On a warm summer's evening, on a train bound to nowhere,
I met up with a gambler, we were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-staring out the window at the darkness,
Till boredom overtook us and he began to speak

He said, son, I've made a life out of reading people's faces
and knowin' what the cards were by the way they held their eyes,
and I said, if you don't mind my saying I can see your 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,
And then he bummed a cigarette, and asked me for a light
And then the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression,
He said, son, if you're gonna play the game, you gotta learn to play it right,

You got to 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 sittin' at the table,
There'll be time enough for counting, when the dealing's done,

Every gambler knows, that the secret to survival
Is knowin' what to throw away, and knowin' what to keep
Because every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep,

And when he finished speaking, he turned back toward 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 them, know when to fold them,
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 counting, when the dealing's done,

words and music by Don Schlitz