Freeroll

Turn comes Jh 9h 4c 3c. Both players hold jack-nine and make the same two pair, jacks and nines with a four kicker — dead even if it ended there. But the button's Jc 9c makes four clubs with the 4c and 3c on the board, and the big blind's Jd 9s has none. That's a freeroll. The button can't lose the pot — worst case is a chop — and any of the nine remaining clubs on the river, about one card in five, turns the tie into a flush and takes it all.

That changes how you play the hand, not just how you feel about it. Freerolling, there's no reason to slow down or fear a check-raise: you can't be behind, so get the money in and let the extra outs run for free. The pressure lands on your opponent instead — same hand strength right now, but a stack on the line in a spot that looks safe and isn't.

The common mistake is treating a near-freeroll like the real one. If the other side is quietly live — a set you're already behind, or a straight draw that beats you on the river — then can't-lose becomes can-lose, and you stack off in a coin flip you thought was a lock. The word has a second, unrelated meaning too: a freeroll tournament has no buy-in, though plenty still want a deposit or a points balance before they hand you a seat.