Poker In Cinema: Maverick
by Bodog Poker | Oct 5 2010
Back in the days when we all liked Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster's role as a female poker player who used her charms against male opponents didn't raise too many eyebrows, Richard Donner's Maverick hit screens. It's not anywhere near the highs of poker on film like The Cincinnati Kid or California Split, but there's a lot of decent action at and away from the tables and even when the film falls a bit flat, there's enough charm in the stars to keep you going.
The plot centers around Bret Maverick and as the film opens, he's attempting to enter a five-card draw tournament to prove to the rest of the country that he is the best poker player out there. He needs an additional $3,000 to participate in the $25,000 event and is frantically trying to raise funds by shaking down people that may (or may not) actually owe him a bit of scratch. It's in the town of Crystal Rivers that he meets two other poker players: Foster's Annabelle and Angel, played by Alfred Molina. In addition to these two, Maverick also meets the lawman Zane Cooper, played by the man who played Maverick on television, James Garner.
When Angel receives a telegram instructing him that Maverick is a cheater and shouldn't be allowed into the high-stakes poker tournament, he tries to hang him out to dry in the desert. That would mean the end of the movie, so of course he escapes and reaches the tournament just in time for to be dealt in on the first hand. The game unfolds and the action is nicely shot and moves quickly, even taking time to show less-exciting hands in play for a brief moment or two.
The competition hits the high point when it's down to three players: Maverick, Angel and The Commodore, a competitor who has quietly made his way to the final table. It's actually exciting when the three hit the final betting phase because they each hold powerful hands: Maverick has the 10 through King of Spade, the Commodore has four of a kind (eights) and Angel has a low straight flush. When the dealer is about to hand Maverick his final card, Mel Gibson's character stops the action — the dealer was about to deal from the bottom of the deck.
A moment passes as the dealer is removed from play and Gibson asks Angel to deal the last card to him. He calls all-in without looking, confident that the card he should have gotten was the Ace of Spades. And of course it is. This leads to the third act, in which Angel attempts to shoot Maverick and some exciting chase scenes and double-crosses go down. The avid poker fan is going to find that these are all secondary to the poker action, which is some of the best captured on film.
While the odds of Gibson's Ace of Spades draw are low (52 cards in a deck, plus fourteen of them were in play already,) it's still a “Hell yes!” moment and players can learn a lot about game attitude from Gibson's character. He genuinely seems to enjoy the game and appears care-free even as he's collecting other players' money and defending his own chip stack. This attitude can serve you well in two ways: first, it helps other players relax around you and not notice when your play gets sharp; it also helps you stay above the fray a bit as you become the role you're playing at the tables.
It's not perfect, but Maverick's poker play and fun characters make it a good watch for film fans and card nerds alike.
