Shooting

Be aware of accuracy problems while moving, on ladders, in water, or in air

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

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.