Learn to buy your weapons and equipment quickly
[cs/action/spawn1] Time is money, as they say. The faster you can buy your weapons and equipment, the faster you can get out there and get either prepare your assault or mount your defense. Instead of using the mouse to navigate the menus, use keyboard shortcuts, or buy scripts. Buy quickly, start quickly.
Fire automatic weapons in short bursts
[cs/action/fire1]Almost all automatic weapons have massive accuracy penalties for sustained fire. Some weapons, such as the AK47, are almost entirely useless when the trigger is held down, even at short range; some, such as the M4A1, hold up better. The key issue is to fire in short bursts, giving a brief pause between for the accuracy to improve (indicated by the contracting crosshairs). How short a burst you want and how long a delay depends on the weapon: the Colt is sufficient for three-shot bursts with brief delays; the AK warrants two-shot bursts with slightly longer delays. One weapon, the UMP, has almost constant accuracy with sustained fire, but unfortunately does not do much damage. Only hold down the trigger at point-blank range. Fire in brief, short bursts.
Aim at the upper chest
[cs/action/incursion1]Counter-Strike has positional damage; how much damage a hit does depends on where it lands. Maximum, of course, is the head; normal damage is done to the torso, and considerably less damage is done to the extremities. For example, the AWM is normally a one-shot kill weapon, but an AWM hit to the extremities is not fatal. The best place to aim, therefore, is the mid-to-upper chest; hits will tend to land in the nominal area, thus doing reasonable damage. Given that almost all weapons have significant recoil, the tail end of each burst will land higher than the chest, which will result in a better than average number of headshots. Just like in real combat, you want to aim at the trunk.
Switch to knife or pistol for rapid movement
[cs/action/knife1]One's movement speed depends on which weapon is currently readied. Knives and pistols have the least encumbrance; submachine guns have some; rifles have more; and the largest weapons -- the AWM and the Para -- have the most, requiring the holder to move at a slow walk (which has the side benefit of not making much noise). When a player has one of these guns and has to make a quick move, equip your knife or pistol in order to move faster. Switch back to your primary weapon when you reach your destination and continue the fight. Switch to a knife or pistol for fast movement, and then switch back.
Be aware of accuracy problems while moving, on ladders, in water, or in air
[cs/action/ladder3]Learning how to use weapons in Counter-Strike depends most strongly on judging weapon accuracy. All weapons have reduced accuracy when firing -- most players are fully aware of this. But the accuracy problems are not just limited to normal movement. A host of other behaviors can also severely limit accuracy, yet only the more experienced players are aware of it. In particular, when climbing a ladder, one is subject to the same accuracy penalties as when one is moving. If you are climbing a ladder and an enemy is waiting for you at the top, this puts you at a massive disadvantage -- even at very close range, your shots are unlikely to land many hits. The same accuracy penalties are also in place when one is swimming in water (but not when one is merely standing in water), and when one is in the air, such as on a low gravity server. Make sure you know the situations in which accuracy is reduced and you'll be a much better player.
Learn to stop just before firing sniper weapons
[cs/action/snipe4]All weapons have some loss of accuracy when they are fired by a moving shooter. This is especially true of the sniper weapons -- the Scout, AWM, G3, or SG550 -- which are not only less accurate, but in fact nearly useless when fired while moving. The conflict here is that any competent player knows that keeping moving is an important part of play -- particularly when a sniper war is taking place. The solution is to stop moving just a split second before firing; this will allow fully accurate shots even though the shooter was moving just a moment before. Particularly when using cover, this can be very effective -- you can pop out of cover, top, and fire, all within a fraction of a second. Remember: strafe, stop, fire.
Heavily favor armor to weapons when low on funds
[cs/action/cq2]Armor is absolutely essential in a game with even somewhat realistic weapons. Without armor, only a few midsection shots will bring even a completely healthy player down, and without a helmet, any headshot will. (A helmet won't protect from sniper rounds to the head, but something is better than nothing.) When buying at the start of the round, always factor in armor cost when choosing your weapons so that you don't find yourself out of money after you buy your weapons and ammunition. Always buy the armor/helmet combination if you can afford it; it is well worth the extra $350.
Learn to deliver grenades effectively
[cs/action/grenade1]Grenades can be very effective weapons -- they can soften up the enemy for a push, finish off an entrenched and already injured foe, or provide cover where none is available. But to use them, you need to be able to throw them accurately, and know not to try throwing them when you're open to enemy fire. Aim above your target, depending on distance, so that gravity can drop the grenade down into your opponent. Lobbing is the key.
Use say_team/radio/voice chat to coordinate with your teammates
Use radio commands, or -- better still -- voice chat via a good headset to communicate with your teammates. The radio commands -- or in the worst, case just using the say_team command -- can help organize your team, but there's nothing better than being able to talk directly to your teammates and have them be able to talk back. If you're a serious Counter-Strike player, you should have a microphone and have your voice chat subsystem configured. Consider the difference between using the canned "Enemy spotted" radio chatter and simply saying, "One in the building on the left, and one sniping from the roof on the right." Voice chat can easily turn even a group of intermediate players into a well-oiled killing machine.
Use hud_centerid
Enabling hud_centerid prints the identifying string -- the text that identifies the person currently under your crosshairs and indicates whether they're friend or foe -- just under the center of the screen, instead of in the lower-left corner. This is a far better place for it to appear, since the center of the screen is where your eyes will tend to be looking in the first place. This helps avoid excessive unnecessary eye movements -- concentrate on the center of the screen.
Use hud_fastswitch
Enable hud_fastswitch in your client. This will allow you to select weapons without having to hit the trigger in order to select them. Every second counts; having to hit the weapons category key and then the left mouse button takes time, and sometimes it's time that you don't have. Note that hud_fastswitch won't help when you have multiple types of grenades; in those cases you'll have to select the type you want and then hit the trigger to select it. But for all other weapon categories primary, secondary, knife, and bomb (for the Terrorists in a bomb/defuse map) -- this will allow an instance switch. Sometimes a single keystroke or mouse click can mean the difference between life and death.
When climbing ladders, do so quietly
[cs/action/ladder1]Normally, when climbing (or descending) ladders, a fair amount of distinctive noise is made; if you're using this to gain access to an enemy-controlled location, this sound can give you away. You can substantially reduce this noise by holding down the crouch key while moving up or down; this reduces the amount of noise that you make to about half: It's still audible, but it's far less noticeable than the normal volume. Particularly if there is background noise, such as gunfire -- hopefully provided by your teammates -- this can make a stealthy incursion much more possible. Another little-known tweak is that you can turn sideways on the ladder (so you're facing the side) and use the strafe keys to get some added speed when moving on the ladder. For instance, get on the top of the ladder, face off to the left, and then hold down the backward, strafe left, and crouch modifiers; this increases your movement speed substantially without making more noise. Crouch while climbing or descending a ladder; you'll make much less noise.
Use radar to locate both friendlies and hostiles
[cs/hud/radar]Your radar (when enabled on the server) is an absolutely invaluable resource. It locates your teammates relative to you, and even indicates whether they are above or below you, and by how much. Effective use of the radar goes far beyond merely locating your friendlies; coupled with close attention to sounds, you can use a process of elimination to locate the enemy as well. Use of the radar can also help you avoid friendly fire incidents; when you hear someone nearby, you can determine with the radar whether or not they are a friendly or a hostile. Use of the radar coupled with attention to sounds is a powerfully effective combination.
Stay out of water
[cs/action/water2]Water is trouble for three reasons: first, you move more slowly when swimming; second, when swimming, your accuracy is severely reduced; and third, you make considerable noise when entering and exiting a body of water, and even when swimming (bubbling sounds occur occasionally). It's best to avoid water unless you have to, since it will put you at a disadvantage and let your enemies know where you are. Avoid water unless you have no choice.
Don't hop when covered by good snipers
[cs/action/high2]It's common in first person shooter games for players to hop to avoid enemy fire by making themselves a harder target. But when under watch from very good snipers, hopping can in fact be counterproductive. In normal gravity, in the process of jumping, one's path becomes very predictable -- a good sniper will aim at the bottom of the parabola and pick you off as you land on the ground. To counter this, hoppers can perform mid-air maneuvers in order to try to make their paths less predictable, but in general (especially with the anti-hopping measures coming in 1.4) it's best to just avoid hopping when you know you're under close scrutiny from snipers -- it won't help you avoid getting hit. Hopping can help make you harder to hit, but not when your opponents are experienced snipers watching you closely.
Open grates and vents with knives instead of bullets
[cs/action/vent5]When on a map with destructible grates or vents, it's often best to open them with a knife instead of a gunfire. Even the most sturdy vents will fall to a knife thrust (the alternate attack), which is reasonably fast and will make considerably less noise than an (unsilenced) firearm. Particularly when coupled with timing -- open a grating when there is nearby gunfire to cover the sound -- a knife, or at least a silenced USP or Colt, can make an effective tactic for sneaking up on an enemy. A knife thrust (or at least a silenced firearm) is the best way to open a destructible grating or vent.
