📖 The Ultimate CSGO
Betting Guide
With millions of dollars wagered and experience at both the highest and lowest points, I have made massive mistakes and learned invaluable lessons along the way. Now, it’s time to share my knowledge with the world and help others succeed in betting.
Initially, I planned to offer my betting guide as a premium VIP product, but I realized that helping everyone should be my primary goal. Paying for VIP picks may offer short-term benefits, but relying solely on them will not improve your skills and knowledge in the long run.
That’s why I decided to offer my honest e-Book for free. It’s written by me, someone who genuinely wants to help you succeed and stop losing money. After all, wisdom is priceless.
Intro
I will explain the most basic terms and information you need to know, and then I will go more in-depth.
The main topics are about betting sites, betting limits, bankroll management, betting mistakes, match fixing, and analyzing the matches.
I looked at match fixing quite deeply as I think it is necessary to spread the word.
If you are somewhat advanced, you can skip the early parts and go straight to the real juice.
🔗 Links
https://www.hltv.org – This is the main place for CSGO as a whole. You can find most of the stats, tournaments, and matches here, but the coverage for lower tiers is weaker.
https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Main_Page – 99.9% of the matches that are available for betting are listed here. I recommend using Liquipedia the most since you can get better information about teams, players, tournaments, and matches.
https://www.faceit.com/en/home or https://play.esea.net. The matches are mostly played on these two biggest platforms. Mostly it’s ESEA. You can check all the small details there.
https://myodds.bet – The easiest and my favorite bet tracker.
https://pepobets.com/betting-sites/ – A list of all betting sites I recommend using with links.
https://oddspedia.com – A huge database, and history of odds, on almost every sports and esports event.
₿ Crypto
I have always been betting with crypto only. Some people are scared because they think it’s risky or complicated. I would say it’s the complete opposite.
Buy/Sell
I use Coinbase. It’s the most reliable exchange.
If you want to buy crypto without KYC or any verifications, you can use these exchanges: Bybit, Binance, KuCoin, and Kraken.
There is also an alternative to buy it from LocalCryptos or LocalBitcoins, but that’s not so safe.
The list goes and on, and nowadays, there are countless options.
Storing
To store crypto, you can use wallets on exchanges like Coinbase or have individual software/apps like Exodus, TrustWallet, etc.
If you hold higher amounts, I recommend buying a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger, where your money is safer than anywhere else.
Do your own research and find your best ways.
After buying crypto in any way you like, deposit it onto your preferred crypto betting website – Thunderpick, and start betting. You can sell crypto on an exchange, preferably Coinbase, and get your money to your bank or PayPal in a few seconds with a minimal fee.
📙 General CSGO Betting Terms
ML / Money Line – overall winner of the match
Favorite – the team that is more likely to win, as the odds project
Underdog – the team that is less likely to win, as the odds project
1×2 – betting on 3 markets – win/draw/lose. Unlike other sports, a draw cannot happen in CSGO because there is overtime in case the map ends 15-15 in regulation. Therefore, if you bet on Team A or Team B on 1×2, you place your money on the team to win in regular time – without the game going into overtime.
U – short for a unit. The term unit is explained further in the guide – Bankroll management.
Handicap betting
Round handicap
To win a game in regulation, you need to win 16 rounds.
If you bet on – handicap, you want your pick to win with X amount of rounds difference.
If you bet on + handicap, you want your pick to win at least X amount of rounds.
Therefore minus (-) handicap is mainly used for betting on the favorite, and plus (+) handicap is when you bet on the underdog.
You can understand it best from an example.
Team A (odds on Map win @1.17), Team B (odds on Map win @5.13)
You can bet on a -6.5 (Team A) and +6.5 handicap (Team B) – a line close to 50/50.
- If you bet on a -6.5 handicap on Team A, you need them to win by at least 7 rounds.
16 (rounds played) – 6.5 = 9.5
If Team B wins 10 rounds, it would be more than 9.5 > you lose.
If Team B wins 9 rounds or less, it’s not more than 9.5 > you win.
- If you bet on a +6.5 handicap on Team B, you want them to lose by 6 rounds at worst. If they win or make it any closer, you automatically win.
X amounts of rounds won +6.5 > 16
If Team B wins 9 rounds, you add the initial handicap (+6.5) to it, it’s still less than 16.
If team B wins 10 rounds or more, you add the initial handicap (+6.5) to it, and it’s more than 16.
Map handicap
It’s easy to understand. The same math applies here, but there are fewer outcomes.
CSGO matches are played either in a BO1 (Best Of 1) format – only one map is played, and the winner wins the whole match,
or in a BO3 (Best Of 3) format – the first team to win 2 maps wins the whole match.
Map handicap occurs in BO3. It divides into +1.5/-1.5 sections because there is no other outcome. Basically, you predict whether the game ends 2-0 or 2-1.
- If you bet on +1.5 handicap, you want your team to win at least 1 map or to win the whole match – 2 maps.
1 + 1.5 = 2.5 – that is more than 2 maps that the opponent would win
2 + 1.5 = 3.5
- If you bet on a -1.5 handicap, you want your team to win 2-0 to win the bet. In case they lose the whole match, or even lose a map and win 2-1, your -1.5 handicap bet will lose.
2 – 1.5 = 0.5 > that is more than 0 maps the opponent would win.
Correct score
It’s very similar to map handicap, applies in BO3. You predict the correct score of the game 2:0 or 2:1 for either team.
Very rarely there are tournaments that have a BO2 format. In that case, only 2 maps are played. The winner wins 2 maps, the loser loses 2 maps. If each team wins a map, the result is a draw.
NOTE: There is also a possibility of the map going into overtime. The OT consists of 6 rounds, the first to win 4 rounds takes the map. Handicap also applies there, but the highest is +3.5/-3.5. Anything bigger is not achievable in overtime, because the highest margin to win by is 4 rounds (winning every single round in the OT).
Betting Websites
Betting website/Bookmaker/Bookie
Every bookmaker you think of is profitable. Otherwise, they would not exist.
It’s essential to realize that whenever you place a bet, it’s always YOU against the bookmaker. The money does not go anywhere else.
It’s a good business because they make money from 99.9% of customers. And that small margin of people that profits usually gets limited in various ways, which I will explain further.
The most obvious way how betting sites make money is through the odds.
Mathematically, the odds of a 50/50 match should be 2.00 – 2.00. However, it’s never like that, and depending on the bookie you use, the odds and taxes vary. You will find odds around 1.85 – 1.85 on a 50/50 match. Therefore the site takes a 7.50% tax. (0.15, divided by 2)
The biggest bookmakers in eSports are bet365, Pinnacle, Unibet, and 1xBet. These usually have their own odds and market providers.
If we talk about the smaller bookmakers, they are just copies and are all the same. They have no control over the match, players, tournaments, or whatever happens. Usually, those are just individuals, who had enough capital to start with, paid some licenses, designed a website, and created a working betting site.
The small bookies usually only copy the odds and markets from the biggest ones. That is all they need to do to be profitable.
Make The Most Out Of Odds
Since there is a huge competition, the odds vary from site to site, and if you compare the odds on any given match, you could find huge differences. Many factors cause odds movements. Usually, the more money is poured on one side, the lower the odds are.
To make the most out of it, you should be betting on the best odds you can find. It’s good to have even 30+ betting accounts and be ready to bet on your pick on a site with the highest odds.
When you look at it individually – pick by pick – there is not much difference. Let’s say it’s 1–5% on average.
The match outcome will be the same whether you bet on 1.50 odds or 1.55.
However, it all adds up, and at the end of the day – there might be massive differences. It’s an instrumental factor that makes you profitable in the big picture.
Arbitrage Betting
It is more investing than betting. There is no risk involved, but the gains are not that big. It’s mostly for people, who have a big bankroll, and are satisfied with making a safe couple of bucks daily.
It is a method of placing bets on all outcomes of an event at odds that guarantee you a profit regardless of the result. You can use free online calculators to maximize your profit.
It might be more suitable for CS and eSports betting, in general, than any other sports because you are more likely to find reasonable differences in some low-tier markets.
Example for clarification:
You have a bankroll of $500.
You place $280 on Team A on bet365 at the odds of 1.85.
On 1xBet, you find a significant odds difference, catch odds of 2.35 on Team B, and place $220.
You bet $500 overall, but no matter who wins, you get back $517.
You can customize it however you want. You can lean harder on one side and bet enough on the other to break even at the worst.
Betting Websites Limiting Winning Customers
If you find a hole in the system and constantly make substantial money, the betting websites will notice it and try their best to minimize your profits or prevent you from continuing.
There are many legal and technically illegal ways to do it. It comes down to whether the bookie is legit or scummy and tries to make the most money from their customers, even in shady ways.
On crypto betting websites where KYC verification (ID card verification, face verification, document verification, proof of address, etc.) is not mandatory, the company might lock your account and hold funds until you pass the verification process. In most cases, it’s a legal procedure, and after fulfilling the steps, you will get access to your funds again.
At other times, the company might require hard, stupid things from you, ask for additional verifications and delay the process for as long as possible. It’s very annoying and sad, but things like that happen. Of course, such things happen when you bet high amounts, not a few dollars.
Make sure to do deep research about the website in advance before you give them any money.
Bookies might write surreal rules in the Terms and Conditions that you agreed with on sign-up, yet they make no sense. Bookies can easily pull that against you, and you cannot do anything about it. Therefore, be sure you always have the upper hand and cannot be surprised and disappointed by these procedures.
Betting Limits
Let’s say you do deep analysis on some low-tier match. You notice that the odds are absolutely wrong, and you are confident about who wins the game. You get excited, check the insane odds, and want to place a big bet, but then the betting limits strike you.
The maximum bet is $50, but you wanted to put down $2000. It’s frustrating. I have been there as well.
There are several tips you can do about this. The most obvious is to just max bet on every possible betting website where the markets are available. In most cases, that does not cut it, and you need a different approach.
The next easiest move is to create a new account and place your bets. However, it’s necessary to explain how to avoid getting screwed by bookies – it’s against the rules to do such a thing.
There are multiple strategies, systems, and methods for how bookies detect multi accounts.
If you register on an ‘anonymous’ crypto betting site, always use VPN (different IP) and act like a regular person.
When you bet on a tier 20 League of Legends match, try to lose a couple of bucks on some random top-tier football game. Overall, act like a different user. There will be less correlation between the accounts.
In any case, never hold high amounts on one account, and always try to run away with the money as fast as possible.
When you get asked for verification, it’s still not the end of the world. You can always create an account in your friend’s name, or if you need another specific country, you can pay a few bucks to some people. They will verify the account for you.
You might also research how the limits work from site to site and try to understand them.
Some examples:
- There is a max bet on a regular single bet, but when you put it into a parlay/combo bet (with some safe 1.01 bet), it acts like a new bet. Therefore you can place double the amount. (Thunderpick, Sportsbet, Bitcasino)
- Some crypto websites have multiple crypto coins with which you can bet, and each wallet acts like a different person/account. (BetFury, BC.Game)
- Pre-match limits might be low, but when the match goes live, you can bet dramatically higher amounts. (1xBet)
Betting Promotions, Offers, Bonuses
Every betting website wants to have as many customers as possible. They want you to use their website.
They even let you win and give you extra money – so you come back the other time. The bookies know that in the big picture, they are the ones that are profitable no matter what.
Betting can be addictive, and sadly, that is how the betting industry makes the most money, so they want to lure you in.
However, if you use the promotions, offers, and other bonuses rationally – in your favor, it is a reliable way to make extra bucks. Usually, the maximum cap for a promotion is around $50, but once again, you can do it on every site, and it adds up.
An example of a CSGO betting promotion could be First Map Insurance – when your pick wins the first map but proceeds to lose the following two, you will get your money back.
Bankroll Management
Bankroll or risk management is the most essential part of a successful bettor. I have been having issues with it since I started betting. I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to master it.
People determine the size of a bet by a unit. It is a way to tell how high the bet amount should be.
A unit should equal 1-5% of your bankroll. The lower the % is, the more likely you are to make money long-term and not get burnt by loss streaks. The more aggressive you are, the more you can profit short-term, but if you want to play it smart, do not look at it as a way to get rich quickly.
Understand betting as investing. You have the odds on your side, and eventually, if you do things right, you are guaranteed to end up in profit.
Example for clarification:
You start with $1,000.
You set 1 unit to be 3% of your bankroll.
I post an absolute banger for 5u – 15% of your bankroll – you bet $150.
It is just a showcase of a reliable system. You can adjust everything and do it differently. Whatever works for you. Make sure you have some organization, at least. I would say 90% of bettors, or even more, do not have a system and are doomed to fail.
NOTE: It’s powerful to imagine the worst outcome. Would it hurt and make a significant impact if you lost this bet? If yes, then it’s probably stupid to even place it. That technique works with everything in life.
What Could Go Wrong
This idea is all good on paper, but the reality is often different. The magic word is EMOTIONS. It is the root of all problems.
I have been betting for years and basically never had proper bankroll management. Each day I started, for example, with $100 and ended the day with $1000 because of the good bets and stupid bet amounts (almost all-ins). Not only is this a risky strategy, but also an unsustainable one.
I am not saying it will fail today or tomorrow, but sooner or later, the bubble will burst. I managed to get up to $100,000 like that. Somebody else could get up to millions.
If you achieve something like that, an enormous spree of mistakes comes. You start to feel like a god – like you can never be wrong.
The same thing happened to me. I made a lot of blunders that definitely occurred to others as well.
Betting Mistakes
Not Cashing Out
It is one of the first and most crucial ones you will make.
No matter how you win, make sure to withdraw the money and put it away. You can lock that money or do something with it. Have a plan.
After losing a couple of bets, you might have the urge to waste the cashed-out money. You have to be disciplined and accountable for controlling your emotions. However, the easiest way to not fail is to have as few ways as possible to do a stupid thing. If you cannot access the money you won, there is not a big room for an error.
You can put the money into some vault where you cannot touch it for some time. You can invest the cash, send it to somebody who will keep it safe, or even spend it. There is an unlimited amount of options. Everything is better than losing it all. Do anything that prevents you from committing to another blunder – taking loans.
Loans
No matter what happens, never ask for a loan for betting, investing, or whatever it might be where you could lose money.
It is a risky business. I am not saying it cannot work, but in most cases, you lose the borrowed money and fall into an even worse situation.
It is not funny to be broke, to have nothing to your name. However, I know from my own experience that it is even more damaging to be in debt.
Chasing losses
If people hit a losing streak, things start to get out of control.
Even an unlucky, little loss might start a never-ending disaster.
No matter how well you predict and analyze the matches, sometimes it is not your day.
It is a cliche, but seriously, do NOT chase your losses. There is another day tomorrow and also after tomorrow and so on. In the same way, if you had the worst day, there is the best day around the corner. Be prepared for it so you can maximize the profits.
NOTE: On your worst unlucky day, if you had the proper bankroll management, you would lose a lot, but without it, you would end up at 0.
Gambling
I have been talking mainly about betting and looking at it rationally, more like investing, with the maths and odds on your side and slow and steady profit.
However, when the emotions kick in, you might end up in a position where you have the urge to make it all back. There is a connection with chasing losses, but it depends on how you do it. You might place a bet on some random sports game and hope they win, or you choose the easier option – you start gambling – playing slots, live casino, blackjack, etc.
NEVER gamble to make money. It’s a giant misconception that you can profit by gambling. Even if you maximize the odds of winning and play smartly – it is impossible to end up in profit in the long term.
You might have one phenomenal run. You come back later, and you win huge again. Eventually, the more you gamble, the worse addiction you are building. Now, since you are playing more, the losses will come in.
If you can win ten blackjack hands in a row, the same chances apply for losing 10 in a row, if not higher.
Gambling ruins your brain and perception of money and acts like any other drug. You lose money and valuable time.
If you do it purely for fun, without the intention to make money, and you can moderate it, do as you wish. However, if you cannot handle it and are likely to get addicted, it’s best to stay away from it completely.
Match Fixing
(some good sources of information for match fixing to start with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWtC3I4MCiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdkNapb2Axk)
Match fixing is the practice of staging a competitive event with a predetermined outcome to secure a monetary gain.
Match fixing is a big taboo, especially in CSGO.
Only the IBP scandal in 2014 got public attention. Since then, there has been a long silence. An average person would think everybody is playing to their best level and that corruption does not exist.
It is quite the opposite. Match fixing is spread in all sports and levels, nowadays more than ever. You can bet on almost every semi-professional match nowadays – it is scary.
ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) should prevent and handle such cases, but they don’t seem to care. They banned some AU and NA players, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Those guys were amateurs and probably made some stupid mistakes while match fixing. That’s why they got exposed.
Sports and esports, even CSGO, has so much audience and popularity. You would be surprised how much money people actually bet on every match. The betting industry has sky-rocketed, and people are betting even on the lowest-tier games.
There is a massive amount of money in play.
Let’s say 1000 people are betting on a match, averaging a $100 bet amount. You have $100k in play for an insignificant game in an unknown tournament with a minimal prize pool. In reality, the numbers are significantly different. The betting syndicates have their ways of betting massive amounts on any match and eventually making a lot of cash. What the actual players get is a small fraction of the money gained.
Why It Is So Easy To Do
Firstly, CSGO is a very complex game. It is more like chess. It is easy to throw a match, especially in the lower tiers when nobody expects much from you.
It can come down to a simple detail that nobody would ever count as an intention to lose. Slight over peek, miss-thrown utility, a weird stack, there are dozens of things you can do to throw a game.
Even if somebody was investigating it, there is no way to prove anything. You are a human being, and CS is a game. People make mistakes, do they not?
Of course, since it is just a game and even the best truly make mistakes, not every stupid play is a sign of a match fix. Critical thinking is necessary.
Due to various betting markets and opportunities, match fixing does not necessarily mean losing the whole match. You can do live betting, lose a map, lose X amount of rounds – win the first half, throw a pistol round, or even a specific round. The options are countless.
How It Is Done
Nowadays, match fixing has evolved and is way more serious and organized. I would divide it into two types.
- The old-school, amateurish way of doing things that most people think of. The players individually bet on themselves. It is rare nowadays, risky, and unprofessional. The players might tell their friends or family to bet on them, but it is still easily investigable.
- The most widespread way is an organized system with criminals. The people might also have connections to the mafia and other influential figures.
Here is a showcase of how it looks like, an ESEA Advanced player gets contacted by a guy who works in the match fixing business. It is almost clear evidence, yet nobody cares about it, and there are no consequences. It paints the picture well.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W174qrwKTqM, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5yluYP8Scs)
It is unique case when the player does not accept the offer and even reveals it.
Match fixing takes place on a daily basis when players get contacted by random people and get generous offers to throw their matches. After some time, they might start working together and make bigger deals.
The motivation is apparent.
Let’s say you get paid 1k a month. Somebody comes, and offers you 1k straight away just for throwing an unimportant match. Unfortunately, most players will accept the offer as they do not see anything wrong with it. However, the more it spreads, the more it damages esports and sports overall.
Whisteblower and Evidence
Most recently, the first whistleblower appeared – Aleksey ‘Yarabeu’ Kurlov. He has a lot of valuable inside information. He worked for betting sites, and had a job even in the ESIC – the organization that should fight and prevents all this from happening. He exposes the big corruption scheme.
The valuable detailed information he provides and exposes is all in Russian. If you are interested, you can translate or find other ways to get the information. (https://www.cybersport.ru/blog/other/moshenniki-kotorye-dolzhny-lovit-moshennikov-ili-pravda-o-kompanii, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9SrEyzUzy0)
I am not saying that all the information is 100% correct, but there is definitely something true to it. The guy knows what he’s talking about.
He talks about many things that I have known for a long time but could not prove it. Obviously, the people who do not want this to happen and are involved in the shady business will try to silence him, fight against it, and call it rumors, hoaxes, and fake news.
I do not want to investigate it. My main objective is to stay away from match fixing and get affected by it as little as possible, and share the awareness with others.
Shady CSGO Tournaments
It is possible for match fixing to happen anywhere. However, it occurs mainly in tournaments made only for betting, money laundering, and match fixing. It might sound hilarious. Paradoxically, nowadays, this is the majority of matches.
When it comes to those scripted and fixed tournaments, you notice they do not take place on legit platforms like FACEIT or ESEA. The servers are often without anti-cheat. That is ridiculous.
Therefore, there are countless ways to cheat and basically act accordingly. The players do not even play the game. They do what the figures tell them to do.
There have been many leaks of teams using radar hacks, hardware cheats, and other ways to be sure they win or lose and nothing goes wrong.
I am not saying that every single round of every single match is corrupted. However, it might as well just be. There might be innocent teams and victims who join the tournaments without knowing what it’s all about. But mostly, you can see the same teams competing in those tournaments. Nobody risks anything because it’s all under control, and the teams play seriously in other legit events. It’s something like a side job for them to make extra money.
In the past, there were some instances and organizers. But mainly as soon as the COVID online era began in 2020, these fixed tournaments and matches appeared.
The most notorious organizer is Relog Media (https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Relog_Media).
Tournaments: HomeSweetHome, Nine to Five, Snow Sweet Snow, Pinnacle Cups, Spring Sweet Spring, Funspark ULTI, Pinnacle Series, and Roobet Cup
There are many more. Usually, they are organized in a similar format, changing names from time to time to look less suspicious.
There were no qualifiers. They just invited teams with which they wanted to do business. Big tier 1 teams got invited, so people poured more money into the matches and fell into the trap. The biggest upsets happen here, yet they are far from being legit.
Eden Esports (https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Eden_Esports)
It’s literally a company with headquarters at a casino. It looks like a bad joke.
Tournaments: Malta Vibes, European Development Championships, and LOOT.BET Hotshot Series
UCC (https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/UCC)
Russians that cooperated with betting sites as the leading figures of the tournaments, so people bet on it more, and more money gets poured into the matches.
Tournaments: LOOT.BET, GG.Bet, Hellcase Cups, and even some LAN tournaments
Elisa Esports (https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Elisa_Esports)
It is the same thing over and over – servers without anti-cheat. It is very similar to Relog Media.
Then there are some smaller tournaments organized by smaller organizations or individuals. They try to look professional, but it’s easy to spot and stay away.
They create social media accounts or websites and act like a regular tournament organizer. They set a prize pool that might not even be real and invite random teams. The betting sites start adding markets for the matches, and you know what happens next.
You start to see those insane upsets in unheard-of tournaments with newly created accounts and 20 followers on social media.
I can show it on an example: https://liquipedia.net/counterstrike/Hardcore_Gaming/Masters/Season_1
These guys announced a prize pool of almost $200,000, invited teams, and started the business. They made enough money for themselves in a couple of days and weeks and suddenly disappeared. Players that won the prize pool did not get paid.
To spot these tournaments, look at Liquipedia.net, and do your own research. It’s not rocket science, and you will quickly realize how it works.
A little list: GOCL, Esport Tour, Fragster League, FRAG Season, European Pro League, ROPL, SDTV Invitational, TheBeatingOfSilent, PARI WHITE, 1xBet Series, Superbattles, A1 Adria League, Painkillers Cup, Hydra Cup, UltimoGG, BACK TO BACK, SWSG X-mas Cup, etc.
It took me 5 minutes of scrolling to write down these tournaments from 2022, in which I spotted organized match fixing in these tournaments.
There were many more in the past. There will be in the future, and some are currently in play.
NOTE: Some bookies create fake tournaments and matches. 1xBet does this for sports and esports. Those games take place when there is nothing else to bet on, so they bait people into falling into the trap. The Russians do this in CSGO as well – you might find tournaments like OneShot League, PRIDE League, Eternity League, Ultras League, and Esports Battle 2×2.
The players are bad at the game, clearly use cheats, jump around, and do random stuff and the bet limits on these markets are super high. Make sure to avoid placing your money on such events.
The Biggest Fraud In Esports
Most recently, the match fixing in CS has been taken to a completely different level.
The Champions of Champions Tour https://cctour.gg (CCT) announced in August 2022 the new project with the highest prize pool in CS:GO – $3.4 million. They promised to develop regional esports talent, grow the scene and professionalize the industry. In reality, they do the opposite.
All the regional organizers connected with shady match fixed tournaments have teamed up to create an ultimate unprecedented money laundering scheme.
It is by far the biggest step in the shady illegal industry.
They spread internationally, occurring in every region. They aim for as many matches as possible daily. They aim to make this for the next 2 years, and since I highly doubt it will be investigated or stopped. They will make an unbelievable amount of money. Paying out the $3.4 million is nothing, just a fracture of what will be made.
It’s a genius idea. It looks legit on paper, but in reality, it’s just the same thing that has been going on in recent months and years, taken more seriously and in a bigger way.
For the organizers and players, it’s perfect. Everybody involved makes money, somebody more, somebody less. However, the victims of this crime are bettors and the general audience.
Regular bettors will lose money on these matches. It destroys the integrity of eSports and makes match fixing more accessible and penetrable to higher levels.
There is not much you or I can do about it. All we can focus on is avoiding betting on these matches and not affecting us in individual matters.
Analyzing
This topic connects tightly with the previous one.
Analyzing the matches is a very complex thing. I have been doing this for a long time. I have gathered a fair amount of experience over the years. Therefore, it is hard to explain what exactly goes on in my head. If you read my analysis, I always mention the arguments and reasons, and you can have a better picture of all the fundamental things to study.
However, the most important, among everything else, is the motivation for the players and team to win the match/tournament.
As a semi-professional player, I know that you care about some matches less or not at all. That opens the door for match fixing.
If you do not care whether you win or lose, why not make extra money on top of it?
Teams and players can only afford to throw games that will not affect their careers, and in such circumstances, when nobody would investigate or suspect them.
Unfortunately, that is around 90% of the matches, if not more.
Therefore, it’s very tricky because you might have a feeling that every match is fixed, and you start being paranoid. It’s not good – there needs to be a balance.
There are still people who have dignity and refuse any shady business.
The players are still emotional human beings. Sometimes you do not feel like playing, do not warm up and prepare properly, or do not even care about the match because a more important one is coming.
There are dozens of other factors in our daily lives that affect us. It’s not always about the money. Keep that in mind.
The last piece of advice I can give regarding match fixing and teams playing matches without motivation is not to try to understand how it works, who will try less, who does not care about the game, and who will win or lose.
Of course, if you have gathered some good information and found a hole in the system, then definitely go for it. The main point is to skip those events and stay away from them.
I tried to analyze the odds movements to find out the result in a scripted match. Even though you get some picks correct, you might get burned on the other ones, and then you have a weird feeling of uncertainty.
Therefore, I highly recommend analyzing the matches and avoiding betting on them or taking a deeper look. It might be tempting, but in the bigger picture, it is better to stay away from shady things. It saves you time, energy, and money.
At the end of the day, if something is going on behind the scenes, you can never be sure with anything. There are people pulling strings and figures however they want and like to. If you are not the one in control, you become a slave and a coward.
You might not agree with me on something.
My main point is to spread the awareness of always thinking critically, being skeptical, and asking questions. Try to get into the position of people who are involved in this monkey business, what are their motivation, intentions, and everything.
Outro
I spent a lot of time, effort, and energy writing this guide.
It is possible that I have not included and mentioned everything.
I will post every other idea, a new experience, and thought further at the bottom.
I am open to criticism and any feedback. I truly hope I helped you in some way and you can adopt at least one idea that will make your life better.
Thank you so much for reading, and I wish you all the best! 😊