On a warm summer's evening, on a train bound for nowhereI met up with the gambler, we were both too tired to sleepSo we took turns a-staring at the window of the darknessThe boredom overtook us, and he began to speak, he saidI've made life out of reading people's facesKnowing what the cards were, by the way they held their eyesSo if you don't mind my sayingI can see you're out of aces for a taste of your whiskeyI'll give you some adviceSo I handed him my bottle, and he drank down my last swallowThen he bummed a cigarette, and asked me for a lightAnd the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expressionIf you're gone, you're gone, you're gone, you're goneYou gotta play the game, girl, you gotta learn to play it rightYou've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold emKnow when to walk away, and know when to runYou never count your money, when you're sitting at the tableThere'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's doneEvery gambler knows, that the secret to survivingIs knowing what to throw away, and knowing what to keepCause every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loserAnd the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleepAnd when we'd finished speakingAnd we'd finished speakingYou turned back toward the windowCrushed out his cigarette, and faded off to sleepAnd somewhere in the darknessThe gambler, he broke evenBut in his final words, I found an ace that I could keepYou've got to know when to hold emKnow when to fold emKnow when to walk awayAnd know when to run awayYou never count your money, when you're sitting at the tableThere'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's doneYou've got to know when to hold em, know when to fold emKnow when to walk away, and know when to runYou never count your money, when you're sitting at the tableThere'll be time enough for counting, and know when to fold emWhen the dealing's doneYou never count your moneyWhen you're sitting at the tableThere'll be time enough for countingWhen the dealing's doneYou got to know when to hold themKnow when to fold themKnow when to walk away