Top 10 Gambling Songs To Listen When Playing

Music is one essential way humans express their love, views, and thoughts about all facets of life. There is a song for everything and everyone, irrespective of your interest and music taste. Whether you want to search your soul, dance at a party, or just enjoy games at the casino.

A lot of gambling songs have been released over the ages. Since men started betting, they have been singing about it in pubs and bars.

If you ever get tired of the mechanical sounds of slot machines, or you desire to listen to melodic tunes that extol gambling, you are on the right page. Here are the top ten songs ever recorded about gambling and betting.

10. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

The Gambler by Kenny Rogers takes the lead when rating the best and most popular gambling songs. 

Released in 1978, the all-time pop classic tune talks about meeting with a gambling man on a train and the advice he has to offer for a sip of whiskey. Listen to this, and these lyrics will always resonate in your mind as you play poker.

"You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done.”

9. Viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley

Las Vegas is the most popular gambling destination in the world. Over the years, several musicians have sung odes about the city, including the famed king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley. 

Viva Las Vegas captures the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas and everything you could benefit from in the city. 

“Oh, there's blackjack and poker and the roulette wheel
A fortune won and lost on ev'ry deal
All you need's a strong heart and a nerve of steel
Viva Las Vegas, Viva Las Vegas”

You won’t get tired of listening to this song, especially if you have ever dreamt of visiting Las Vegas. 

8. Black Queens - Stephen Stills

Stephen Stills was a virtuoso in playing guitar, and his mastery comes to play in this betting song. From the beginning of the music, Stills tells you everything you need to know about it.

"This is a song about a card game 
Black queen, holding hearts 
Black queen, tear the game apart 
Black queen, don't you know? 
Can't beat aces all in a row, black queen."

However, in the last verse, you learn important gambling lessons about managing your bankroll and understanding the game.

7. Mr. Mudd And Mr. Gold – Townes van Zandt

Do you play poker games? Particularly five stud poker? If you do, this is one betting song you should listen to, especially when sitting at a poker table. 

The tune wouldn’t make sense to anyone who isn’t a card player. It focuses on a tense poker round between two players, Mr. Mudd, and Mr. Gold, and you get to be a part of it by listening.

“The sun's upon a gambling day
His queen smiled low and blissfully
Let's make some wretched fool to play
Plain it was she did agree
He send his deuce down into diamond
His four to hart, and his trey to spade
Three kings with their legions come
Preparations soon where made.”

Even if you don’t understand the lyrics, it is a tuneful folk song that will sound sweet in your ears. 

6. Tumbling Dice – The Rolling Stones

If dice could sing as you roll them, the funky ones amongst them will sing this tune. However, in Tumbling Dice, The Rolling Stones sings about a playboy gambler who cannot stay faithful to any woman. But do we blame him? He is always rolling away from cheating women “wearing him down.”

“Baby, I can't stay
You got to roll me and call me the tumblin'
Roll me and call me the tumblin' dice
Now baby”

5. Ace of Spades – Motörhead

Ace of Spades started rocking our airwaves in 1980, but this Motörhead hit is timeless. The lyrics describe the thrill of gambling, specifically focusing on the Ace of Spades.

"The pleasure is to play
Makes no difference what you say
I don't share your greed
The only card I need
Is the Ace of Spades
The Ace of Spades"

Ironically, the inspiration for Ace of Spades didn’t come from playing poker or card games. Lemmy Kilmister, the founder of the rock band, stated in his book “White Line Fever” that he got the idea to compose the music from playing slot machines in London Pubs.

4. When You’re Hot, You’re Hot - Jerry Reed

Gambling is meant to be fun and relaxing, and in 1971 Jerry Reed gave us a classic that can set this ambiance. Listen to the singer recount his funny experience playing an illegal craps game and getting busted by the police. 

Unperturbed, when he gets to court, he realizes that the judge is an old “fishing “ buddy that loaned him money in the past. He ends up getting a 90 days jail term. However, throughout the ordeal, the singer projects a positive outlook with his mantra:

“When you’re hot, you’re hot
And when you’re not, you’re not!”

The song was hot, though. It was Reed’s most successful song on the country chart, peaking at number one for five weeks. It was also his second song to cross over to the Top 40 and peaked at number nine. 

Furthermore, the tune was certified gold by the Record Industry Association of America for selling one million units in the US. Want to be hot when playing that game? Then this is the song to listen to. 

3. Desperado - The Eagles

Although some songs aren’t about gambling, their lyrics feature a variety of betting references. The Eagles by Desperado is one of them. This 1973 masterpiece describes the solicitude lives of loners who cannot love using poker card allusions. It is one of the best hits from the Eagles’ album of the same name. The song is still relevant today. 

“Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table”

2. Poker Face – Lady Gaga

Poker Face was one of the first significant hits that brought Lady Gaga to the limelight and international recognition. 

Although the music has gambling references, Lady Gaga has repeatedly confirmed that the song is about having a poker face during sexual experiences with her past lover. If you need to be reminded about having a “poker face” while playing poker, this is the song to listen to.

" I wanna hold 'em like they do in Texas, please
Fold 'em, let 'em, hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (I love it)
Love game intuition, play the cards with spades to start
And after he's been hooked, I'll play the one that's on his heart."

1. Shape of my Heart – Sting

Poker is a beautiful casino game, full of intrigues, suspense, and lessons, and this is why it will continue to be a common feature in gambling music. 

Shape of my Heart by Sting is another song that captures the feelings and outcomes of playing poker. However, in this music, the poker player is not playing to win but to find answers to love and fate.

“He deals the cards as a meditation
And those he plays never suspect
He doesn’t play for the money he wins
He doesn’t play for respect
He deals the cards to find the answer
The sacred geometry of chance
The hidden law of a probable outcome
The numbers lead a dance.”

There are loads of hit songs written about gambling. While some directly focus on the subject, others reference it in their lyrics. 

Either way, you can choose from many options if you desire to sweeten your ears with gambling music while playing. Our list of the best gambling songs is a perfect place to start.