Counter-Strike is a terrorist vs. counter-terrorist game involving modern weaponry used by elite teams around the world. This doesn't mean that you won't still find players who are stuck in the medieval ages and believe that their knife is the weapon of choice. These are the best players to take advantage of for two reasons:
1 - They can only hit you if you let them get close enough
2 - They're usually gullible

Chivalry, just like fights with bladed weapons, left the scene hundreds of years ago, but again these same players have failed to grasp this concept. What does this mean? These would-be knights of CS will often announce their intentions to duel you with knives at a specified location. You should ALWAYS accept this invitation. It's like having your meal delivered to you on a silver platter.

Pull your knife out, run to the specified location, and once he's relatively close (but still well outside range of his blade) pull out your biggest gun and lay the buster down. Real CTs don't play with knives. Real CTs shoot for the head.

This also applies to knife fights that other players engage in. Counter-Strike is a game with guns. If you see two people knifing each other, figure out which one isn't on your team, and shoot him. If you can't tell the difference, you can always light them both up for good measure.

SECTION TWO: Survival of the fittest
[ad]Common sense states that it's a lot easier to kill a wounded enemy than one who has lots of health that you have to whittle away.

This is why you should always try to shoot people that your teammates have already shot several times. Odds are your teammates have gotten them down to the point where they can only take one or two more hits, which is good, because as a newbie that's probably all you'll be able to land on them anyway. Don't worry about their screams about you committing "kill stealing" — they're just jealous of your strategy and your score.

When it comes to throwing HE grenades, an ancient Chinese proverb should guide your actions. It states "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." Ignore the logistics of ancient chinese mousetraps and focus on the sage wisdom this imparts to CS. The early rusher gets his hits in first, but the second nade gets the kill.

SECTION THREE: Unconventional positioning
[ad]While some people may call this tactic "offensive camping" or some other derogatory term, it is one of the most important skills to use in Counter-Strike. To successfully employ this maneuver, you will need to be a CT on a hostage-rescue map, or a terrorist on a bomb defusal map.

Many of your unwise teammates will run off to their deaths in a foolish maneuver known as "rushing," but not you: you will stay as close to your spawn point as possible. Use this time to carefully select your position, preferably behind a crate or other cover with a good, long view towards any potential enemies that may come.

If you've played CS more than once or twice, you assuredly know about the 1-hit-kill ability of the AWP sniper rifle. If you can afford it, this is your best weapon for the unconventional positioning tactic. Find your spot, crouch down, and wait. Sniping is used by the most elite special forces teams in the world, so you should use it too. If you can't afford a sniper rifle, find a smaller spot to camp in, and use a submachinegun to kill at close range.

The theory behind this strategy is sound: we know from section two that it's best to engage enemies who are already wounded, and by the time most enemies get to you, your teammates will have already wounded them. Pick off these wanderers one by one and watch your ratio rise from the bottom to the top!

Warning: many of your teammates will probably complain about you ignoring "the objective" or something along these lines. This is a ploy used by others who are jealous of your kill-to-death ratio to try to trick you into getting yourself killed so they can be at the top of the server. Don't believe their lies.

SECTION FOUR: Safe maneuvering
While common sense says that the worst place to be when confronting an enemy is directly in front of his guns, a beginner's instinct often leads them into exactly this situation. Let's say you're a CT on a bomb defusal map. The newbie's instinct is to stay at a bomb site and defend it against the rush of oncoming terrorists, much like Custer's last stand.

Let's get this straight: Custer died.

Obviously clustering together where the enemy is going to be shooting is a poor idea, so how do you avoid this? The answer, though surprising, is to rush the enemy's spawn point. Pick the path they are least likely to go (or alternately that most of your teammates are running, staying back to let them take the brunt of the resistance) and perform a flanking maneuver. Sure, they may make it into the bomb site uncontested, but they'll have their backs to you, just like you want.

The same strategy applies when playing as a terrorist on a hostage rescue map. Quickly run as far from the hostages as you can get — the CTs are always pointing toward the hostages, ready to shoot you if you linger near them for too long. "Objectives" is just another word to trick you into dying... ignore them at all costs!

SECTION FIVE: Psychological gaming
Now we come to some of the more subtle tactics that truly distinguish a professional pubber from just another target.

Most players are less on their guard after they kill an enemy and think they've cleared the area. Use this to your advantage. Retreat from an oncoming enemy to a position just past a teammate, and let your teammate take the brunt of the damage. If you're lucky, you can catch the enemy reloading and finish them off before they realize there were two of you. Sometimes your teammate will need encouragement to stand up and fight, however. If they're near a doorway, try wedging yourself behind them so that they realize retreat is not an option.

SECTION SIX: Removing threats to your ratio
[ad]As discussed previously, becoming a successful, respected pub player means getting the best ratio and score possible. Once you've mastered the previous tips pointed out in this guide, you should already be an ownage machine. Yet occasionally situations come up that interfere with your ability to have the most kills on the server, and those threats must be dealt with. Here are a few tips:

1 - If a particular teammate is hogging all the kills, try shooting him a few times without actually killing him. Many servers won't even punish you for this, and it will ensure that he goes down faster, saving precious kills for you. Not only will you get more kills, but you also lowered his ratio — instantly boosting yours by comparison!

2 - If in general your whole team is overrunning the other team, and you're not getting a chance to share in the frags, consider saving some money each round for flashbangs. A few well-placed flash grenades in a messy conflict can leave you as the only one left who can pick off the baddies. Blind everyone, and you'll be the only one left to mop up.

Your teammates will respect your ratio AND your ability to fight while everyone else was blind. If you have trouble doing this in the middle of a conflict, flashing everyone while you're all still at spawn usually works too.

3 - Playing against a very talented team can be disastrous to your score. Before joining, carefully look at the scores and decide which team has a better chance of carrying you to victory, and select this team.

If you pick wrong, quickly switch to the other team. Real CTs don't complain that teams are unfair. Real CTs make sure they have the advantage. Communists try to make everyone equal, and you don't want to be a communist do you Johnny?

Go forth and pwn
Yes, when it comes to intense, competitive pub play, the strategies you must employ are far more complex and intricate than anything you'll ever find at the CPL. However, if you skip enough classes and do without enough sleep, you'll have enough time to practice these frag-increasing tips and watch your score rise to new heights!

Well folks, that concludes this brief guide to becoming a pro pubber, a truly 1337 gamer who stands tall on the dead bodies of enemies and teammates alike. Go now, and practice these moves out in the pubs — but watch out: I'll be lurking in the pubs as well, typing "knife fight at terrorist spawn!" as I zoom in with my AWP, waiting for zealous would-be knife-fighters to come boost my ratio above yours.