CS2 guides
Nine short reads on what sits behind a skin price. You can open any one without the others, and each links out to the finishes it names.
Guide
How CS2 cases work
The case is only a box. Valve sells the key that opens it as a second purchase, and the skin that comes out is a third thing, decided by a roll.
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Case odds and expected value
The gold slot exists, but at 0.26% it comes up so seldom that a typical opening ends in a loss.
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Float and wear
The float never changes. The wear name is just a label for whichever band that number lands in.
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Patterns, fades, and Case Hardened
Same name, same wear, different pattern seed: you are looking at two different items.
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StatTrak, Souvenir, and Contraband
Each of the three labels alters a skin while its paint name stays put, and just one is still being created.
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Stickers and crafts
Once a sticker is on a gun, it no longer sells at its loose price. Slot, scrapes and the weapon underneath all move what buyers will bid.
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Trade-up contracts
Feed in ten skins of a single rarity and you receive one skin from the tier above. The collection mix picks which skin it is, and float caps limit how good it can look.
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Trade safety
Two traps do most of the damage: a password box that only looks like Steam, and a trade offer that quietly differs from the screenshot you agreed to.
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Marketplace fees
Steam keeps about fifteen percent of a sale and pays you in wallet funds. A cash market works with a different fee and a different kind of risk.
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