On a 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 at staring out the window at the darkness The boredom overtook us, and he began to speak He said, son, I've made a life out of reading people's faces Knowing what the cards were by the way they held their eyes And if you don't mind me saying, I can see you're out of aces For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice So I handed him my bottle, and he drunk down my last swallow Then he bombed a cigarette, and asked me for a light And the night got bitterly quiet, and his face lost all expression Said, if you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them Know when to walk away, know when to run You never count your money when you're sitting at the table There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done Every gambler knows that the secret to surviving Is knowing what to throw away, knowing what to keep Cause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep When he'd finished speaking, he turned back toward the window Crushed down 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 gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them Know when to walk away, know when to run You never count your money when you're sitting at the table There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them Know when to walk away, know when to run You never count your money when you're sitting at the table There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done