YOU’VE got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run.

The gamble hasn’t paid off for Rangers. One day, they will have to take what is left of their chips and leave Pedro Caixinha at the table.

Anyone that likes a punt will be aware of the pitfalls of chasing your losses in the hope that your fortunes change, of throwing good money after bad in the chance that you hit the jackpot.

That is the situation that Rangers are in with Caixinha now. It isn’t bad luck that has brought them here, though, it is bad judgement.

The appointment of Caixinha was the ultimate gamble at a time when Rangers couldn’t afford a high-risk strategy. The odds were always against the 46-year-old being a success and the Ibrox board must now count the cost.

It all has a depressingly familiar vibe to it for supporters as they find themselves living the same movie once again, twelve months on from Mark Warburton’s first foray into the Premiership.

The characters are different but the narrative - that of an underperforming squad, of inconsistent results and of wasted money on signings - is the same at Ibrox.

That is not to say that Caixinha will be removed from office as a matter of urgency. It could be weeks or months before his future really comes into focus.

But the defeat to Motherwell on Sunday was another self-inflicted blow for the Portuguese as he battles in vain to transform his and Rangers’ fortunes.

The list of ignominies that is headed by Progres Niederkorn has another entry but this one – which joined the Scottish Cup defeat to Celtic, two Old Firm embarrassments at Ibrox and the loss at home to Aberdeen – may have taken Caixinha to the brink.

Only a sustained run of form will win over the doubters and silence the critics, but it is that exact feat that has proved beyond his side during his tumultuous Ibrox tenure.

After accepting the blame for the Betfred Cup exit at Hampden on Sunday, Caixinha took aim at his players on Monday as he claimed they had embarrassed him, the club and the supporters.

Having failed to properly address the situation with Kenny Miller in recent weeks, it was a brave, perhaps foolish, strategy from the Portuguese to turn his guns on those that have to perform for him if he is to keep his job.

How long he does that for will come down to chairman Dave King and his board. The South Africa-based businessman was at Hampden to see Rangers succumb to the latest in a long line of big-game defeats and is expected to be present at Ibrox tomorrow night for the visit of Kilmarnock.

The flight home will give King plenty of time to think. Caixinha can’t afford for his future to be at the forefront of his mind.

Once he has contemplated what to do with his manager, King might also ponder just how Rangers ended up in this mess in the first place. More importantly, what, or how much, will it take to fix it?

As the head of the ship, it is King that will be in the firing line for supporters, but both barrels shouldn’t be pointed at him as Rangers enter choppy waters once again.

King took a back seat during the recruitment process as a three-man delegation – Graeme Park, Stewart Robertson and Andrew Dickson – searched for Warburton’s replacement.

It was the motor mogul that was at the wheel and Rangers have been driven down the wrong road. Caixinha is now approaching a dead end at Ibrox.

The latest set of accounts for RIFC plc are due to be released in the not too distant future and an Annual General Meeting will be held before the first week in December.

If Caixinha is still in situ by then, the shareholder summit will be a chance to test the waters, not just on the manager, but on the appetite for a rights issue, the funds from which could be used for the next stage of the Light Blues rebuilding job.

With the doubts over Caixinha’s ability and suitability, would fans be willing to put their hands in their pocket and give the Portuguese another crack at the transfer market?

In the eyes of those in the stands, Caixinha is staring down a long road to redemption and many will feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Now, all sights will be set on the Directors’ Box, and on King, Graeme Park and his father, Douglas, in particular.

It is a question of boardroom politics as much as results on the field, a matter of cash in the bank as well as points on the board.

King and Co. have to decide whether to stick or twist. Rangers can’t afford the house of cards to come tumbling down once again.