One of the exaggerations of Jim Smiley was by Simon Wheeler wherein Wheeler would say that Jim Smiley is the type of person that "bets on anything that turned up". In the story, Smiley betted on cockfights, horse races, cat fights and other animal fights. This hyperbole emphasizes that Smiley loves to bet and gamble in general.
The exaggeration about Jim Smiley that the narrator of "the notorious jumping frog of calaveras country" makes is "Smiley will bet on anything, on any side."
Jim Smiley is a man addicted to gambling and he likes to compete, actually he’ll bet on anything, including the long shot and the underdog. On top of that, he is a very lucky man. He usually wins. But above all, he has a knack for finding and cultivating animals that appear to be losers or nothing special but, in fact, have the gumption they need to win.
