0Verse: E0 A1 E2 1On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere, E3 B74 2I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep. E5 A6 E7 3So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness B78 E9 4'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak. 5 6Verse: E10 A11 E12 7He said, "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces, B713 8and knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes. E14 A15 E16 9And if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces. A17 E18 B719 E20 10For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice." 11 12Verse: E21 A22 E23 13So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow. B724 14Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light. E25 A26 E27 15And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression. A28 E29 B730 E31 16Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right. 17 18Chorus: E32 A33 E34 19You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, A35 E36 B737 20know when to walk away and know when to run. E38 A39 E40 A41 E42 21You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. E43 A44 E45 B746 E47 22There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done. 23 24Verse 4 - key change -: F48 A#49 F50 25Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin' C51 26is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep. F52 A#53 F54 27'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser, A#55 F56 C57 F58 28and the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep." 29 30Verse: F59 A#60 F61 31And when he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window, C762 32crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep. F63 A#64 F65 33And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even. A#66 F67 C768 F69 34But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep. 35 36Chorus: F70 A#71 F72 37You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, A#73 F74 C775 38know when to walk away and know when to run. F76 A#77 F78 A#79 F80 39You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. F81 A#82 F83 C784 F85 40There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done. 41 42 43Chorus - a cappella -: 44You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, 45know when to walk away and know when to run. 46You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. 47There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done. 48 49Chorus: E86 A87 E88 50You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, A89 E90 B791 51know when to walk away and know when to run. E92 A93 E94 A95 E96 52You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. E97 A98 E99 B7100 E101 53There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.