I don't know what level stakes you play dannyj, but your question got me thinking. There is a debate in the blackjack community as to whether it is beneficial for low limit players, who are counting and playing with an advantage to be playing rated.

One the one hand, at such low stakes and such small EV, almost anything received in terms of offers, will be a plus. At that level just a little bit of say MP coupons could really help, as well as anything to reduce food expenses.

And while that may be beneficial for a short time at low stakes, as soon as a player moves up in stakes, even a little, the negatives immediately kick in. Your local casino and personnel already has all your info.

So in my eyes, it is like this. You only get the chance to be anonymous once. Once they know who you are, you can't start playing anonymous as if they will forget. So when making this decision, I recommend players think about the future and where they want to go with this and not just about the little bit extra it might bring at the current situation.

Of course the ideal situation is to play rated locally at low limit early on and get the benefit associated with doing so, including maybe some comped rooms in Vegas for a yearly or semi-yearly trip, and then when you are ready to move up in stakes, start playing unrated elsewhere. So my situation sort of worked great. But not everyone is going to be picking up and moving cross country just when they are moving up in stakes.

But I am just saying, try to look ahead. Try to see determine where you are going with your play and how playing rated now, might effect you later.