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Float capping: Meaning in CS2

Definition

Float capping is a CS2 trade-up technique where you choose input floats so the contract's output lands just inside a better wear tier, using the output skin's float cap to turn worn inputs into a cleaner result.

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Float capping is how experienced traders control the wear of a trade-up output. The game does not simply average the input floats. It normalizes each input float within that input skin's own cap, averages the ten normalized values, and maps that average onto the output skin's cap. Because many output skins have a maximum float well below 1.00, the mapped result is often cleaner than the inputs.

The goal is to sit just under a tier boundary such as 0.07 for Factory New or 0.15 for Minimal Wear. Inputs that are cleaner than needed cost more and add nothing to the price of the output, so the cheapest winning contract uses inputs that are exactly as clean as they need to be.

How do you float cap a trade-up?

Start from the output. Pick the target skin, note its float cap, and decide which wear tier you want. Work backwards to the highest average normalized float that still lands in that tier. Then shop for inputs whose floats keep the average under that line. Cheaper, higher-float inputs are fine as long as the mapped average stays in range.

A float cap calculator does this arithmetic for you. Enter the input floats and the output cap, and it shows the exact output float. Check it before the contract, since a single high-float input can push the result across a tier line and cut the value of the outcome.

What are the common mistakes in float capping?

The first is mixing collections with very different outputs and forgetting that the float math applies to whichever skin the contract picks, and each possible output has its own cap. A set of inputs that caps nicely for one output may land in Field-Tested for another. The second is trusting the wear label of inputs instead of their exact floats. Two Field-Tested inputs at 0.16 and 0.37 do very different things to the average.

The third is ignoring StatTrak and Souvenir rules. StatTrak inputs cannot mix with normal ones, and Souvenir inputs lose their Souvenir attributes with the output always being a normal item. Float capping only pays off when the rest of the contract is set up correctly.

Example

Ten Field-Tested inputs at floats around 0.20 can return a Minimal Wear output if the target skin's float cap tops out at 0.50, because the mapped average lands near 0.10.

Frequently asked questions

What does float capping mean in CS2?

It means choosing trade-up input floats so the output's mapped float lands just inside a better wear tier, using the output skin's float cap.

Is the trade-up output float just the average of the inputs?

No. Each input is normalized within its own cap, the values are averaged, and the average is mapped onto the output skin's cap.

Can float capping turn Battle-Scarred inputs into Factory New?

Only if the output skin's cap is very narrow. For most skins it can move the result a tier or two, not all the way.