Free card
A free card is the next community card seen without anyone betting, which is worth most to whoever is drawing and costs the player who was already ahead.
Giving one is the price of checking. A check keeps the pot small and keeps your bluff catchers alive, and it also lets every draw improve for nothing, so the decision turns on how much can actually change.
Taking one is a reason to raise in position. A raise on the flop can buy a check on the turn, which means seeing two cards for the price of one bet, and that is worth more than it looks with a draw that needs both.
an example
your cards
board
You have a flush draw and no pair. If the opponent checks the turn after you call the flop, you see the river without paying, and those nine hearts get two chances instead of one.
This example is made up. The real one is in your own hand history: find free card in your own hands and see how often it came up and what it cost you.
related terms
Check behind
To check behind is to check in last position after your opponent has already checked, which ends the betting round and t ...
Flush draw
A flush draw is four cards of one suit with more cards still to come, so one more card of that suit completes a flush.
Position
Position is where you sit relative to the button, and it decides whether you act before or after your opponent in every ...
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Knowing the word is not the same as seeing it.
Forty hands against a bot, no account, and your own hand history at the end.