Any self-respecting television western good guy can get thrown in jail wrongfully for murder and ultimately prove his innocence. It happened every day. But only a Maverick could prove his innocence by confessing.
A Maverick never held an ace up his sleeve, but there were plenty of other tricks up there. His wit was faster than Luke McCain's Winchester and his knowledge of human nature was vaster than Ben Cartwright's Ponderosa. Maverick's lore was rich in personal character. Almost every story played on several recurring themes that made the Mavericks unique in the realm of Western series heroes.
THE $1,000 BILL
Expecting (and let's be honest, hoping) his sons to be shiftless, old Pappy gave Bret and Bart each a $1,000 bill on the day they left home. They were to keep that bill safely pinned inside their coat, and only spend it in the direst of emergencies. Of course, emergencies always came up. If they were ever to lose it, their first priority was to replace it. And when possible, to find even more to keep it company:
• The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• Stampede
• Hostage
NEVER TAKE A DRINK...
An interesting trait shared by both Bret and Bart Maverick was their unusual aversion to alcohol. This was especially true in their earlier years as wandering gamblers. Not much insight was ever given for this. It may be assumed that they felt that alcohol could dull their wit and judgment, which were invaluable tools not only to their poker, but often to their very survival. This wisdom was likely passed down from their dear old Pappy, who once told them "never take a drink or a steady job." There were often special circumstances where they had to break this personal rule, but they both seemed dedicated to observe it whenever and wherever possible:
• Stampede
• Hostage
... OR A STEADY JOB
The Mavericks lived by their wits, not their backs. They believed it was better to let others work for a living and then to simply win their money and avoid any labor themselves. Let others mine a claim. A Maverick would mine their pocketbook. Let others rope a steer. A Maverick would rope a poker pot. Earning money was for those who didn't know any better. Winning money was for a Maverick:
• Hostage
NEVER TRUST ANOTHER MAVERICK
The Mavericks knew every trick in the book, but made it a cardinal rule to always play honestly and honorably with honest and honorable folks. When it came to actually conning people, it was only in dire circumstances or if the mark truly deserved it. But Mavericks rarely extended this courtesy to each other. Perhaps they considered another Maverick fair game. Or maybe it was the challenge of besting an equal ... sparring to keep on top of their own game:
HUNTING BOUNTY
It seems an odd task for any Maverick, considering their passionate dislike for work or danger, but they would often follow the money when a profitable reward was being offered to bring an outlaw to justice — whether it meant dead or alive, or to clear their own name:
• Felton / Ghost Rider
• Cliff Sharp / The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• Steve Corbett / Escape to Tampico
• Whitey Brandon / The Long Hunt
BUSHWHACKED IN AN ALLEY OUTSIDE A SALOON
One lesson the Mavericks were never really able to learn was to avoid innocent-looking corners at the end of a building:
• Stampede
THROWN IN JAIL
Where there is a town, there is a sheriff. Where there is a sheriff, there is a jail. When in a town, it seems the Mavericks have accommodations in the jail as often as in the fine hotel across the street:
• Confidence game / Point Blank
• Murder / Ghost Rider
• The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• Theft / Stampede
• Murder / Relic of Fort Tejon
• Kidnapping / Hostage
KILLS
The Mavericks avoided violence as much as they avoided work. But they lived a dangerous life, nonetheless. Forever wandering through the West, where arguments were often settled with a bullet, where outlaws simply took what they wanted at the point of a gun or Indians attacked for their own reasons, a Maverick was often forced to take a life to save his own. As a result, any respectable gunslinger might be envious on the notches on a Maverick's gun:
• 2 Sioux warriors / Stage West
• Wes Fallon / Stage West
• Cliff Sharp / The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• Steve Corbett / Escape to Tampico
• 7 Comanche warriors / The Jeweled Gun
• Hazelton / The Thirty-Ninth Star
• Tiny / The Thirty-Ninth Star
• Hazelton's first thug / The Thirty-Ninth Star
• Hazelton's second thug / The Thirty-Ninth Star
• Tiny / The Thirty-Ninth Star
• Jody Collins / Hostage
WINNINGS
Breaking even was not something the Mavericks cared to contemplate. To them, winning was a way of keeping score, with themselves and with each other. Nothing was more important, other than their very lives:
• "Thousands of dollars" / War of the Silver Kings
• Membership in the Ring / The Wrecker
• $12,500 from Paul Carthew / The Wrecker
• Less than $100 / Point Blank
• $3,000 / Ghost Rider
• $15,000 / Stage West
• "Enough for six men" / The Long Hunt
• $4,300 / Stampede
• $4,000 against Battling Kreuger / Stampede
• About $6,000 and Fatima / Relic of Fort Tejon
• $250 bet with George Rousseau / Hostage
• Thousands of dollars / Hostage
• $12,500 from Paul Carthew / The Wrecker
• $13,000 and $5,000 of Brasada Spur capital stock
/ Brasada Spur
• Well over $1,000 / The Jeweled Gun
• $600 from Charles W. Farfan /
The Thirty-Ninth Star
• $250 bet with George Rousseau / Hostage
• Thousands of dollars / Hostage
LOSSES
To the Mavericks, even worse than breaking even was losing. Even worse than losing was being cheated. And even worse than being cheated was being robbed. When faced with a loss, no matter how much or how little, they were driven to replenish every cent, just on principle:
• $21,000 to purchase the Flying Scud / The Wrecker
• $3,000 / Ghost Rider
• $33,000 / According to Hoyle
• Undisclosed / The Long Hunt
• $4,300 / Stampede
• $3,311 / Escape to Tampico
• $135 to get rid of Fatima / Relic of Fort Tejon
• $500 "fee" to Thomas Bellairs / The Wrecker
• $100 to Jamie Craven for information / The Wrecker
REWARD MONEY
Winning money at poker or by their wits was the preferable way to earn a living, but sometimes the lure of a tasty reward moved the Mavericks to track down stolen money or a wanted criminal... so long as it didn't cost them anything:
• $3,000 / Point Blank
• $3,000 / Ghost Rider
• $5,000 / The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• $2,000 / Stampede
• $6,000 / Escape to Tampico
• $2,500 / Hostage
• $2,500 / Hostage
ABOVE
Bret's get-away money ("The New Maverick", 1978)
THE LADIES HE'S KNOWN
Almost anyone would envy a Maverick's ability to meet beautiful women wherever he went. The ladies seemed to be everywhere, no matter how remote the locale. But as the Mavericks knew only too well, that beauty was often only skin deep. Many were worthy of a Maverick's attention but more often than not, they had a few tricks of their own up their ruffled sleeves:
• Laura Miller / Trail West to Fury
• Edie Stoller / War of the Silver Kings
• Samantha Crawford / According to Hoyle
• Molly Sharp / The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• Donna Seely / Relic of Fort Tejon
• Fatima / Relic of Fort Tejon
• Laura Miller / Trail West to Fury
• Daisy Haskell / The Jeweled Gun
• Janet Kilmer / The Thirty-Ninth Star
HIS POKER
Obviously, poker played a huge role in the Maverick Saga. The pasteboards were always treated with respect, and the game was depicted accurately and authentically. The Mavericks were adept not only at its play, but also its players. Bret's old Pappy once told him, "If you know poker, you know people; and if you know people, you got the whole dang world lined up in your sights."[1] It was from playing people, even more than the cards themselves, that allowed a Maverick come out ahead:
• Stampede
• Hostage
MY OLD PAPPY ALWAYS TOLD ME...
The words and wisdom of Bret and Bart's old Pappy, Beauregard, were always on the minds of his sons. Pappy's quotes were rules to live by, not only for the Mavericks, but (if we are smart) for the rest of us as well:
• "Man's the only animal you can skin more than once." — According to Hoyle
• "Hell has no fury like a man who loses with four of a kind." — The Long Hunt
• "Love your fellow man and stay out of his troubles, if you can." — The Long Hunt
• "There's more than one way to please a lady." — The Day They Hanged Bret Maverick
• "The two greatest evils are hard liquor and hard work" — Brasada Spur
• "Work is all right for killing time, but it's a shaky way to make a living." — The Thirty-Ninth Star
• "A faint heart never filled a flush." — The Wrecker and According to Hoyle
• "Never hold a kicker, and never draw to an inside straight." — Hostage and The Jeweled Gun
THE CON
A Maverick never con an innocent or honest person. Unless, of course, they had intentionally cheated or wronged him themselves in some way. That way usually involved his money. Whatever the offense, Maverick would run the most devious con game on his opponent he could. And he would never rest until he had reclaimed all his losses, often down to the very penny:
• To reclaim $13,000 from Belle Morgan, Rufus Elgree and the Great Western Railroad / Brasada Spur
ON THE RIVER
Travel by riverboat covered great distances, very s-l-o-w-l-y. The undulations in the courses of major rivers, often looping back on themselves many times over, added dozens if not hundreds of miles to a journey. Poker was a popular way to pass the time on long cruises, and a natural magnet for professional gamblers. The Mavericks practically grew up on and around riverboats under their Pappy's wing, and continued the family tradition throughout their lives:
• Mississippi River / Delta Star / According to Hoyle
• Mississippi River / Stonewall Jackson / According to Hoyle
• Missouri River / Dakota Queen / Stampede
• Mississippi River / Escape to Tampico
• Mississippi River / A cattle boat / Hostage
• Mississippi River / River Princess / Hostage
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