A. On Dec. 9, a judge in Joliet, Illinois, gave a directed verdict of acquittal after the prosecution rested in a felony case where two Michigan men were accused of signaling face-down common cards in Mississippi Stud Poker at Joliet's Hollywood Casino. The men, who could have faced one-to-three years in prison and a lifetime ban from Illinois casinos, were represented by defense attorney Bob Loeb, co-author of "Blackjack and the Law."

Mississippi Stud involves each player receiving two cards face down, and three cards common to all hands also being dealt face down. There are rounds of betting after players see their own card, after the first common card - the flop - is turned face up, and after the second common card - the turn - is turned face up. The final common card - the river - is then exposed, and winners are paid according to a table that starts at a push on a pair of 6s.

The accusation was that one player could see cards as they were dealt, and was tapping his fingers to signal to the other.

The famous, precedent-setting case came in Nevada, with Steven Einbender and Tony Dalben accused of cheating at blackjack at the Golden Nugget in 1983. Einbender could see the dealer's hole card, and signaled to Dalben. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that their actions were not illegal.

Courts have held that casinos are private clubs and can bar players, and the more measured response of asking the players to leave would have been a better solution in the Illinois case. Arrest and prosecution, with the accompanying cost in time and money for both the accused and the state, shouldn't have happened.

For a more detailed view of the case, see Eliot Jacobson's A.P. Heat blog, http://apheat.net/2015/12/12/mississippi-stud-hole-card-case-sides-with-players/.

A. Toking policies are up to the individual casinos. I've never run into the issue at Three Card Poker, but I ran into a similar situation at Caribbean Stud a number of years ago. I'd just learned about the game and was working on a magazine story about it, so I gave it a go at two casinos on the Strip. At the first, players who tipped the dealer were making both antes and bets wagers. At the second, I had a couple of nice wins, and put out an ante bet for the dealer. When I reached to make a bet, I was told I could only ante, not bet, for the dealer.

There is no hard and fast rule. It's one of those things you'll just have to learn at each casino as you play.

A. The key is your goal. I usually tell players to use the free play on the games they like. You can take a cash equivalent by shortening your bankroll for the day. If you're a low-roller who would normally bring $100 to play on slots or quarter video poker, and you have $20 in free play, then just bring $80 plus the free play, and leave $20 in your wallet.

However, if you're restricted to electronic games and want to start with the $20 in free play while giving yourself the best chance of leaving with almost that much in cash, then your best shot is at low-volatility video poker games such as Jacks or Better or Bonus Poker.

Even a so-so video poker game tops the 84-to-88 percent paybacks we see on penny slots. Maybe your casino doesn't have 9-6 Jacks or Better (99.5 percent return with optimal play) or even the 8-5 version (97.3 percent), but it's a rare casino that doesn't have games at least the quality of 7-5 Jacks or Better (96.2 percent).

Video poker also is a less volatile game than most slot machines. In Jacks or Better, more than 45 percent of hands at least get your money back. Some video slots have hit frequencies of more than 50 percent, but a large share of paybacks are for less than your wager.

Jacks or Better and Bonus Poker are particularly well-suited for converting free play into cash because those games pay 2-for-1 on two pairs, compared to 1-for-1 on games such as Double Double Bonus Poker that put more of their payoffs into jackpot hands. Taking more of your return in more frequently occurring hands lessens you chance at a big payday, but gives you a better chance of leaving with most of that $20 intact.