The feel of a poker chip can send chills down card lovers’ spines.  The sound of slot machines can make the grumpiest gamblers smile. The smell of a fresh deck of cards can take casino connoisseurs to a happier place.

Gambling is intoxicating.  It’s exciting.  And few games are more fun to play than poker.  It’s as much about strategy as it is pure luck.  At the table, anyone can win and everyone can lose.

When it comes to credit, get the gambling thrills without the risk.  You can hold the five best hands in the credit game every time.  Don’t go all in on a pair of two’s when you can set yourself up for a royal flush.  When you start “gambling” with your credit, you can come out thousands of dollars richer.

Flush

A flush is the fifth best hand in the game.  The value of your card doesn’t matter as long as you’re showing the same suit across the board.  It isn’t a perfect hand, but it can definitely help you rake in some chips.

Make sure you have flush when it comes to your credit reports.  It’s okay, for now, if your numbers – loans, credit cards, financing – are all over the place.  All you’re looking for in this stage is to make sure everything is suited the same.

According to a study by the Policy and Economic Research Council, 19.2 percent of credit reports contain errors.  In order to win, you have to make sure all of your credit is being reported accurately and is the same across the board.  The credit reports can vary between bureaus, but the information on a report should always mirror your actual credit activity.  If that isn’t the case, then you’re holding a losing hand.

Only five suited cards make up a flush, and only flawless reporting gives you a fair chance at succeeding with credit.

Full House

Most adults have a full house when it comes to their credit.  They have credit cards, mortgage loans, auto loans, student loans and likely a few other financed possessions under their belt.  The way to make this hand work best for you is to understand what combination produces a stellar result.

With a full house, you’re holding three of a kind and a pair.  This can beat a lot even if you’re holding low cards.  That’s not to say someone still couldn’t beat you.  Three 7’s and two aces seems like a nearly unbeatable hand, but if someone slides in with three 8’s and a pair of 2’s, they win.

Ideally you want all of your cards to be high, but if you have to choose you want a higher three of a kind and a lower pair because the triplets always win.

When it comes to your credit, you want the same distribution.

In your credit file, you have “good” debt and “bad” debt.  It’s okay to have debt as long as your “good” debt represents the better half.  Mortgages and student loans fall into the “good” category, while revolving debt from credit cards and auto loans is on the other side of the spectrum.

If you want to have an unbeatable credit full house, try to make sure “good” debt is your three of a kind.  Having bad debt isn’t always avoidable, but if you carry as little of it as possible, you can make it your pair.

Four of a Kind

When you get a four of a kind, you have to have four of the same numbers or face cards in your deck.  With credit you just have to be properly achieving success with the four most important elements that make up your score.

Top 4 things that affect your credit:

Payment History – This factor is the most important when it comes to credit.  If you are late on payments or defaulting on loans, you might as well fold.  The FICO calculation states that payment history carries a 35 percent weight on your score.

Amounts Owed – Creditors want to see that you aren’t fully dependent upon credit to survive.  The way they measure this is through a credit utilization ratio.  They calculate how much available credit you have versus the amount you are using.  You’ll be in a much better place if you can avoid coming close to your limits and attempt to pay down principal on loans.

Length of History – Good behavior is nice, but creditors want to make sure you’re consistent.  The longer your history is the better insight they will have into your financial patterns.  Try to avoid closing unused credit cards so that you retain the long-term proof needed to show bankers you’re a worthwhile customer.

New credit and types of credit – Both the amount and type of credit you seek is considered important in the financial industry.  Together they equal 20 percent of your score.  Although applying for a credit card here and there won’t be too damaging, you want to make sure you aren’t making too many drastic moves towards credit at once.

If you can manage to master all four of those arenas, you’ll have a near perfect hand.

Straight Flush

Now you’re moving into the big leagues.  In poker, the odds of hitting any straight flush are 1/64,974.  Thankfully, you’re not such an underdog in the credit game.  Once you’ve achieved a flush and found that all of your credit reporting is accurate, the difficult part is getting the numbers to work for you.

Getting five consecutive cards of the same suit is the credit equivalent of paying off your revolving debt.  It is difficult and for many, it takes a long time and a lot of shuffling to make it happen.  However, once you rid yourself of the smaller debts like credit cards and loans, banks will consider you to be virtually risk-free.  You’ll have proven that you can not only take on debt, but that you are capable of one day repaying it.  That is a strong position at the credit table.

Royal Flush

Though the last four hands are virtually unbeatable, there is only one reigning king when it comes to poker: the royal flush.  To do this, you not only have to achieve a straight flush, but you have to be holding the highest cards possible.  Same-suit ace, king, queen, jack and ten is the only way to be guaranteed the jackpot.

With credit, you have to work equally as hard to be a high roller.  Once you have paid off your bad debt and are chipping away at the principal on your good debt, you have to start playing the game to make it work for you in the long run.

You would think that having a royal flush in credit would mean having everything paid off, and never owing money again.  But that won’t work.  In order to keep winning, you have to remain seated at the table.  Use your credit cards with caution by maintaining a manageable balance that is easy to pay off.  Try saving for big purchases like furniture, electronics and appliances as opposed to financing them.  Ignore the temptation to take out a second mortgage on your home.

Proving once to creditors that you can handle credit with care isn’t enough to last you forever.  Become a strategic player and you’ll have a royal flush for the rest of your life.