Intro: D G D G

  D                     G                         D
On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere
                                A
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep
 D                     G                            D
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
     G            D              A         D
'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak
     D                                    G               D
He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces
                                      A
and knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
    D                          G                          D
And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
    G                  D                  A         D
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."
   D                             G                     D
So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow
                          A
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light
     D                          G                           D
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression
            G                      D            A                    D
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right
Chorus
      D             G          D
You got to know when to hold 'em , know when to fold 'em
G      D                A
know when to walk away and know when to run
     D    A  D           G        D
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
           G       D     A            D
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done
D                 G         D
Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
                               A
is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep
    D                 G        D
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser
     G            D        A         D
and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep"
  D                   G                D
And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window
                           A
crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep
  D                 G           D
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even
  G           D           A         D
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep
Chorus
      D             G          D
You got to know when to hold 'em , know when to fold 'em 
G      D                A
know when to walk away and know when to run
     D    A  D           G        D
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
           G       D     A            D
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done
      D             G          D
You got to know when to hold 'em , know when to fold 'em 
G      D                A
know when to walk away and know when to run
     D    A  D           G        D
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table
           G       D     A            D
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done