Tom: D

     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.

[Slide capo to 2nd fret]
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.
[Repeat chorus once and end]