I would never advise a player to sign up without rakeback ever. A player with a good rakeback deal from a reliable affiliate will always be better off than the same player without rakeback. Todays $.50/1.00 bonus whore with a negative monthly mgr could be multitabling 5/10 or higher in six months to a year. If I was that player I would hate to be without a rakeback deal. It's never a bad idea to sign up for rakeback. From a player's perspective it can only be +EV.