Plot
In the American Old West, card sharp and con artist Bret Maverick is en route to a major five-card draw poker tournament held aboard the paddle steamer Lauren Belle, intending to determine how skilled a poker player he really is. Short $3,000 of the $25,000 entry fee, Maverick travels to the town of Crystal River to collect debts and win money through poker. During one game, he encounters young con artist Annabelle Bransford and defeats the ill-tempered gambler, Angel.
Maverick and Bransford share a stagecoach with Marshal Zane Cooper, and together the three leave Crystal River. They narrowly escape plunging into a ravine after their elderly driver suddenly dies, then aid a group of missionary settlers by recovering their stolen money from a gang of bandits. Maverick is rewarded with a share of the money, but feels guilty and returns it, much to Bransford's ire. The group is then cornered by a band of Indians led by Joseph, who is secretly a friend of Maverick's. Maverick feigns sacrificing himself to allow the others to escape. He later learns Joseph does not have the $1,000 he owes him, so they swindle a Russian archduke out of the money by staging a hunt in which the archduke believes he is killing an Indian—Maverick in disguise.
Meanwhile, Angel receives a telegram instructing him to prevent Maverick from reaching the tournament. He and his men capture Maverick and leave him hanging from a tree above a nest of rattlesnakes. After they leave, Maverick is saved when the branch breaks. Still $2,000 short, he boards the Lauren Belle and finds Bransford, who is herself $4,000 short. Spotting the archduke aboard, Maverick poses as a Bureau of Indian Affairs agent investigating the shooting of Indians for sport and cons the archduke out of $6,000, covering both their entry fees.
Commodore Duvall welcomes the competitors to the tournament. Cooper oversees security for both the game and the $500,000 prize money, confiscating weapons and watching for cheaters, who will be immediately disqualified and thrown overboard if discovered. The field is gradually reduced until only Maverick, Angel, Bransford, and Duvall remain for the winner-take-all final.
During a break in the tournament, Maverick and Bransford have a tryst. As the game approaches, Maverick discovers he has been locked in his room in an attempt to force his forfeit, but he climbs along the outside of the steamer and reaches the table in time. After Bransford is eliminated, Maverick notices the dealer conspiring with Angel by bottom dealing cards. Rather than replace the dealer, Maverick has Angel deal him a card from the top of the deck. All three remaining players wager their remaining chips, and Angel and Duvall reveal strong hands. Maverick refuses to look at his final card, relying on his long-held belief that, when he truly needs it, he can summon the card he wants. He reveals the Ace of spades, completing an unbeatable royal flush. Angel and his men draw their guns, but Cooper and Maverick shoot first, killing them.
During the closing ceremony, Cooper steals the prize money and escapes. Later that night, he secretly meets Duvall, revealing they had conspired to steal the money together and that Angel had been working for Duvall. Duvall attempts to betray Cooper, but Maverick intervenes, recovers the money, and leaves, while Cooper subdues Duvall.
Some time later, Cooper corners Maverick while he is enjoying a hot bath; Cooper is revealed to be Maverick's accomplice and father, Bret Maverick Sr.. As the two relax in adjoining baths, Bransford arrives, having deduced their relationship from their similar physiques and mannerisms. She steals the satchel containing the prize money and departs, after which Maverick reveals that he hid half the money in his boots. He remarks that retrieving the remaining $250,000 will be "fun". When Maverick Sr. asks how Maverick drew the Ace of spades, Maverick replies, "Magic", and smiles.
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