How to Practice Smokes in CS2: Full Server Setup

Step 1: Start the server

You want a private, offline game so cheats are allowed. From the main menu, choose Play → Practice (or open a workshop practice map), pick a map, and start it. Once you're in, enable the developer console if you haven't already (Settings → Game, or the console guide) and open it with ~. Then unlock the practice commands:

sv_cheats 1

Nothing that follows works without this, and it only functions on servers you control — none of it touches matchmaking.

Step 2: Turn on grenade previews

This is the core of smoke practice — seeing where the grenade goes so you can correct a lineup immediately:

sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1
sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_trailtime 8
cl_grenadepreview 1

• sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_pipreview 1 shows a picture-in-picture preview of exactly where your grenade will land.
• sv_grenade_trajectory_prac_trailtime 8 keeps the trajectory trail visible for eight seconds so you can study the arc after it lands.
• cl_grenadepreview 1 previews the arc live while you hold the throw button, before you even release.

Step 3: Bind the rethrow key

The rethrow command is what makes practice fast — it repeats your last grenade from the same position, so you never have to walk back to the lineup spot:

bind n sv_rethrow_last_grenade

Stand at your lineup, throw the smoke once, then tap N to fire it again and again. You immediately see whether it lands in the same place every time, which is the real test of whether a lineup is reliable under pressure. Bind it to whatever key is comfortable.

Step 4: Infinite nades and free buy

So you're never out of grenades or money mid-session:

sv_infinite_ammo 1
ammo_grenade_limit_total 5
mp_buy_anywhere 1
mp_maxmoney 65535
mp_startmoney 65535

ammo_grenade_limit_total 5 lets you carry every grenade type at once, sv_infinite_ammo 1 means throws never deplete, and mp_buy_anywhere 1lets you re-buy utility anywhere on the map. A couple of round-management commands round it out so the game doesn't reset on you:

mp_warmup_end
mp_freezetime 0
mp_roundtime_defuse 60

Step 5: Add noclip to check landings

Optional but useful — bind noclip so you can fly to where a smoke lands and confirm it covers the angle you need:

bind v noclip

Throw a smoke, fly through the wall to the far side, and check the coverage from the defender's point of view. It's the difference between a smoke that looks right and one you know blocks the exact sightline.

Practising efficiently

A few habits make the reps count. Learn lineups in small batches — three or four per map, per session — rather than trying to memorise a whole map at once. Always practise the alignment (the visual reference you line your crosshair against), not just the throw, because the reference is what you'll actually recall in a match. And drill from the map's standard positions so the lineup matches how you'll really approach the site.

For the smokes worth learning first and the theory behind good utility usage, the grenade guide is the companion to this setup. When you want the whole config generated with a map preselected, the practice config tool outputs everything above as a single copy-paste block.