The investing game is lot like poker-there's lots of risk, but also plenty of rewards. The payout comes down to how you play your hand. With certificates of deposit (CDs), there are plenty of strategies that help you win without a big gamble.

No matter how hard you try to find a "sure thing" in the investment world, you'll always come up empty-handed. Perhaps the closest you can come would be a certificate of deposit (CD). CD rates guarantee you a fixed return on your investment if you put away your money for a set amount of time. The risk is that you could buy a CD tomorrow, and then miss out if interest rates spike in the coming months.

Compare these three CD strategies:

Bump-up to the higher interest rate

In golf, if you make a bad shot and you want to take another, it's called a mulligan. A "bump-up" CD allows you to take a mulligan if CD rates start to climb. Upon your request, a bank will bump-up your certificate of deposit to the higher rate-but you can only do this once.

Climb the ladder of success

You can also ladder a series of CDs. Here's how it's done: You take out a 1-year, 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year CD. Then, every year when a CD comes due, you reinvest it as a 5-year CD. The new CD automatically takes the place of the old 5-year CD, which has now matured to a 4-year CD. This spreads out the risk factor, assuring that you'll get a good CD rate of return over the long haul.

Callable CDs not the call

Generally sold by brokerage houses, "callable CDs" are issued at a higher rate. Why? Because the broker always has the option to call in the CD before the maturity date and sell it-generally at a lower price than you paid. This happens when rates are declining, and the brokerage wants to get as much money out of it as it can.

For the risk-averse investor, these CD strategies may be much less of a gamble than the stock market, and might be in the cards for you. They may not result in you living high on the hog, but they're one of the best ways to keep risky business from ruining your portfolio.