Counter-Strike 2 is one of the most popular esports titles thanks to its action-packed and entertaining professional scene. Most passionate CS2 fans will tune in to watch the best teams in the world play against each other in massive tournaments.
To escalate the thrill and entertainment provided by these professional matches, some fans love placing wagers on their favorite teams through esports betting. Alternatively, fans with a deep understanding of the game can also place educated bets that will make them some good money.
If you’re just getting started with CS2 betting, here’s everything you need to know about the most popular CS2 bet types you will often see.
What Is CS2 Match Betting?
Match betting in CS2 refers to placing wagers on professional matches. In any official professional match, betting websites will offer numerous betting lines in different categories, such as the winner of the match, the winner of a specific map, and other propositions and special bets. However, in this article, we’ll only cover the most popular betting types.
Main Categories Of CS2 Betting
In CS2 match betting, there are two primary categories of bets on a regular professional CS2 match. Normally, most matches are played in a Best of 3 format, meaning there is a maximum of three maps played throughout the match.
That being said, the three main types of CS2 betting are:
- Overall Series Betting – All the betting types under this category involve the entire series, such as which team wins the entire series, how many total maps will be played, etc.
- Individual Map Betting – All the betting types under this category focus on only one of the maps in the series, such as which team wins a specific map, round handicap CSGO betting, and more.
- Proposition Bets – All special bets that are not related to the final outcome or result of the game. These include first to X rounds, pistol round winners, as well as player proposition bets.
Now that we’re aware of series and map betting, let’s go for a more in-depth approach and discuss the most popular bet types under the different categories.
Overall Series CS2 Betting Types
Betting on the overall series of a professional CS2 match is probably the easiest way to bet on the game. You can place a wager on your favorite team winning a specific match, and depending on which bet types you choose, you won’t have to worry too much about the little details. It is highly recommended for beginners to bet on overall series bets.
Let’s go over the most popular betting types for the overall series category.
Series Winner
The series winner betting type is the most basic CS2 betting market. You are simply wagering money on which team is going to win the match. How close or dominant the score was will not matter, and how many maps played is also ignored. You are simply looking at the final result.
We highly recommend the series winner betting type for beginner bettors, as you won’t have to complicate any of the details. You can just watch the match and see whether your team emerges victorious or not.
Series Handicaps
One of the most popular betting types in the overall series category is handicap CSGO betting.
Sometimes, you will notice that a series is likely going to be one sided, with the two teams having 80% and 20% win probabilities. Betting on the series winner might not be worth the payout or the risk.
If you want something more entertaining in matches like these, you can bet on the series handicap. The series handicap gives the favorites a minus handicap, while the underdogs get a plus handicap. The handicaps are given in the form of -1.5 maps or +1.5 maps.
To cash a -1.5 bet, the team in question must win the series 2 – 0. Conversely, to win a +1.5 bet, the team in question will only have to win one map in the series.
Over/Under Maps
The next betting type is over/under maps. If you are unsure of which team will win the series, you can bet on the series being a close game or a blowout. As mentioned earlier, most CS2 matches are played in a Best of 3 format, meaning the series will either end 2 – 0 or 2 – 1 all the time.
For over/under maps, the betting lines are usually:
- Over 2.5 Maps
- Under 2.5 Maps
If you select over 2.5 maps, you are betting that the series will feature 3 maps and a 2 – 1 result either way, meaning the series was competitive. If you think the series is going to be a blowout for either team, you can bet on under 2.5 maps, implying you are predicting a 2 – 0 result.
Series Score
If you like chasing high odds, we suggest playing around the series score betting type. As the name suggests, you are predicting the exact score of the series at the end. This means you must choose the correct team to win, and also get the final map score right at the end.
Here are some examples of these bets:
- Team A 2 – 1 Team B
- Team A 2 – 0 Team B
- Team A 0 – 2 Team B
- Team A 1 – 2 Team B
Since you essentially have two layers to go through, the odds for the exact series score betting type is usually pretty high, going above 3.0 odds in an even matchup.
Individual Map CS2 Betting Types
If you are more knowledgeable or aren’t patient enough to wait an entire series, you can always place all your bets on a singular map within the series. As mentioned earlier, most matches are played in a Best of 3 format, so you will have up to three maps to bet on. As for Best of 1 matches, you’re pretty much betting on the entire series since it only consists of one map.
Map Winner
The map winner betting type is very simple. You are wagering your money on which team will win a certain map in the series. It doesn’t matter how close the map is, you are only looking at the final score.
Since most matches are played in Best of 3 format, you need to check which map you are betting on. You could bet on Map 1, Map 2, or Map 3. It is important to keep in mind that each team has the right to choose a map in the series, which is usually a map they are comfortable in.
It is a good idea to bet on a team on their map pick, since there must be a reason they have chosen it. However, always conduct research and check ast results before placing your bet!
Round Handicaps
Like series handicaps, round handicaps is another type of handicap CSGO betting. As you may know, every map depends on the number of rounds achieved by both teams. Teams who are favored to win the map will be given minus handicaps, while the opposing team will be given plus handicaps.
Betting on round handicaps can be a great choice if you are on a series where the winner is very obvious. However, they are even better when partaking in live betting, when the map is being played out. The round handicap values will be adjusted as the game is going on, allowing anyone to participate and get in on decent odds.
Over/Under Rounds
The last map-based betting type we’ll discuss is over/under rounds. The name of this betting type should already give you an idea of what it’s about. Here, you are essentially betting on whether the map will be a stomp or a close one.
Let’s say the over/under value is set to 21.5 rounds. This means you can bet on whether it’ll be under 21.5 rounds or over 21.5 rounds. You do not have to care about which team will win the map, as you are simply looking for how many rounds will be played throughout the map.
On maps that heavily favor one side, such as Nuke (CT Side) or Anubis (T Side), you would think both teams will perform well on the favored side, resulting in a high round count.
Proposition/Special CS2 Betting Types
If you’re too afraid to touch bets that depend on the outcome and result of a match, you can always try proposition betting markets which include some very fun lines. These bets are not related to the final score of the match, such as which team wins the series.
First To X Rounds
The “First to X Rounds” or the “Race To Rounds” betting type is usually played by players who don’t have much patience. Instead of having to watch the entire map or series, you can simply bet on which team will reach a certain number of rounds first.
Some examples of this betting type include:
- First To Reach 3 Rounds
- First To Reach 6 Rounds
- First To Reach 9 Rounds
Again, since it is a proposition bet, you don’t have to worry about your chosen team to win the entire map. Remember that some maps are CT-sided or T-sided, so you can also take that into account if you are betting on which team will reach 3 or 6 rounds first, for example.
Pistol Round Winner
The pistol round winner bet type is self-explanatory. You are simply betting on which team will win the first round of the half, commonly known as the pistol round.
However, you must remember that there are two pistol rounds in each map, so make sure you are aware of which one you are betting on. Usually, they are named “1st Pistol Round Winner” and “2nd Pistol Round Winner,” or something similar.
Most of the time, pistol rounds come down to raw aim. This is why teams with headshot machines like NiKo and b1t usually have a high pistol round win rate. Make sure to do your research, but also understand that these pistol rounds can be quite random and risky.
Player Propositions
Just like sports betting, you can actually bet on player proposition markets. This betting type allows you to focus on a specific player, praying that they overperform or even underperform.
Some examples of player proposition bets include:
- Player over/under X kills in the series.
- Player over/under X headshots in the series.
- Player over/under X AWP kills in the series.
When betting on player props, you should keep a close eye on the player you are betting on, including their recent form and statistics on their past matches.