This song caught my imagination because it reminded me of my Dad. He loved playing poker, and us kids learned it from a very early age. We learned that if you had a full house, and you called your pair before your three-of-a-kind, you could lose the hand. We were also told never to count your money during the game –unless your stack was getting low, of course, and you needed to determine if you could actually stick with the round.

As for knowing when to hold ‘em or fold ‘em – Dad was always up for trying the bluff.

On a warm summer's evening on a train bound for nowhere

I met up with the gambler we were both too tired to sleep

So we took turns a-staring out the window at the darkness

'Til boredom overtook us and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made a life out of reading people's faces

And knowing what their cards were by the way they held their eyes,

And if you don't mind my saying 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 ya gotta learn to play it right

Chorus

     You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

     Know when to walk away, know when to run

     You never count your money when you're sitting at the table

     There'll be time enough for counting when the dealing's done.

Every gambler knows that the secret to survival

Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep

'Cause 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'd 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.

Chorus