Baiting, it's the taboo of the Counter Strike world, but if orchestrated properly it can be one of the most effective tools in your arsenal. By properly baiting you can surprise enemies with cheeky spots and unexpected positioning.

Firstly, I'll discuss the kind of baiting that causes many players to get angry at their teammates. Many times it is not the “Baiter's” fault, it is the “Baited” who in fact causes his own demise. Over-extending a peek or not holding a tight enough angle are just a few examples of why you died, not because of your cowering teammate. You need to stop putting blame on teammates for your own mistakes. Of course sometimes it is the “Baiter's” fault, when hiding you will want to not give away your position for as long as possible but you also do not want to just watch your teammate die in front of you.

Where?

One of the most effective baiting spots is on either side of mid on De_Inferno. As you can see in these screenshots, you coordinate and choose to double up on either the Arch Side or Truck Side of mid. Normally of course it is default to play one on each side of mid holding respectively. The two players in this scenario are always the “Baiter” and the “Baited”. The goal of the “Baited” player is to spot for Terrorists aggression up mid and then to stay alive for as long as possible.

For example he can shoulder peek from the porch pillar and maybe take a few shots at any Terrorists he sees. As soon as he takes a couple shots he should call to his teammate and fall back to the site. At this point the Terrorists will likely have smoked the opposite site of mid and will push relentlessly when you fall to site. Many times their thirst for blood will outweigh their logic and they won't check underneath the porch, allowing the “Baiter” to get many kills on players with their back turned to him. Both the “Baited” and the “Baiter” can use right click underhand flashes to aid the “Baiter” in his attempt to punish over-aggressive players.

Arch side offers a similar strategy, as you can easily fall back from danger once you spot the Terrorists. Using the Cubby and the Corner on left side mid you can once again use the Terrorists mindless aggression to secure their focus and allow the player in Cubby to rack up many kills. The “Baited” player can fall back to either Archway or Library to draw their attention. The other best Bait Spots include the Long A Car and Cat Stairs on De_Dust2, the Quad box on De_Cache, the Sandbags on De_Inferno and the Bench area on De_Mirage.

When?

Obviously doing these strategies every single round is a bad idea, but why is that? Well first of all it's a huge risk as you generally are giving up map control at some other location. On Inferno you have to give up an entire side of mid and can be smoked off super easily. I would not recommend you attempt a baiting strategy on pistol rounds as the Terrorist's Glocks can easily overrun even the best aimers. Also on anti-ecos when you have better equipment there is no point in risking the edge you have over them. So what are some good rounds to do this strategy on?

The very first gun round is highly effective because many Terrorist teams will assume you are playing something standard to test the waters. They will expect a fairly default setup and may not be bothered to check their corners. Eco rounds and Force Buy rounds are also very effective.

If you are playing standard setups with no armour and only basic pistols then the equipment advantage the Terrorists have will overpower you ever time. Getting these close range unexpected positions will aid your chances of collecting weapons or even winning an Eco.

Force buys are rounds when you are already taking a huge risk by having limited utility, weaker guns or light armour. So taking normal gunfights will often have you at a disadvantage, if the “Baiter” is using a shotgun then they can often pick up multi-kills. Also you can try this strategy on the occasional gun round if you are finding your team losing most of the default gun fights.

Why?

Baiting is only effective when coordinated properly with a willing and able teammate. It should be used as more of a distraction tactic as you can see in this screenshot, Terrorists will often walk right past you or if not, at least have to desperately flick to you.

However it is also important to not overuse these spots as you can see many of them are fairly easy to use a Molotov on from behind cover.

Once this tactic has been executed once or twice successfully you will leave the Terrorists writhing in fear and checking every corner frantically.

Bait away my friends!!!