On a warm summers evenin on a train bound for
nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired
to sleep.
So we took turns a starin out the window at the
darkness
Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, Ive made my life out of readin
peoples faces,
And knowin what their cards were by the way they
held their eyes.
so if you dont mind my sayin, I can see youre
out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey Ill give you some
advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my
last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a
light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost
all expression.
Said, "If youre gonna play the game, boy, ya
gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to
fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at
the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the
dealins done.

Evry gambler knows that the secret to survivin
Is knowin what to throw away and knowing what to
keep.
Cause evry hands a winner and evry hands a
loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in
your sleep."

When hed finished speakin, he turned back
towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he
broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could
keep.

You got to know when to hold em, know when to
fold em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when youre sittin at
the table.
Therell be time enough for countin when the
dealins done.