Chroma 3 Case: 54% payout, 13% chance of profit. Is opening it with $100 fair
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Chroma 3 Case

Is it fair to open Chroma 3 Case

In-game case, Valve odds Opening price $5.61
E Grade
54% Payout
−$2.58 Average loss per opening

Top prize ★ Karambit | Doppler · $1226.84 · 0.0043% chance per opening

What happens to $100

Scenario: open the case 17 times with the whole $100 budget and sell every drop at market prices. Here is what you get:

Openings it buys 17
Left after 17 openings $23.58 8 times out of 10: between $13.56 and $136.81
Chance to end ahead 13%
Chance to double 3.5%
Chance at the top prize 0.07%
Openings until zero 22

Contents and odds

77 items
ItemOddsMarket price
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Doppler0.0043%$1226.84
★ Karambit | Marble Fade0.0043%$1004.67
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ M9 Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$882.30
★ Karambit | Tiger Tooth0.0043%$842.42
★ M9 Bayonet | Marble Fade0.0043%$723.79
★ Karambit | Damascus Steel0.0043%$616.50
★ M9 Bayonet | Tiger Tooth0.0043%$606.67
★ Karambit | Ultraviolet0.0043%$504.99
★ Karambit | Rust Coat0.0043%$458.68
★ M9 Bayonet | Damascus Steel0.0043%$432.48
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ Bayonet | Doppler0.0043%$371.18
★ M9 Bayonet | Ultraviolet0.0043%$359.64

Everything is worked out at today’s market prices and the odds we could read. It is arithmetic, not a forecast or advice: someone gets a knife on the first try, but on average this is how it goes.

Ranked 14 of 42 CS2 cases by payout

Cases with a similar payout

Questions

Why is the Chroma 3 Case payout below 100%?

The case and key cost $5.61, and almost everything that drops is a cheap skin: 79.92% for the lowest tier, 0.26% for a knife or gloves. Multiply the odds by market prices and you get 54% — that much of every 100 comes back on average.

Where do the prices come from?

The best market offers at the time of the calculation: Skinport, CSFloat, Market.CSGO, DMarket, Waxpeer and White.Market. That is what a drop actually sells for, not a display price.

What does “openings until zero” mean?

The way cases are really opened: sell the drop, open again while you can afford a case. For Chroma 3 Case that is 22 openings on average — then the balance is below the opening price. Everyone gets there: a payout below 100% works like gravity.

What if I get lucky?

Over 17 openings the chance to pull ★ Karambit | Doppler is 0.1%, the chance to double the budget is 3.5%. Both numbers are honest, and both are small.