On a warm summer`s 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, I`ve made my life out of readin`
 people`s faces,
And knowin` what their 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`ll 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 you`re 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 [bad word] 
You never count your money when you`re sittin` at
 the table.
There`ll be time enough for countin` when the
 dealin`s done.

Ev`ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin`
Is knowin` what to throw away and knowing what to
 keep.
`Cause ev`ry hand`s a winner and ev`ry hand`s a
 loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in
 your sleep."

When he`d finished speakin`, he turned back
 towards the window,
 [bad word] 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 [bad word] 
You never count your money when you`re sittin` at
 the table.
There`ll be time enough for countin` when the
 dealin`s done.