CS2 Trade-Up Guides
Four in-depth guides covering how CS2 trade-up contracts actually work: the core mechanics, the separate gold contract that produces knives and gloves, cross-market arbitrage, and where to start if you're new to all of it. Every guide links back to the live tools so you can put the math to work immediately.
- The Complete CS2 Trade-Up Contract Guide
Every rarity tier, the 10:1 rule, float inheritance and averaging, expected value, and marketplace fees — the full mechanics of a CS2 trade-up contract in one place.
10 min read - Knives & Gloves From Trade-Ups: The Gold Contract Explained
Why the standard 10:1 trade-up chain stops at Covert, what the separate 5-Covert gold contract actually does, and what CSAlpha's Knife/Gloves labels mean.
7 min read - Skin Arbitrage: Cross-Market Spreads and Float-Value Buy Orders
How price gaps between CSFloat, DMarket, and Skinport form, why float-exact pricing finds mispriced listings, and how Blueprints turns both into a buy-order strategy.
8 min read - CS2 Trade-Ups for Beginners: Start Here
New to CS2 trade-up contracts? Start with the mechanic in plain English, then use the calculator and live board to learn without risking anything.
8 min read