> Caring about how much money is in your hand also hurts your chances of winning because you become less likely to buy the sabotage.

I haven't seen the show, but if you buy all the way to zero, what's the point of playing then? Is there a prize besides the amount of money you keep? Because if I won and only walked home with $100, it would seem like a waste of time.

It does seem like a good strategy on that game would be to intentionally not win though, as you don't want to come across as a strong cook until the very last round.