CS:GO betting. What do I need to know?

These days, eSports attracts the attention of gamers and gamblers, and numerous betting shops allow you to bet on a wide variety of disciplines. Among the most popular are CS:GO. In fact, it is one of the oldest eSports disciplines, with a history dating back to 1999. Pretty soon the game began to gather international level tournaments, and now the amount of prize money reaches millions of dollars.

Types of tournaments

Every year CS:GO brings together hundreds of tournaments at different levels. And now we can classify them:

1. Minors. These are low-level tournaments where the prize pool is small. But if a team performs well, they can advance to more prestigious tournaments.
2. Majors. These are prestigious, top-level championship tournaments. It is possible to get to such an event, either by direct invitation of the organizer or by a minor tournament. If a team wins such an event they get a big prize and maximum ranking points.

Of course, every team is interested in participating in the most prestigious tournament and winning it.

Betting on CS:GO

A number of bets on this discipline can be found in the modern bookmaker’s line-up:

1. P1 or P2. This is a bet on the victory of a certain team. This option is not only available in pre-match, but also in real time. X, i.e. a draw is virtually unheard of in this case.
2. A Tie or a TM. The total in CS:GO can be on the number of rounds or cards.
3. Handicap. It can be either plus or minus. Often it is considered in case, if a clear favourite and an underdog play, then the bank offers to bet on the favourite with a handicap +1.5, and on the underdog -1.5. In the first case, the odds are that the team will win by 2-0; in the second, the weaker team will be able to pick up at least one card.
4. Winning the pistol round. If a team wins the pistol round, they will have enough money to buy equipment. And this type of round is different from the others in many ways.
5. Victory for the team for one side. Due to the nature of some of the cards, the sides may have advantages that the bettor should already be taking advantage of.

What are the advantages of betting on CS:GO?

1. Stability. Top teams take part in prestigious tournaments on a regular basis. This gives the bettor an opportunity to follow stats and trends that have been building up over the years.  These can be one-off bets as well as long-term bets.
2. Online streaming. It is actually an order of magnitude faster and easier to organise than live streaming from the venue. So there’s no doubt about where it’s best to watch the game.
3. Bookmakers’ mistakes. This is a major advantage for professional bettors who know all the basics of gambling.  Betting companies often make mistakes in their lines, so you can end up with unjustifiably high or low odds. And you can take advantage of that.

As for the downsides, it’s only a small spread and number of events. And sometimes it’s hard to find a betting shop where you can bet on CS:GO.