I consider my self a very good player, perhaps even an expert. I do not want to seem full of my self here, but after playing this game ever since it came out 5 years ago, I've gotten pretty good at it. In my years of playing I have learned many tricks that have changed me from one of the worst players to one of the best. I feel I should share these here, because I am amazed at the number of people who play and don't follow these, even people who have been playing for years. If you are new, maybe you can even take these skills and use them, and beat some experienced players!

10. This is a team game.

There are a ton of people out there who forget this is a team game. They run off on their own, trying to get kills, and end up always dying. If you want to do good in this game, you need to learn how to play as a team.

9. Use the time.

If there is a minute left on de_dust, and you are the CT left and there are three T's left, instead of going to look for them, and getting yourself killed, wait and guard the bomb. When time runs out, you will win. This also means that if there is one minute left and you are the T's, you should plant the bomb, instead of hunting down the CT, and losing because the time runs out.

8. Buy fast.

This seems like such a simple skill, but I still see people all the time who don't follow it. I can buy all my weapons and be running half-way across the level by the time some of my team mates start moving. To have this skill, you need 2 things. One, you need to know the key strokes to buy every weapon and item in the game. If you said "B-3-1, T-2, T-4, G, G, G" I would say you are buying an MP5, a kevlar vest with a helmet, an HE grenade, and 3 additional clips of primary weapon ammo, (and I can hit all those keys in about 3 seconds). You also need to know what you are going to buy before you have to buy it. This goes along with skill #1 down below.

7. Reloading.

Reloading is a fairly important element to the game. If you don't do it, you can't shoot. Luckily for people who never reload, CS will auto-reload a gun when you run out of ammo, unlike some other mods, that require you to actually press the reload button. But just because CS has auto-reload doesn't mean you should rely on it. You won't loose any ammo for reloading mid-clip, but you won't be able to shoot. The key is to reload when you are sure there is a lull in the combat. Some people never reload, and run around with 2 ammo in a clip, where as I am the opposite, and always reload when I have a chance. Sometimes I even reload to much. Once I ran up behind someone, put 10 shots into him from 5ft away, and started reloading. To my horror, he was not dead, and he turned around and killed me. So, don't reload to often, and don't go around with 3 ammo in the clip.

6. Know your weapons/maps.

It is important that you know the map you are playing on. You have to know where you are, where you need to go, and where all the critical places like rescue spots are. You also should know where all the good hiding spots are, so you can use them, and can check them for enemies. You also need to know the weapons. That is, buy their sound, and by how they look. If you see a gun on the ground, you need to know if it is one you want to pick up. If you hear someone shooting, you need to know what they are shooting, so you can best react when you run out and attack them. So, if you hear an AWP going off, you don't want to stand still.

5. Slow down and aim.

If you just open fire full auto every time you see an enemy, without even bothering to aim, you will loose. This game is all about realistic damage. If you can hit the guy a few times, he will be dead, but you need to hit him. This means you need to slow down, put your crosshair on him, his head if possible, and fire in short bursts, to minimize recoil.

4. Use cover/hide.

This is possibly the most disputed skill in CS. Most people have no problem with someone who jumps behind boxes, using cover, as he is running up to his opponent. The problem occurs when a person waits for his opponent to come out a door, or up a ladder, and then shoots him in the back. Many players will refer to this as "camping". I disagree with these people. First of all, camping was first used in games like Quake, when someone would "camp" a re-spawn point, killing everyone as the re-spawned before they could move. People in CS like to accuse anyone who hides in one spot too long of camping. Personally, I feel the only campers are the ones who don't do anything, like the T that camps his spawn on a map where he should be planting the bomb. However, if it is a map where the T's must protect the hostages, then go ahead and guard them, that's what a real terrorist would do.

3. Don't always buy stuff.

This is an incredibly important skill, and I have no doubt it makes me better than most people, because most people do not follow it. If you keep dying and losing, and all you can afford to buy each round is an MP5, stop buying it. Don't buy anything for a round or two. You would have died anywhys, but this way you don't spend any money, and save it up instead. Now, you will be able to afford a good gun, which will hopefully allow you to win, and stay alive.

2. Use sound.

If you don't have the sound on, you cannot be good at CS. You need to learn to use sound to your advantage if you want to win. I love sound. I have been the only T left, against 7 CT's, and I won because I kept quiet, listened to where they were, and killed them all. You must be aware that others use sound, so sometimes you have to be quiet. I walk a lot more than I run in CS, which allows me to sneak up behind people and kill them. Using sound is crucial, and it can make you a good player.

1. THINK!!!

Now, this seems pretty basic, and it is. That is why I am amazed there are so many people who cannot or do not think when they play. I see too many people get killed, only to go into the next round spending 15 seconds buying stuff, and then running back to the spot where they got killed before, and dying again. First, when you die, think about where you were, where the enemy was, what gun he had, what gun you had, how much you hurt him, everything. This way, you will know even before the next round starts what gun you are going to buy, where you are going to go, and what you are going to do. I have been playing for so long that this is automatic for me. You will never see me sitting in the spawn at the beginning of a round thinking, "what am I going to buy," or, "where am I going to go this time." I don't even think about it the round before, it is something that just automatically happens in my head I guess. Trust me, once you have played for 5 years, you won't have to think about it either. Thinking also applies to other situations, like if you hear a gun going off around the corner, you want to look that way when you run out. If you see shots hitting the wall to the left of you, they are coming from the right. If a team mate runs out and gets killed, look at which way the shots came from, and think of where the guy may be hiding. Just doing this can make you a much better player then a lot of people out there.

What is Counter-Strike?

1. Basic rules.
2. The guns and their uses.
3. The maps and tactics for them.
4. The top ten things I do that let me win.

Link to my Warhammer 40k website HERE