I've been playing the same local game for 2 years, first at low stakes, then higher, but still nothing big (no bets over $150). I play rated and have had almost no heat at all in those 2 years, until this week.

Early in the week, I played (unrated) at a neighboring casino for the first time and had some heat but no back-off.

Then the next night, I played my home casino and two things happened:

1) I was max betting at the end of the shoe, then dropped to table min at the shuffle (40:1 ratio). Within about 3 min, security came to the table and joked about needing my ID because I looked too young to gamble (I don't). He said "just kidding, I'm just here to watch the game" and he stuck around for a few rounds and left.

2) A bit later, at another table, a dealer I'd never seen before tapped in. I'd never seen him, but he didn't seem new, as he was a very good dealer (I should emphasize that I know all the dealers on this shift at this store); he even gave a 5/6 cut which is better than most dealers at this store give. When several 2s came out in a round, he commented on how many 2s were now left in the shoe. Then about halfway through the shoe, as the count was rising (and my bets too), he blurted out, at me: "where's <local specialty grocery store>?" I told him, vaguely, and we went on. As the count rose to +5 and my max bets went out, he started talking to the table about how he used to work in surveillance and the first thing they learn is how to count cards so they can catch "cheaters" (dick). Like an idiot, I asked how they know when someone's counting, and he gave me an accurate answer. I asked what they did when they caught someone and he said they get flat-bet. Then I said I bet they didn't get many people "cheating" and he said, "yeah, most don't know how to do it - at least without being obvious." Around then the shoe ended and I went home.

I don't want to lose this game any sooner than necessary - it's the only one to which I have regular access and I'm not able to travel much. Looking for some veterans to interpret what happened and suggest a strategy for how to avoid a back-off. At this point I'm thinking it may be smart to go in for a short session and play a break-even spread, or even flat-bet, and see what happens - put on a show for them, maybe play a few side bets, and make them re-think me. Then see what happens and take it from there. Smart?