Steam Cards are digital Cards for specific Games dropped into your Steam Inventory after some Playtime.

a finished Badge

When owing one of every kind of Card from a Game (a Set) you can craft it to earn a Badge for your Steam Profile and 100 XP for your Steam Level.
You can craft a Set for the same Game up to 5 Times, leveling the Badge to the maximum of 5 Levels, a Level 5 Badge gives you 500 XP.

You can see the Remaining Carddrops on the Games Badge Page


Games drop a Cards amount which is half the Cardcount for the whole Game or one more Card if the Number of different Cards the Game has is uneven.


-Higher Chance to get Booster-Pack drops

-Bigger Friendlist

-More Profile Customisation Possibilitys

a Steam Level of 69

The Level 5 Badge for the Game "Midnight Carnival"

When talking about 1:1 Trading most People mean Same Sets 1:1 Trading, trading one Card from the same Game for another one.

A nice guide specificly for 1:1 same Set trading can be found here:

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338585333

Cross-Set Trading means exchanging your Cards for Cards from another Game.

Common Practices offered by Traders are 1:2 Trades and trading for the same Steam Market Price.

A 1:2 Trade is a Exchange of (your) 2 Cards for 1 other Card.
1:2 Trades are mostly offered by Traders looking to grow theyre Inventory, and are a nice Way to finish your Sets without the need to buy half the Cards somewhere (just trade 2 other half sets)

Steam Market Price Trades means Trading your Cards for other Cards of the Same Value on the Steam Market. Most Times the Price without Taxes is used for Cardtrades

Another Possibility is to trade finished Sets for other finished Sets or half sets for half a Set you still need.
Trades like those and where you can trade them depend on the Trader.

Gems can be recieved by turning Cards into them (most times the Gems are worth less then the Cards you turned into them)

The "turn into Gems" Button available for most Cards and Backgrounds


6488 Gems and 2 Sacks of Gems in a Steam Inventory

A lot of Traders use them as Currency to trade for Cards, Backgrounds, Emotes or other Items.
Directly buying Gems from the Steam Marketplace is the easiest and normally the Cheapest way to get them, other ways to get Gems are turning unneeded Items into them or bumping Threads that Award you with Gems for doing so

https://steamproxy.com/groups/tradingcards/discussions/2/4512129383466990876/
(example Thread that Awards People that bump it some Gems)


1000 Gems at once can be turned into a "Sack of Gems" and sold on the Steam Marketplace


Gems can also be turned into Boosterpacks of any Game with Cards you own.
Boosterpacks cost between 400 and 1200 Gems to craft and contain 3 Cards with a Chance for a Foil Card.

Boosterpack from the Game "Broforce"


Boosterpack opening Screen

Other Items used as Currency are TF2 Keys and rarely CS2 Case Keys

"Mann Co. Supply Crate Key" from Team Fortress 2, short: TF2 Key

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=722062281
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=160483480
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=177244559
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1103622431

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I will try to update this Guide on a regular Basis.