As the movie opens, we find Bret Maverick sitting on his horse with a noose around his neck, tied to the branch of a dead tree in the middle of the desert. Angel, his executioner, gloats over his predicament before throwing a bag of rattlesnakes at the feet of the horse. He and his posse ride away, not wanting to be tied to Maverick's murder. As the horse slowly strolls away from the tree, tightening the noose, Maverick appeals to God and begs forgiveness for his sins.
We Flashback to a week earlier, with Maverick narrating the events leading up to the hanging. He recalls riding a donkey named Arthur into a small frontier town called Crystal River, hoping to withdraw money from the local bank. Maverick explains that he needed the money to enter a poker competition that would begin soon, and was missing only $3,000 of the total $25,000 entry fee. Though the grand prize would be half a million dollars, Maverick explains that he was chiefly interested in discovering whether he was truly the best poker player.
Maverick finds the bank closed for the day. He sells his donkey for one dollar, and takes up residence at the local saloon hotel. In the lobby, he spots a poker game in progress and decides to join. At the table is a beautiful young woman with a thick Southern accent who introduces herself as Mrs. Annabelle Bransford, as well as the aforementioned Angel (though still not familiar to Maverick nor vice versa), an imposing man of Mexican origin who objects to Maverick's joining the game. Maverick convinces the other players to let him join, on the promise that he will lose for a whole hour, and on the claim that he never cheats and rarely ever bluffs. During said hour we see Maverick carefully observing the other players while presenting himself as a goof and losing every hand, as promised.
At the end of the hour, Maverick immediately wins a high-stakes round against another player who demands that the round be replayed, on account of him "not having his mind on the game". When Maverick objects, the player identifies himself as famous gunslinger Johnny Hardin, causing the entire saloon to become tense. Maverick defuses the situation by acquiescing to the demand, and is immediately chastised by Angel for his apparent cowardice. Maverick explains that cowardice has saved him many times, citing his "Ol' Pappy" once saying that those who run away get to run another day. He points out how little chance he would have if he'd angered a famous gunslinger like Hardin — but then draws a gun on Hardin faster than the blink of an eye. Using a mix of humor and the threat of his quick-draw skills, Maverick talks everyone back to continuing the game amicably. Annabelle is instantly impressed.
As the evening continues, Maverick quickly amasses a large fortune at the table. He then bluffs Angel into folding a stronger hand. Angel illegally looks at Maverick's hand after the round is concluded, causing Maverick to protest. Angel accuses him of cheating, prompting Maverick to explain that he used his first hour to observe all the other players' "tells", and even explains Angel's tell to prove it. Angel becomes mad and is about to assault Maverick when four scoundrels barge into the saloon, claiming that Maverick is "theirs" to beat up, after having taken all their money in a previous poker game. This starts a fight between Maverick and the gang, which quickly moves outside to the main square. With all the townspeople observing, Maverick hands his gun belt to a local child and makes him swear to shoot Maverick if he starts to lose. Maverick then proceeds to beat the gang members up handily, until they scurry away. Annabelle again is quite excited and impressed, whereas Angel quietly thanks his stars that he didn't try to fight Maverick himself. After the fight Maverick walks back into the saloon and intimidates Angel some more, furiously angry about the damage caused to his shirt during the fight. They continue playing poker amicably into the night.
Maverick returns to his room, only to receive a visit from Mrs. Bransford. She claims to be totally smitten with Maverick and kisses him passionately, before expressing her regret at being a married woman and bidding him goodbye. Maverick, however, immediately demands that she return his wallet which she had stolen during the kiss. With the mask now off, Maverick complements Annabelle for her skills as a thief, much to her annoyance. He grills her about her accent and marriage, discovering that both are mere fabrications. He threatens to give her over to the law, but decides that no harm was done since the money is still in his hands. At this, Annabelle complements Maverick on his charming demeanor and eventually kisses him even more passionately than before. This time, Maverick is left utterly dazed as Annabelle leaves the room, only to then discover that she's managed to steal his wallet again.
Maverick rushes over to Annabelle's hotel room window, where he catches her trying to make her escape. After some additional complements of her technique, he now demands compensation for the theft and begins to undress. When Annabelle protests that she is not that kind of woman, Maverick explains that he simply wants her to wash his delicate shirt. This causes Annabelle to now protest about his categorical refusal to sleep with her, to which Maverick replies that he'd be afraid she might steal anything and everything he has. He retrieves his wallet and throws the frustrated Annabelle back into her room.
First thing the next morning, Maverick heads to the bank and asks to see bank manager Eugene. He startles Eugene and pretends to rob him at gunpoint, but we quickly find out that Bret and Eugene are old friends. Bret asks for the thousand dollars Eugene owes him, but the banker says business has been bad recently and he can only manage $100. Maverick laments that he can't seem to collect on his debts in time for the poker tournament, citing someone named "Joseph" and another man called "Porkchop Slim" who apparently died in a mining accident. When he says that Slim's widow had used up all the money they had for the funeral, Eugene tells him that Porkchop Slim's body was never found, causing Maverick to realize that the "widow" had bilked him out of the money.
Eugene urges Maverick to take the $100, but Maverick feels uncomfortable over Eugene's wife and kids. At that moment, a gang of bank robbers burst into the bank and begin robbing it at gunpoint. When Eugene claims he only has one silver dollar on him, the lead robber threatens him to cough up more money. Finally he pulls out a wallet containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, shocking the robber and angering Maverick greatly. During the argument, Maverick realizes that the robber seems familiar somehow, so he pulls down his neckerchief to reveal he is played by Danny Glover. The two seem to vaguely recognize each other, but the robber quickly comes to his senses and takes Maverick's newly-acquired $100 as well. The robbers then place a stack of dynamite on the bank's safe and blow it up, escaping with the money in the commotion. Maverick angrily takes Eugene's last remaining silver dollar as he walks away from the destroyed bank.
As he leaves the scene, Maverick is chased into an alley by the thugs he had beaten the previous night. Instead of attacking him, it is revealed that Maverick had hired them to fake the fight in order to get him out of trouble. The thugs thank Maverick for going easy on them with the beatings, which puzzles him because he believed he had fought as hard as he could. The thugs proceed to demand the $5 he had promised each of them. When Maverick tries to weasel out of the payment on account of having just been robbed at the bank, they threaten his life. He then pulls out a $100 bill he had saved for emergencies and gives it to the thugs.
Maverick returns to his room and makes preparations to leave town. In front of the mirror, he attempts an old "magic trick" he'd been trying unsuccessfully to pull off for many years - drawing a specific card out of a full deck - but fails it once again. He then finds the shirt he had given Annabelle to wash the previous night, but quickly discovers that she had shrunk it. Spotting Annabelle from his balcony on her way to the ferry, he grabs his things and runs out to try to stop her.
Maverick blames Annabelle for shrinking his shirt intentionally, which she happily admits to. He tells her the shirt was made in Paris. When she mocks him, he grabs her forcefully, but is stopped by Marshall Zane "Coop" Cooper, an older gentleman and officer of the law. All three board the coach being ferried across the river out of town. They try to help an old, sickly passenger aboard, only to discover that he is the coach driver.
On the way across the river, the three passengers get to know each other a little better. Annabelle flirts with Cooper, irking Maverick. Attempting to expose her facade in front of Cooper, Maverick grills her about her accent and place of origin, tricking her into claiming that she's from Mobile, Alabama - and then tricking her into squirming uncomfortably when she's pressed for more details. He warns Cooper to keep an eye on his wallet in her presence.
The ferry reaches the opposite shore and the carriage sets off on the dusty road into the desert, with our trio aboard. During the ride, Cooper tells a story about how he once defeated nine armed men single-handedly. The smitten Annabelle tells Cooper that Maverick is a self-proclaimed coward, and Maverick openly admits to this, receiving nothing but contempt from Cooper.
Back in Crystal River, the four thugs from earlier smirk and laugh at Angel, causing him to become curious. Mocking Angel's gullibility, they reveal that Maverick had paid them to throw the fight the previous night. Angel becomes angry and beats them up badly, saying that things between him and Maverick have now become personal.
The coach makes its way across the desert, but it seems to have gone off the beaten path. The three passengers soon discover that the coach driver has passed away, and the vehicle is now out of control. Annabelle and Cooper nominate Maverick to climb up and stop the carriage. Maverick resists, trying to get Cooper to do it instead, but Cooper claims that he has to keep an eye on the rear wheel which is threatening to come off. Maverick finally relents and climbs out of the carriage, but a sudden bump causes him to fall and he just barely grabs on to the bottom of the carriage body. He tries asking for help getting back up, but Cooper merely chastises him for trying to shirk his responsibilities. When Annabelle asks about the loose wheel, Cooper tells her that he lied to Maverick and the wheel is perfectly fine.
Maverick hangs on to the bottom of the carriage and is dragged along the ground, but manages to pull himself up to the cargo trunk. However the leather rigging he's holding on to detaches, leaving Maverick dragging on the ground behind the carriage. He tries desperately to hold on as luggage and cargo drops off the back of the coach, hitting him on the head repeatedly. He finally manages to pull himself back onto the carriage, and another bump flings him up to the roof. Maverick makes his way to the driver's seat, discovering that the reigns have dropped out of the deceased driver's hands and are dragging on the ground between the horses.
With no other option, Maverick leaps from the carriage and lands on the yoke between the horses. He leaps again from one pair of horses to the next until he reaches the front, then realizes to his horror that the carriage is headed straight towards the edge of a steep cliff. He pulls hard on the harnesses, causing the horses to come to an abrupt stop which flings him forward off the yoke. He just barely manages to keep himself from falling off the cliff, hanging on for dear life.
Annabelle and Cooper rush over. Maverick refuses their help altogether, even pulling a gun on Cooper when he insists. Maverick tells Cooper he's had a chance to examine the rear wheel up close when he was under the carriage, and knows that there was nothing wrong with it. He asks whether the whole thing was just Cooper's twisted attempt to improve Maverick's character, which Cooper confirms. Coop and Annabelle finally back off, but then Maverick realizes he won't be able to pull himself up on his own. He has no choice but to swallow his pride and beg for their help.
After Maverick is finally pulled up, the trio decide to bury the coach driver. When comes the time to give a eulogy, they realize that the only thing they know about the man is that his wallet is full of nothing but the names of whore-houses. Instead of a eulogy, Maverick breaks out into Amazing Freaking Grace. His two companions join in.
Back in Crystal River, Angel receives a Western Union telegram reading: "Don't let Maverick reach the game."
Continuing their journey, the trio stumble across a large group of pilgrims - mostly women - headed west. They seem to have come under attack, with many of their wagons damaged or destroyed. Cooper talks with the pilgrims, discovering that they'd been attacked by Indians in warpaint; however Maverick is quite incredulous, claiming that those could not possibly have been Indians. Cooper promises the women he'll take them back to Crystal River, which Maverick refuses since he's in a rush to reach the poker tournament. Nevertheless, the women's pleas for help - and particularly the mention of $30,000 stolen by the Indians - convince him to reconsider. He tell the women that he'd recover the money for a 10% reward. Cooper and Annabelle insert themselves into the deal uninvited, and the three set off to find the Indians. As they do, drums can be heard in the distance, prompting Annabelle to mock Bret for his faulty prediction that no Indians were involved.
The trio follow the horse tracks left by the Indians; however Maverick notes that the tracks are of shodden horses, which indicates that the robbers were not, in fact, Indians. An argument over splitting the reward breaks out, with Cooper saying he just wants the pilgrim women to get their money back, but Annabelle demanding 50% of the reward for herself. When Maverick refuses she agrees to drop to 40%, but then proves herself nothing more than a liability when she stumbles onto Maverick and causes his gun to go off. She then agrees to drop to 30%. Maverick tricks Annabelle into revealing that she knows absolutely nothing about tracking. He then puts his ear to the ground, and when the curious Annabelle asks what he's hearing, he says he's just setting up for a nap.
After nightfall, the trio finally discover the robbers' campsite deep in the woods. Anticipating a dangerous fight, Annabelle asks Maverick to teach her how to be a better poker player, just in case he ends up being killed. He reveals one of her tells: playing with her hair whenever she has good cards. Sure enough, the robbers turn out to be white men painted like Indians. Fortunately, they appear to be drunk and fast asleep. Cooper once again is eager to send Maverick out alone, arguing that this is Maverick's affair to handle. Maverick in turn argues that he would be heavily outnumbered. Annabelle chastises him for being afraid of six drunk outlaws, citing Cooper's story from earlier in which he defeated nine sober outlaws. Cooper reassures Maverick that he's "got his back", but Maverick retorts by recalling the affair with the "broken" carriage wheel that nearly got him severely injured.
Finally, Maverick demands Annabelle give him her tiny double-shot pistol for a little extra firepower, which she agrees to do in exchange for a 60-40 split. She's incredulous about Maverick needing extra firepower at all, given his quick-draw skills. Maverick explains that while he's quick to draw he can't hit the broad side of a barn - especially when firing at real people.
While his companions remain behind in the trees, Maverick approaches the drunken outlaws and calls them all to wake up, introducing himself courteously. He claims that the outlaw camp is completely surrounded, asking out loud for his posse to whistle to make their presence known. Awkwardly it turns out neither Cooper nor Annabelle know how to whistle, so instead he asks them to clap. He identifies his two hidden partners as dangerous crack-shots, but also takes the opportunity to make jokes at their expense, calling Cooper impossibly old and Annabelle hideously ugly. This gets a laugh out of the drunken, bewildered outlaws, defusing the situation enough for Bret to convince them to get up peacefully and prepare to surrender.
However before the outlaws can be apprehended, one of them realizes the situation and draws his weapon, triggering a shootout. Maverick quickly draws his gun and, with Improbable Aiming Skills, shoots the gun right out of the outlaw's hands. He proceeds to do the same to the other outlaws, and even uses Annabelle's tiny pistol. Annabelle asks Cooper to help Maverick. He refuses; but when one of the outlaws behind Maverick pulls out a shotgun, Cooper surreptitiously quick-draws his pistol and fires it from the hip, killing the shotgun-toting outlaw, and then quickly holsters the pistol before Annabelle sees him helping.
Annabelle is elated at Maverick's victory, but is more-so eager to interrogate the defeated outlaws about the money. Cooper is more interested in passing criticism about Maverick's gunfighting technique. He orders Maverick to round up the outlaws while he and Annabelle walk away with the money, as Maverick warns him not to let her touch it.
The trio return to the pilgrims, who count out $3,000 for the reward. However when the pilgrim women lament that they won't be able to set up a mission with only $27,000, Maverick feels pangs of conscience and forfeits the entire reward. Annabelle is incensed, demanding her 30% cut and extending her hand. Maverick agrees to give her 30% of everything he has - spitting into her hand.
Cooper wonders aloud about the outlaws, saying that since they weren't Indians, someone else must have been beating those war drums heard earlier. At that very instant, a large troop of mounted braves appears on the ridge above the pilgrim camp. Maverick nominates himself to speak with the Indians, since he is the only one there who understands their language.
Maverick and the Indian chief, Joseph, speak to each other in the native language. It is clear that they are old acquaintances, though to his traveling companions Maverick pretends not to know Joseph at all. Joseph immediately guesses that Maverick has come to collect on his $1,000 debt. Maverick asks Joseph and his braves to look angry and make threatening whoops and gestures. Joseph obliges, while also making comments to Maverick about Annabelle's attractiveness.
Maverick turns to his companions and the pilgrims, lying to them that the pilgrim convoy had stumbled onto sacred Indian ground. He claims that the Indians now demand a sacrifice, saying that if one of them passes an "Indian bravery test" (which he invents on the spot), the rest could go free. He explains that the test requires remaining completely silent while both hands are chopped off. Despite Annabelle's desperate pleas, he nominates himself to go with the Indians.
Cooper offers himself instead of Maverick, but Maverick insists that Coop escort the pilgrims back to town. The distraught Annabelle bids him farewell and kisses him passionately one last time. As a parting gift, Maverick reveals her second tell: she taps her teeth when she's nervous. Both Cooper and Annabelle are humbled by Maverick's apparent self-sacrifice. As Maverick rides off with the Indians, Joseph and Maverick switch back to speaking plain English, with Joseph being mostly bemused about the entire affair.
At Joseph's camp, we quickly discover that his tribe is actually quite modern; Joseph had recently won a bicycle at a poker game, which Maverick rides with the children in tow. Maverick complements Joseph on his choice of scenic location for the camp. Joseph laments that if the Whites keep pushing the tribe off their territory, he's going to have no choice but to look for a swamp where no one will bother them anymore.
Maverick wonders about all the drumming and whooping and singing going on in the camp. Joseph explains that the tribe had fallen on some hard times, and has been hired by a Russian archduke to play the "native savage" role in the duke's fantasy Wild West adventure. Joseph admits to being sickened by the charade, but says that the money is good.
Joseph admits that he doesn't have the $1,000 he owes Maverick, but says he could pay as soon as he gets the chance to exchange some Rubles. Maverick reminds Joseph that the poker tournament is only days away. Joseph is amazed that Maverick has actually managed to collect $22,000 towards the entry fee, and pleads to see the money with his own eyes. When Maverick pulls out his wallet, it turns out to contain nothing but newspapers. Maverick immediately assumes that Annabelle picked his pocket once again when she kissed him farewell at the pilgrim camp, and flies into a rambling, half-mad rage. He is near to losing his mind with anger when Joseph reveals he had secretly swapped the wallet as a prank. Maverick doesn't calm down, instead choking Joseph and threatening to kill him for his insensitive prank, but while they struggle Joseph suddenly gets an idea for how to acquire the $1,000 in short order.
Later that day, Joseph rides up to the Russian archduke's camp. He tries to greet the archduke in fluent French, but the archduke insists that Joseph use Tonto Talk to keep up the illusion he's being paid for. Joseph entices the duke by describing the most exciting sport in the Wild West: hunting Indians. The archduke is apprehensive, wondering if such a thing is legal, to which Joseph replies that it's a common sport among the Whites, but also quite expensive. He reassures the duke by saying that the target would be an old Indian who smokes way too much and is liked by no one anyway. He gets the duke to agree to a $1,000 fee.
Joseph and the duke ride out into the woods. Joseph excuses himself to go speak with Maverick, who is disguised in heavy warpaint and hides. He tells Maverick that he couldn't find an opportunity to tamper with the duke's rifle, but convinces Maverick to go ahead with it anyway by claiming that he got the duke to agree to a $500 fee. Maverick is angry when Joseph says the money will be split 50-50 between them, when he's the one putting his life on the line, but the conversation is cut short by the impatient duke.
Joseph tells the duke that tradition requires he use a bow instead of a rifle, else the target won't reach the "Happy Hunting Grounds". The duke protests, having never used a bow, but Joseph is adamant. The duke takes aim at Maverick using Joseph's bow, and looses an arrow, but the string hits him in the forearm and the arrow misses by a mile. The angry duke demands his rifle back so he could shoot Maverick. Joseph only agrees to relinquish it once the duke agrees to pay $2,000. Grabbing the rifle, the duke takes aim at Maverick's head and fires. Maverick falls, and the duke celebrates his successful man-hunt. Joseph convinces the duke to leave Maverick's body to the vultures, saying he "never liked him anyway". As Joseph and the duke walk away, Maverick is revealed to have survived unharmed.
Back at the Indian campsite, Joseph happily greets Maverick, who is incensed about the rifle being used. Joseph then reveals his gambit: His bow is very difficult to use, and very painful when misused; It hurt the duke's arm so he couldn't aim properly with the rifle. Joseph also calms Maverick down by lying that he got the duke to pay $1,000, which he hands to Maverick. When Maverick wonders aloud how he's going to explain the fact that both his hands are still attached, Joseph suggests claiming that he got the Indians drunk and slipped away, claiming that "White people will believe anything."
Sensing that the time is right, Maverick leaves the camp and heads towards the tournament, still $2,000 short.
Riding through the hills, Maverick spots a bridled horse standing alone. Coming closer, he spots a man lying on the ground not far away, apparently hurt or dead. As he approaches to check on the man's condition, it turns out to be an ambush: The man pulls a gun, and suddenly Maverick is surrounded by some thugs led by none other than Angel. Angel proceeds to gloat, and finally knocks Maverick out.
We've now returned to the same point in time where Maverick's narration originally started: His neck is in a noose tied to the branch of a dead tree in the middle of the desert, and rattlesnakes are spooking the horse he's sitting on. Just as he is about to slip off the horse and be hanged, the branch breaks, leaving Maverick to be dragged on the ground behind his now-grazing horse. Eventually he manages to release himself from the horse, and we discover that he had successfully hidden the $23,000 in his trousers. With his hands tied behind his back and his neck still tied to the branch, he struggles to catch up with the wandering horse.
Maverick finally reaches the All River's Poker Championship, which is about to be held on the luxurious river steamboat Lauren Belle. He is reunited with Annabelle, who is ecstatic to see him alive. When she inquires about his escape from the Indians, Maverick pranks her by presenting two empty sleeves, only to suddenly pop his hands out. Annabelle is not amused, but is too glad to see Maverick alive. Unfortunately, she says she's still $4,000 dollars short of the entry fee, and Maverick is still missing $2,000. Fortunately, Maverick spots the Russian archduke on the upper deck, and has an idea.
Maverick approaches the archduke and introduces himself as an officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He says that Joseph had snitched to the bureau about the archduke's participation in murdering an Indian, and threatens the duke with a long prison sentence and a $6,000 fine. The duke begs not to be arrested and even offers Maverick the $6,000 as a bribe. Maverick at first pretends to be reluctant, but then agrees on the basis that the court system is overworked as it is. He makes the duke swear never to shoot Indians again.
Maverick returns to Annabelle and surprises her with the $4,000 she needs. They both now have enough money to enter the tournament. The duke is seen reluctantly departing from the steamboat, which sails away down river.
Over a hundred people - twenty tournament players and other guests - gather in the ship's main hall for the opening ceremony. Maverick spots Angel and his goons at the bar. He beats up the goons handily but is stopped before he can punch Angel himself. He then tries to get Angel to reveal who it was who wanted Maverick stopped from reaching the tournament, but Angel is tight-lipped.
The ceremony is opened by Commodore Duvall, owner of the Lauren Belle, organizer of the tournament and also one of its participants. He lays out the rules: Each player will deposit their $25,000 entry fee, and they'll keep playing until one of them takes the entire pot of $500,000. Any player who loses all of their money will immediately be removed from the game. Duvall then introduces Cooper, who has been hired to provide security for the tournament. Cooper explains that no guns are allowed on the ship except those he's carrying himself, and that cheaters will be literally ejected from the ship without question; however he somewhat undermines his credibility as an effective enforcer by accidentally dropping one of his guns as he holsters them.
The players step up one by one, depositing their entry fees into a massive safe whose combination is known only to the Commodore. On his way to the poker table, the Commodore seems to acknowledge Angel's presence with satisfaction.
We see a montage of poker games taking place at the various tables around the room. We clearly see Maverick, Annabelle, the Commodore and Angel all winning handily, though everyone seems to be having a great time. At one point, a young man seems to win a substantial hand with four kings, but Cooper suddenly grabs his arm and reveals that he's been using a mechanism under his sleeve to slide cards into his hand. The man is thrown overboard, protesting that he can't swim, while the crowd cheers his ejection. Another player is then caught with extra cards in his vest pocket, but asks and receives the dignity of jumping overboard on his own.
Night falls, and the spectators soon retire to their rooms, while the players continue the game. We see more and more players washing out, having lost all of their money. By 4 A.M., Angel, The Commodore, Annabelle and Maverick all win their respective tables, moving them on to the final game. At the Commodore's request, Cooper calls a one-hour break; Any player who is not back by 5 A.M. will forfeit their winnings.
A few minutes into the break, Maverick and Annabelle run into each other in the corridor outside their rooms. On a whim, they begin to kiss and go into Maverick's room to resolve their sexual tension with a spur-of-the-moment romp in the sack. Time begins to run out as the dealer sets the table for the final game. Meanwhile, Cooper spots a woman accidentally dropping a gun she had hidden on her person. He then discovers that the woman's husband also has a gun, and throws them both off the ship.
At around 4:45 A.M., Maverick sneaks Annabelle out of his room wrapped in a bedsheet. They manage to steal one last kiss before she hurries off. Cooper, patrolling the hallways, spots Annabelle right as she's about to enter her room. He looks around the hallway outside Maverick's room with concern.
As 5 A.M. rapidly approaches, Cooper arrives to escort Annabelle back to the main hall. With only 4 minutes to go, Maverick tries to leave his room but discovers that the door has been locked from outside with a strong chain. As the players and spectators in the main hall nervously eye the clock, Maverick decides to bust out the window and climb the side of the ship. He runs along the upper deck and reaches the hall doors just as the clock strikes 5. Angel's cold and angry expression betrays the fact that he's (probably) the one who locked Maverick in his room. With all four players at the table, the final game can begin.
After sunrise we see the tail end of one of the rounds. Annabelle bets all she has left on a hand against Maverick, and he calls her bluff, knocking her out of the game. Annabelle is furious, protesting that she made extra careful not to show any of the tells he had previously taught her about. Maverick replies that she has another tell - holding her breath when she's bluffing - and the other players at the table confirm this. He adds that when Annabelle is excited she breathes heavily, a comment which greatly embarrasses her when she realizes how he learned of this. To ease her loss, Annabelle says she's going to pretend she was playing with someone else's money - which Maverick says "shouldn't be too hard."
This leaves only Maverick, Angel and Duvall in the game, as the sun climbs higher in the sky and the tension in the main hall rises. The players ante up and the dealer shuffles the deck, but then surreptitiously switches decks just before dealing the cards - which Maverick seems to spot. With the opening hands dealt, we see that the Commodore has three eights. Angel has four consecutive cards out of a low Straight, three of which could make a low Straight Flush of Hearts. Maverick looks at his hand, discovering that he is holding four cards out of a Royal Flush of Spades - the single best hand possible in poker - missing only the Ace of Spades to complete it.
The Commodore amazes the crowd by starting with a very high bet of $5,000, which Angel then increases to $10,000. Maverick plays along, knowing he's being baited into a higher bet. The Commodore asks for two cards. Angel also asks for two cards, and Maverick spots the dealer giving him two from the bottom of the deck. We see the Commodore's new hand, and he is now holding four eights - a very strong hand. Angel, meanwhile, has unsurprisingly received the exact cards he needed to construct a 3-to-7 Straight Flush of Hearts.
The dealer asks Maverick how many cards he wants. Maverick replies that he'll take one, but not from the same dealer nor deck. He wants a new deck, reshuffled. Cooper refuses, saying that it's against the rules. He agrees to Maverick's request for a new dealer, but not a new deck. Maverick agrees, asking Angel to deal him one card off the top of the deck. Amused, Angel agrees and slides one card off the top of the deck to Maverick, who doesn't even bother looking at the card.
The Commodore raises the stakes to $25,000, which Angel calls. Staring squarely at Maverick, Angel then gambles everything he has on the table and dares Maverick to do the same - effectively making this the final round. The money he bets is also sufficient to keep the Commodore in. Maverick still won't look at his new card, despite this greatly angering Angel.
The Commodore reveals his strong hand, but is amazed when Angel puts down a Straight Flush. All eyes are on Maverick as he reveals his Ten, Jack, Queen and King of Spades. As everyone hold their breaths, Maverick hovers his hand over the unknown new card and slowly closes his eyes. He then picks up the card and opens his eyes to look at it, giving out a sigh and slumping in his seat. Angel smiles, knowing that he'd won the tournament, but then Maverick throws the unknown card onto the table, revealing that it is the Ace of Spades.
Angel jumps up in rage, drawing a small pistol from a mechanism hidden in his right sleeve. Nevertheless, Cooper draws even faster, shooting Angel down. Maverick quickly draws Cooper's other pistol from his holster and shoots Angel's thugs as they pull out their own concealed weapons. Maverick twirls Cooper's gun back into its holster, and Cooper does the same in a strangely similar manner. Annabelle soothes the amazed and victorious Maverick, as Duvall chides Cooper for his lousy security measures that have apparently allowed so many concealed guns aboard.
The victory ceremony is held shortly after noon. Cooper retrieves the money from the safe as Duvall congratulates Maverick for his victory. Cooper suddenly pulls out a gun and says that he's decided to take all the money for himself. Maverick protests, saying he worked hard for that money and promising that he'll come after Cooper. Coop climbs into a life boat and sails away. Duvall orders the ship's captain to bring out a long rifle, intending to shoot Cooper off his boat. Just as he's about to snipe Cooper dead, Maverick pulls the gun from his hand and says that he owes Cooper for saving his life. He explains that he's already gotten what he came to get - the knowledge that he's the best poker player - and even half a million dollars aren't worth taking a man's life. The crowd is moved by his speech and magnanimity, and the Commodore has no choice but to let Cooper disappear.
The Lauren Belle docks at the next river port and the passengers make their way ashore. Maverick and Annabelle meet in the now-empty main hall. They exchange some items they had stolen off each other earlier. Annabelle tells Maverick that she'll miss him, and Maverick says he believes her because she held her breath before saying it. The two share another passionate kiss, this time much more romantic and solemn than before. As Annabelle leaves, slightly teary-eyed, Maverick picks up a deck of cards and tries his magic trick again. For once it succeeds, as he pulls out a Queen of Hearts.
That night, in the middle of a clearing in the woods, Cooper is sitting by a campfire, counting his money. Someone approaches and Cooper pulls his gun, only to discover that it is Duvall. Apparently, Coop has been waiting for him to arrive. Cooper reveals that he and the Commodore had planned to scam the tournament all along: If Duvall lost, Coop would steal the winnings and they'd split it between them. He's angry that Duvall also called in Angel without notifying him. Duvall says that Angel was mainly supposed to keep Maverick away from the game, but failed to do so and ended up paying with his life.
When Cooper relaxes and turns his back on Duvall, the Commodore suddenly pulls out a gun and points it at Cooper, saying that he's decided not to split the money after all. However before he can shoot Cooper in the head, Maverick suddenly shows up with his gun drawn, ordering Duvall to drop his. He commends Cooper for fooling him earlier, and says he doesn't feel a need to kill the old man - he's fully discredited himself anyway, and won't ever be trusted by anyone again. Cooper tells Maverick he has to kill him, otherwise Coop will hunt him down for the rest of his life. Maverick retorts by saying that he's not worried, because Cooper couldn't sneak up on a corpse.
Contemplating the situation, Maverick decides that he's not going to kill either man. Instead, he's going to let them kill each other. He takes the money case, throws his gun up in the air and runs away. Coop and Duvall fight over the gun, but Duvall gets the upper hand. He gloats at Cooper, points the gun at him, and pulls the trigger - only to discover that Maverick's gun wasn't loaded. Cooper attacks Duvall and is about to beat him to death with a heavy branch for his betrayal, but decides against it. He says there's only one man he wants to kill now: Maverick.
Some time later, we see Maverick in a fancy bath-house, soaking in a bubble bath while enjoying a cigar. Suddenly cooper appears and holds him at gunpoint. He gloats over Maverick's previous comment that he couldn't sneak up on a corpse, and also over having caught Maverick without his gun and with the $500,000 right there for the taking. Maverick asks Cooper if he'd shot the Commodore in the back, but Cooper says he was fine with knowing that Duvall's life is ruined and that he'll never be let into another poker game ever again.
To this, Maverick recalls another quote from his "Ol' Pappy", who once said that there's nothing better in life than cheating a cheater. Cooper protests, claiming "I never said that!", and accusing Maverick of having misquoted him all his life. Bret defends himself by pointing out that Cooper's sayings had always been so stupid that Bret simply had touch them up. As they argue, Cooper keeps dunking Bret's head into the bath, soaking his cigar and annoying him to no end. In order to defuse tensions, Bret offers his dad a cigar, and the two men end up side-by-side in their own separate bath tubs, smoking cigars and drinking wine, while Coop shaves off his mustache.
As they relax, a woman suddenly walks into the room and cocks a gun. It's Annabelle. She hands Maverick a new fancy shirt she'd bought him to replace the one she ruined. However she's also come to rob them of the $500,000. Annabelle reveals she'd known they were father and son for quite a while, based on various clues such as how they draw and holster their guns, and how they both get the word to Amazing Freaking Grace wrong. She also insinuates that she has (at the very least) kissed both of them at some point during the adventure. After dropping that bombshell, she bids them both farewell and absconds with the money. They make no effort to follow or even get out of their bathtubs.
When Cooper laments that all they have left now is a shirt that cost them $500,000, Bret corrects him by saying that it only cost $250,000, revealing that he had hidden half the money in his boot. He says he's not sure why he left any money in the bag at all, but Cooper surmises that he did so because he wanted the chance to have to get it back, especially from Annabelle.
Finally, Cooper broaches the question of the poker tournament, asking his son how he managed to pull out the Ace of Spades. With a straight face, Maverick answers simply: "Magic". Cooper replies that he believes him.
