Actually, it's not really a free card. It's a cheap card, usually costing one-half of a big bet (one full small bet) instead of the full big bet. Here's how it works in a nutshell: If you call $3 on the flop and $6 on the turn, you will, of course, have $9 invested on those two calls. If, however, you raise and make it $6 to call on the flop, your opponents will often check to you on the turn. It may be because they don't want to be raised again, it may be because you've convinced them that you have the better hand, or it may be because they truly don't know what else to do.
Whatever your opponents' reasons for checking may be, you can also check behind them, thereby not investing any money on the turn card. You've now paid only $6 on the flop and nothing on the turn, for a total of $6.
You see that by raising on the flop, you've saved $3 you would have spent if you'd just called on the flop and on the turn. You should learn to execute this valuable tactic well, because this situation arises often in hold 'em games. If this tactic works for you only twice in an hour, you'll have saved one big bet per hour, which is quite a lot. Professional poker players feel that they are doing quite well if they can win just one to two big bets per hour, so you can see how learning a tactic worth one big bet per hour is so valuable.
Raising to get a free card works best on the flop, because the bet doubles on the next card. If you've raised before the flop, however, the other players will sometimes all check to you on the flop. You can then also check, and you all get to see the turn card for free. This happens less often but it's worth keeping in mind.
When you raise on the flop hoping to get a free card, it will usually be because you have one of two types of hands:
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