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IMHO – a decade+ ago the “needless allin shove” (as I call it) was almost always a pure bluff, weaker draw or something like bottom pair with a weak draw. It typically wasn’t a great play and could almost always be called with a decent hand/decent draw and you’d be ahead.
Several years ago now the game shifted to more players using the move with much more premium hands or near nut draws – looking for that “decent” hand that used to be ahead to call (thinking it was a bluff) as they were now behind and allowing the allin chip stack to get the massive chip up. I think the move is even more prevalent in rebuys where overly aggressive types will use the situation for a quick double up (if they’re ahead or their draw hits) and rebuy if they go bust.
I think it’s a fairly weak move overall (both 10 years ago and today) and, to me, overall comes from poorer players that can be exploited with traps in many other situations.
