Many Texas hold em poker players understand that it is very important to be the aggressor when playing online Texas holdem. While it is true that aggressiveness is an important Texas holdem strategy, some players take it too far and forget to fold when they are beaten.
Many players who have a losing hand will opt to go all in when raised, instead of folding when they know that they have a losing hand. This may work on occasion, but in the long run the player with the best hand will call your bluff.
Some people that play Texas holdem online will call large bets in hopes of catching a winning hand. For example, if you have two clubs and the flop comes out with two aces and one club another player will bet, and probably has an ace. Here many people who know how to play Texas holdem will fold their three clubs. Some who value aggression will call in hopes for catching two more clubs. This is not a smart way to play Texas hold em.
While it is true that you will get lucky from time to time by playing this way, in the long run you will lose by going all in with marginal or unmade hands. It is often much better to fold and to be patient, waiting until you actually have a very strong hand when you play Texas holdem online.
This type of aggressive behavior is seen more when you play free online Texas holdem poker than when you play for real money. Having patience and folding is the best practice when you play free Texas holdem for fake money online.
If you were to calculate the odds of winning a hand after the flop comes you would have a good idea of whether or not you should fold. As a rule of thumb, many players will fold to a large raise after the flop if they have nothing. If, after the flop comes, you do not have even a pair, an open ended straight draw, or a four card flush, you should probably fold.
Bluffing will work when you play Internet Texas holdem, but bluffing when there are three or more other players in the hand will often result in someone calling you that actually has a good hand. Do not forget the art of folding when you play a Texas hold em game online.
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) once again enters as a sponsor of the Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover. In conjunction with sponsoring the makeover, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance High Point Award will continue to be offered to the highest-placed Thoroughbred adopted from or is owned by a TAA-accredited organization.
The showcase of recently retrained off-track Thoroughbreds will take place at the Kentucky Horse Park Oct. 12-15. Of the 377 horses entered across 10 divisions, 57 contestants are eligible to win the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance High Point Award, including a $1,000 cash prize split between the rider and the TAA-accredited organization from which the horse was adopted.
The TAA and RRP have intersecting missions to facilitate horses retiring from racing in finding suitable second careers upon the conclusion of their racing careers. Currently, the TAA has 82 accredited organizations across North America, of those, 19 TAA-accredited organization have ties to horses competing in the Thoroughbred Makeover.
“The success of the Retired Racehorse Project is another hallmark in the progression of Thoroughbred aftercare, and the TAA is proud to once again be a contributing sponsor to the Thoroughbred Makeover,” said TAA Operations Consultant, Stacie Clark Rogers. “The makeover is a first step towards a fulfilling second or third career for many Thoroughbreds and highlights what we already know to be true–Thoroughbreds are a versatile and intelligent breed capable of much success on and off the track.”
With Labor Day weekend come and gone, the Saratoga race meet is over for another year. The barns are probably already a little emptier, the grandstand is mostly quiet, and the traffic on Broadway is finally lighter. However, just because the tourists and racegoers are gone, that doesn't mean the work of Upset is done.
Racing folk who went downtown for dinner or shopping after the races have probably seen 14-year-old Upset out and about. He appears in parades. He attends museum grand openings. He hosts an April birthday party for himself each year. He goes to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation's fundraiser barbecue. He does an annual fun run with children for charity. Many people see him munching hay on the sidewalk outside Impressions of Saratoga or The Dark Horse Mercantile, both gift shops run by Zanetti and Marianne Barker.
“One of the most popular comments is, 'Wow that's a really big dog' or 'Only in Saratoga,' said Maddy Zanetti. “People love it. He loves the attention, and people love getting their picture taken with him.
“I think it's also educational, because people ask lots of questions about horses. Even people who are racing fans, it's amazing what they don't know about horses. They'll see him and think he's a foal, that he's going to be a racehorse someday. Or they don't know the lifespan of horses or what their teeth look like or anything because they've only ever seen them from afar.”
Zanetti and Barker had the idea to find a brand mascot in 2014 when they launched The Dark Horse Mercantile. The brand focuses on the archetype of the “dark horse” at the races who can surprise with an impressive finish. For Zanetti and Barker, the notion of a “dark horse” ties in with Saratoga's reputation as the graveyard of champions. The name of Upset seemed like a natural choice.
Upset in the Saratoga winner's circle. Photo courtesy Maddy Zanetti
“It started out that we wanted an icon for Saratoga. When you see a crawfish you think of New Orleans; when you see the black dog you think of Nantucket or Maine,” said Zanetti. “When you hear Saratoga, you think of a horse. We talked about Jim Dandy and Onion and things, but we decided Upset was the most infamous.
“Upset ran against Man o' War so many times and came in second place. Harry Payne Whitney kept entering him again and again. He was a great horse probably, if it had been a different year.”
The next task was finding a mini horse who could put up with crowds and indoor environments.
“Upset was actually a show horse out near Cobleskill, N.Y., and she was looking to find a new home for him because even though he'd done well in the show ring halter classes she said he wasn't super into it,” recalled Zanetti, who agreed to take the little horse on trial. “We walked him downtown once, and the first event he was in, he was in the Flag Day parade and was behind one of the bands that has trumpets and drums and they were firing off shotguns with blanks. He was just like, 'Ok, this is what I'm doing now.' So we thought he's perfect.”
Upset meets Officer King Tut, a draft cross who is one of the most popular members of the Saratoga Police Department. Photo courtesy Maddy Zanetti
Upset lives on a boarding farm in Saratoga Springs alongside Zanetti and Barker's riding horses, and has a friend of his own in Poppy, a white mini horse/Shetland cross. Poppy sometimes accompanies Upset to more relaxed events, but is not as fond of loud noises as Upset and is mostly a homebody.
Upset rides in style to all his events.
“We take him in this Warmblood two-horse trailer which is huge,” said Zanetti. “We've modified it so that he has a stall, and his parade cart can go in it. He has so much space in there and it's just him usually, so we call it his limo.”
Upset showing off his custom halter. Photo courtesy Maddy Zanetti
For times when you can't find him in downtown Saratoga, Upset can delight fans through his own children's book. The book, written by Zanetti and illustrated by Saratoga's Gretchen Tisch, was published in 2018 and has proven so popular it has sold out. Zanetti is in the process of organizing a reprint. The book tells the story of Upset's defeat of Man o' War in the 1919 Sanford Stakes through the eyes of a mini horse. The story's goal is to encourage readers to believe in themselves, even when the odds are long.
With an unprecedented 11 wins and $2,048,712 in purse earnings, trainer Mike Maker already has enjoyed a record run at the FanDuel Meet at Kentucky Downs this year — with the opportunity to further pad his statistics.
Maker, working on breaking his own record of six Kentucky Downs training titles, had five horses scheduled to run on Tuesday's nine-race card comprising the races that were postponed from Sunday because of inclement weather. He has 14 horses entered for Wednesday's closing card, including two entrants in four races.
Maker is represented in the three stakes that close out the meet. He has favored Really Good and Bourbon Therapy in the $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile that was rescheduled from the Sept. 3 card truncated by heavy rain. Real Good, the 5-2 favorite in the Global Tote morning line, won his lone start in a 1 1/16-mile grass race at Saratoga. Bourbon Therapy was sold to Three Diamonds Farm and sent to Maker after winning a grass sprint at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
“Really Good had a nice debut at Saratoga, and we have high expectations for him,” Maker said. “Bourbon Therapy is most likely a scratch.”
Camp David drew in off the also-eligible list to get in the inaugural $500,000 Gun Runner Stakes for 3-year-olds running a mile. It will be his first start for Three Diamonds Farm and Maker since being purchased for $130,000 at Fasig-Tipton's July sale of horses of racing age.
Camp David makes his turf debut after winning an off-the-turf maiden race at Keeneland last fall. Following a seven-month layoff, the colt won an Indiana allowance race on dirt before fading to fifth in Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes.
“He's trained very well for us and we look forward to getting him started,” Maker said.
Maker also got Gogo Shoes off the also-eligible list and into the meet's final stakes, the $400,000 One Dreamer for fillies and mares that have not one a stakes in 2022. Gogo Shoes makes her first start for Maker, who claimed the 5-year-old mare for himself for $75,000 out of her last start at Colonial Downs.
“I like her,” Maker said. “I claimed her at Colonial this summer and she's trained very well. I look forward to running her.”
Though he has set records with pretty much two days left, Maker said it's important to him to try to end with a bang.
“Very important,” he said. “I wish we had more racing dates here at Kentucky Downs. We're trying to get all we can.”
