Plot: Bret Maverick is a superb professional poker gambler, as handy with the handgun as he handles the cards, but also a master at avoiding violence by deception. Like all great poker layers, he's on his way to a winner take all championship on Commodore Duvall's riverboat, but first must complete the steep entry sum, collecting debts and gambling. He has most confusing encounters with other gamblers, mainly fake 'Southern belle' Annabelle Bransford and Marshal Zane Cooper, tricksters in his league, and various other stooges and accomplices, such as the bandit Angel and his gang, the Indian Joseph who preys on tourists and one of them, a Russian Archduke. Things are rarely what they seem, as layers of shameless deception are unfolded.
Alternative Plot: This film update of the "Maverick" TV series finds the title cardsharp (Mel Gibson) hoping to join a poker contest with an impressive payoff. In order to enter, Maverick must first put up a large cash sum. He scams hopeful contestants Annabelle (Jodie Foster) and Angel (Alfred Molina) in a preliminary card game to win the money he needs, making enemies of both players. While trying to evade Annabelle and Angel, the crafty Maverick realizes a cunning marshal (James Garner) is also on his tail.
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