies You Must Know

In the Counter-Strike betting space, you might run into some common terminologies being thrown around. 

Here are some of the most basic betting terms you must know:

• Moneyline: Like sports betting, moneyline is essentially another way of saying which team will win the entire match.
• Handicap: In betting, handicaps can be given to teams in the form of advantages and disadvantages in rounds or maps. 
• Over/Under: This term refers to betting on whether an outcome of the match (maps or rounds) will be over or under a set number. 

Here are some basic Counter-Strike terms you should also know:

• Eco Round: An eco round occurs when a team decides to save their money and purchase pistols instead of investing in better weapons. 
• Force Buy: A force buy is when a team uses up all their money to buy as much as they can, even when their finances aren’t too good. 
• Full Buy: A full buy occurs when a team has enough money to buy the best weaponry with a full kit of grenades. 
• Retake: A retake is when the Terrorist team has planted the bomb, and Counter-Terrorists try to break into the bomb site to defuse the bomb. 
• Post-Plant: A post-plant is when the Terrorist team has planted the bomb, and they are preventing Counter-Terrorists from retaking the site. 

Learn Which Maps Are CT or T Sided

Map knowledge is also crucial in Counter-Strike and betting. You must have a good understanding of all the maps in the Active Duty Map Pool, which is a set of maps that are always played in the professional scene. 

Counter-Strike maps can be CT-sided, T-sided, or relatively balanced. 

• CT-sided maps: Nuke, Mirage
• T-sided maps: Anubis, Vertigo
• Balanced maps: Dust II, Inferno, Ancient

Understanding which map favors which side can help you greatly in live betting or half-time betting. Even underdogs can win several rounds against top teams if they are playing on the easier side. 

You can also analyze professional teams and how they tend to perform on a specific side of a map, then use this information to place educated bets. 

Know The Teams And Players

The most important aspect of Counter-Strike betting is having avid knowledge of the teams and players you are betting on. Unlike most gambling games, you actually have the ability to conduct research and depend on specific players to help you choose the correct outcome. 

You should at least have a good understanding of the leading teams in the world, which are usually organizations such as Natus Vincere, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Team Spirit, and Astralis. 

Understanding the different roles players take up on a team is also important if you are looking to bet on player propositions. 

Here are the main roles in a team:

• In-Game Leader (captain)
• Entry Fragger
• Lurker/Anchor
• Support Player
• AWPer

You would normally expect a team’s star player to be the Entry Fragger or the AWPer, since these are the roles that engage in most of the action. You shouldn’t expect the IGL or Support player to be raking a lot of kills, since they play more passive roles and try to enable the team. 

When researching different teams, keep in mind that recent form is incredibly important, as teams could have a lot of momentum from winning, or be at a slump where they are trying to make changes to the team’s playstyle and solve their problems. 

Sensing When Comebacks Could Happen

Good game knowledge will also allow you to evaluate whether a comeback might happen in a game. When watching a match, you might notice that the losing team’s star player is starting to heat up, and they are about to switch sides at half-time.

If this team is switching over to the more favorable side, you might consider placing a low bet at high odds for the team to pull off a comeback. Otherwise, you can also bet on the team’s round handicaps if you think they’re good enough to win several rounds before eventually losing the map. 

Live betting is one of the most effective ways for experienced Counter-Strike players to make money from CSGO betting. However, you must make decisions quickly since the odds could be changing every second.

Hands down, the best way to profit off of Counter-Strike gambling is to conduct research before placing a bet. You are betting on real humans instead of a ball spinning around a roulette wheel. There is actual data you can look at to make informed bets. 

Know The Best Resources – HLTV.org

There are several websites that help players conduct proper research by providing useful statistics and data.

The one website you must know is HLTV.org, the “home of competitive Counter-Strike.” HLTV is a news and portal website that ensures you are updated on everything about the professional scene.

You can read their news articles to keep yourself updated on recent roster changes, and they also tend to post interviews where you can have a sneak peek of hearing how players feel about their team’s current form. 

Additionally, you can also visit match pages where you can see statistics of a team’s past matches and win rates on each map, all filtered to only display results from the past three months. 

There are also comment sections on each match page where players can discuss the match and share their predictions. You might get additional information from these comments, but do not let them influence your decision too much. 

There are also websites such as Liquipedia that can give you more information about a player’s past teams and achievements, as well as schedules on upcoming tournaments. 

Prioritize Recent Form

As briefly covered earlier, it is important to only scan through data that is as recent as possible. The furthest you would go is probably three months. You are looking for statistics that are days old, or a week old at best. 

Just like traditional sports, teams and players might be feeling themselves and go on a massive run where they dominate all their opponents. The theory of momentum is incredibly prevalent in Counter-Strike, as teams can carry their good form and become invincible for a few days. 

In betting, you should strictly ignore past achievements as they are no longer relevant for the match you are betting on today. Astralis had a dynasty a few years back, where they won four Major trophies. However, the Astralis roster today is totally different and not all of its players are at their peak anymore. 

When evaluating a team’s recent performance, look for any winning or losing streaks. However, you should also take into account the opponents they are playing against. 

For example, we have a match between GamerLegion and FaZe Clan. GamerLegion is on a huge winning streak, while FaZe Clan had just lost three matches in a row. 

However, GamerLegion was playing against Tier 3 opponents, while FaZe Clan had only lost to the top-five teams in the world, and all three losses were extremely close. In this case, do not fall under the wrong perception that GamerLegion is favored to win. 

Take Note Of The Maps

Every Counter-Strike series will go through a “veto” process, where teams will ban and pick maps. In a Best of 3 series, one team will get to choose a map, which will be played as Games 1 and 2. 

Teams would almost always choose their most comfortable maps as their map pick. So, even if the match has a massive underdog, you might want to give a little credit to the possibility of the underdogs winning a decent amount of rounds on the map. 

On HLTV, you can always see the statistics of teams on every map, with the data filtered to a maximum of three months. So, you can see the win rates for each team in recent times to help you make a decision. 

Analyze A Team’s Favored Side

It is also important to note that a team will choose which side they would like to start on if they are playing on their opponent’s map pick. So, on a CT-sided map like Nuke, most teams would start on the Counter-Terrorist side. 

If proper research is conducted, it could be a good option to bet on the winner of the first half. Since teams can select which side to start on, you can bet on them winning the first half since they are on the easier side. 

You can also check a team’s recent matches on specific maps using HLTV. The website will show you the scores of each half, so you can see how well a team has been performing and get insight from there. 

Taking Advantage Of Bookmakers

Choosing proper bookmakers is also an important thing to consider. We highly recommend using multiple bookmakers as this is the best way to take advantage of them and beat the house. 

Maximize Promotions And Bonuses

First, most prominent bookmakers will have welcome bonuses for new users, such as boosted deposits or risk-free bets. Though these promotions are usually a one-time use, some additional money never hurts.

However, many bookmakers also give players cash backs or other promotional returns for loyal members. So, choose a reputable betting site with such bonuses and enjoy some free loot from time to time. 

Finding Value Bets

Finding value bets is one of the most effective ways to take advantage of bookmakers. In general bookmakers offer very similar odds for certain matchups, but sometimes, these odds can vary from anywhere between 0.05 to 0.20, which is 5 to 20% of your bet. 

For example, we have a matchup between Team Liquid and Astralis. Your usual bookie, Bookmaker 1, is offering 1.98 odds on Team Liquid. However, you check your secondary bookie, Bookmaker 2, and see that they are offering 2.07 odds on Team Liquid. 

Just by checking two different bookmakers, you can already increase the value of your bet by 0.09, which is 9%. It is essentially money falling from the sky that you might have missed if you were never logged into two bookmakers. 

Arbitrage Betting

Arbitrage betting is very prevalent in sports betting, but not as much in esports and Counter-Strike betting. Still, it is a way for you to make guaranteed money, but the opportunities are much rarer in CSGO than traditional sports. 

Similar to value betting, arbitrage betting requires you to have accounts on several bookmakers. For lesser-known matchups, bookmakers might have varying odds due to a lack of data or certainty, resulting in them providing mismatched odds.

For example, Bookmaker 1 is offering odds of 1.50 against 2.50 for a match. However, Bookmaker 2 is offering 1.75 to 2.00 odds for the exact same match. In this case, you would take 2.50 odds on Bookmaker 1 and also bet on 1.75 odds on Bookmaker 2. 

You are betting on both sides with the best odds, so your victory is guaranteed. You will have to calculate how much you need to bet on each side to secure a profit. There are numerous arbitrage betting calculators you can access online for free. 

However, most arbitrage opportunities will only give you around 1 to 5% profit, so you will need a large bankroll to make meaningful money from these bets. Still, these opportunities literally give you free money, so you can’t complain too much.

Setting proper finances is crucial to becoming a successful Counter-Strike bettor. Gambling and betting is a very dangerous game that can result in you losing piles and piles of money. You must ensure that you are only betting money you can afford to lose. 

Setting A Bankroll

The first step before starting to bet on matches is to determine a bankroll. A bankroll is essentially how much money you are prepared to commit to betting on Counter-Strike.

You must carefully evaluate your bankroll, taking into account your current financial situation and how much money you are okay with losing. You must not set aside money you need for other purposes such as rent or education and use it to gamble instead.

We cannot express how important setting your bankroll is, as failure to do so can cause financial stress which might force you to borrow money from friends and family. 

Sticking To Sizings

It is also important to determine betting sizes in Counter-Strike. Based on your bankroll, you can decide how much money you should bet on low, medium, or high bets. 

If you are on a roll, or on a slump, you can also adjust your betting sizes. If you are on a huge heater, you can start increasing your bet sizes if you are very confident with your next bets. Meanwhile, you might not be in the right state of mind on a losing streak, so we recommend reducing your bet sizes if you are uncertain. 

Counter-Strike betting is still betting, so there are several betting principles that can help you become a successful CSGO bettor, too. 

Spread Your Bets

You must remember that betting should be a long-term game, so you must make sure to spread the risk of your bets by diversifying. 

Unless you are a true gambler, you do not want to lose your entire balance going all-in on a single bet. You should reduce your risks by betting on several matches or betting markets at a time.

You can try doing parlays like most sports bettors do, adding multiple legs and betting small amounts of money. Alternatively, you can bet on multiple matches in a day and track your bets to see if you ended the day in profit. 

Try Hedging Bets

Hedge betting is another tactic that can help you get guaranteed profit once an opportunity arises. This is only possible if you have access to live betting.

Let’s explain hedge betting with an example. You are betting on G2 Esports versus Team Spirit, which offered 1.87 to 1.87 odds. Here, you placed a $100 bet on Team Spirit to win the match, for a potential return of $87.

Fortunately, Team Spirit won the first map of the series, and there is a 10-minute break before going into the second map. Suddenly, you feel like G2 Esports might win the series. You go back to your bookmaker to see that the match winner odds have shifted to 1.33 to 3.10. 

Hedge betting means you are putting money on G2 Esports to win the series at 3.10 odds. You can bet a lower amount on G2, and after placing the bet, you have pretty much guaranteed yourself a win. 

Though the payout of the match becomes much lower than you initially hoped for, you have eliminated all chances of losing since you have bets on both sides. However, hedge betting only works if your team is leading. 

Stay Disciplined

Discipline is one of the most important skills in betting. At all costs, you must avoid impulsive and emotional betting. These situations can arise if you are on a losing streak and decide to start rage betting to chase your losses. Oftentimes, this will result in uneducated bets and lead you to lose even more money.

A lack of discipline could also lead you to bet above your limits and potentially lose more than you were willing to lose. Many bettors without discipline would also re-deposit funds to their accounts, using up money that wasn’t intended for betting.

You must learn to set strict betting limits and take breaks if you are not feeling well. If you sense that you are starting to get addicted, seek immediate help before it gets worse.

Finally, we’ll go over which types of tournaments you should and should not bet on. 

Premier Tournaments (Tier 1)

Premier tournaments are the best type of tournaments you can bet on. These are also called Tier 1 events. 

Premier events usually offer hundreds of thousands, or up to millions in prize pool. These tournaments attract the best teams in the world, ensuring you are betting on the highest level of competition possible. 

Tier 1 teams are generally more stable, as they have practiced for weeks leading up to the tournament and have set strategies on every map. There is also a lot of data on Tier 1 teams you can easily access to make informed bets.

Additionally, most of these tournaments are held in a LAN format, meaning all of the players are playing in an offline setting. This removes the possibility of stream sniping, which allows tournament organizers to broadcast the matches with no delay, helping with live bets. 

Online Tournaments (Tier 2-3)

We don’t recommend betting on online tournaments, as they are usually filled with Tier 2 and Tier 3 teams which can be unreliable and inconsistent.

These lower-tier tournaments will feature players who do not have too much data around them, as new players come and go all the time. With a lack of data, there is increased potential of unpredictable outcomes and a lot of volatility in general.

Since tournaments are played online, tournament organizers cannot monitor the players’ setups, and there could be several cases of stream sniping or cheating. To combat stream sniping, tournament organizers put a 2 to 3-minute delay on live streams.

There is also risk of potential match-fixing, where both teams are working together to abuse bookmakers and make money by influencing the outcomes themselves. 

In general, you should never bet on these tournaments if you are new to Counter-Strike betting. Even experienced bettors tend to avoid online tournaments since there could be a lot of shady activities going on.

To become somewhat profitable from CSGO betting, you must really have a deep understanding of the game itself and the teams and players. You need to be very good at analyzing recent data and trends to make informed bets that will boost your chances of winning. 

However, in the long run, making money from CSGO betting can be pretty tough because you are playing against the spread, also known as the house edge. For every 50 – 50 bet, bookmakers will offer you 1.87 to 1.87 odds, meaning that 13% is already missing. 

To make money from CSGO betting, you must maintain a high win rate to beat the spread, which can be difficult for most bettors. All in all, Counter-Strike betting should be prioritized as a hobby, instead of making money. Only the top percentile of Counter-Strike bettors can come out with good profit.