On the warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere

I met up with a gambler we were both too tired to sleep

So we took turns a starin' out window at the darkness

Till boredom overtook us and he commenced to speak.

He said, "Son I made a life out of readin' people's faces

And knowin' what the cards were by the way they held their eyes

So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces

For a taste of your whiskey I would give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow

Then he'd bummed a cigarette then he bummed a light

And the night got deathly quiet and his face lost all expression

He said, "If you gonna play the game boy you gotta learn to play it right."

"You, you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away, know when to run

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done."

--- Instrumental ---

"Now, every gambler knows that the secret to survival

Is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep

'Cause every hand's a winner just like every hand's a loser

And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

So when he finished speaking he turned back toward the window

Crushed out his cigarette, faded off to sleep

Somewhere in the darkness the gambler he broke even

In his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away, know when to run

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done.

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

Know when to walk away, know when to run

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table

There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done.

There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin' is done...