How to Bet On Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Read our betting guide and learn the basics of how to bet on CSGO matches so you can start wagering for real money. Topics discussed include some of the different types of CS: GO bets, understanding the betting odds and selecting the right CSGO betting site to place your wagers.

Basics of CS: GO

Our CS GO betting guide starts with a little about the game itself. In order to bet intelligently on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive you need to have an idea of how the game works. CS: GO is a first person shooter that consists of two teams of 5 members each. One team is the terrorist side and the other is the counter-terrorist side.  There are 30 rounds of 1:55 each in a regulation game of CS: GO and the first team to win 16 rounds wins the game. After the first 15 rounds of a game the teams will switch sides.

The goal of the terrorist team is to plant a bomb and have it blow up after its timer expires or kill every member of the counter-terrorist team before the round ends. The object of the counter-terrorist team is to prevent the terrorists from blowing up the bomb. This can be accomplished by killing all members of the counter-terrorist team before the round ends, delaying their opponents from planting the bomb until time runs out or defusing the bomb before it explodes. Having clearly defined goals that are easy to understand is one of the reasons for the popularity of CS: GO betting.

Reading CS: GO Betting Odds

Part of learning how to bet on CS GO involves reading the odds which is confusing to many first time bettors. It is important to understand the odds in order for you to determine if a particular bet is worth the risk. Odds can be displayed in several different formats. The two most commonly used formats are American and decimal.

When odds are displayed in the American format a negative number indicates a team is favoured to win. The number with the “-“is the amount you would have to bet to win $100. For example if Team A is favoured to beat Team B the odds might be displayed as follows:

Team A (-400) vs Team B (+200)

What the negative number is telling you aside from the fact that Team A is favoured to win, is that you would have to bet $400 in order to win $100. This ratio doesn’t change regardless of the amount wagered. To win $50 you would have to bet $200. The positive number indicates that a team is the underdog and the number that follows the “+” indicates the amount you would win if you bet $100. In the example above if you bet $100 on Team B you would win $200 if they beat Team A. American odds tell the bettor how much their potential profit is on a bet.

The decimal odd format calculates the entire payout including your stake as opposed to just your winnings. The same bet as above in decimal format could be displayed as follows:

Team A (1.25) vs Team B (3.0)

To calculate your payout if you bet $400 on Team A, multiply 400 by 1.25. Total payout would be $500, your original stake of $400 plus $100 in winnings. Likewise if you bet $100 on Team B multiply 100 by 3.0. Payout would be $300, your original stake of $100 plus $200 in winnings. Some CSGO match betting sites like Lootbet give you the option of displaying odds in the format you prefer.

Types of Bets in CS: GO

There are many different bets you can place when real money CSGO betting but they will generally fall into one of 4 main categories.

Money-line Bets

Betting on which team will win a match is probably the most common way how to bet on Counter Strike and the best way for beginners to get started. Bettors simply select the team they expect to win. This is considered an example of a money-line bet.

Outright Bets

Outright bets, sometimes known as futures market bets are bets that are placed on the outcome of an entire tournament. You may wish to place a wager that a particular team will win a tournament. Another example would be betting that a particular team will reach the finals even if they are not the eventual winner.

Special Bets

Special bets or “props” bets is wagering on specific events that will occur in a game. Examples of special bets would be which team will win a particular map, pistol round winner, odd/even number of rounds and first kill. Placing winning special bets requires much more knowledge of CSGO, the teams and players involved than money-line or outright bets.

In-play Betting

In-play or live betting is placing bets on events in a match after the match has started. Many in-play bets are similar to special bets such as betting on a map winner. The difference is you can see how teams and players have been performing in that particular match before betting. Having a live stream of the match is essential. Odds can change quickly for in-play bets so it’s important to pay attention to both the game and the odds to place the most favourable bets. As with special bets you should have in-depth knowledge of the game, teams and players when live betting.

Where to Bet on CSGO

When you are ready to place a wager you want to choose the best CSGO betting sites. There are several factors to be considered. A good site should offer plenty of matches and betting markets with competitive odds. You will also want to consider how easy it is to fund your account. The Betway CSGO site accepts PayPal and has plenty of other deposit options. Some sites such as Unikrn even allow you to deposit with Bitcoin. Good customer support and a legitimate gambling license is also a must for any site. There are many good sites for betting on CSGO. Take a look at several to find the one that best suits you.