Survivor: Jeff Probst said Russell Hantz's didn't understand the game, do you agree or disagree and why?
"He has also proven to be extremely good at getting to the end by being a great strategist and intimidator. There is no question that Russell is an excellent player of Survivor.
But my opinion of Russell changed when he admitted to Boston Rob that he did not play to win. You can’t be the best if you’re not playing to win. He can hoop and holler all he wants about “America choosing” but that’s not this game. This game is about convincing a jury of your peers that you are the most deserving person. He didn’t do that. But my problem is not that he didn’t accomplish that goal, it’s that it wasn’t his goal in the first place.
Boston Rob plays to win. The fact that he hasn’t won doesn’t change the fact that he plays to win. It’s a philosophical approach to the game and if Russell truly doesn’t play to win then he has no claim to greatest player.
Here’s the rub… I am not convinced Russell truly feels that way. Stay with me. I think Russell did play to win. 100%. I think he just misjudged and didn’t fully understand the game well enough to achieve his goal. So now he is changing history. I believe that last night he was scrambling to make sense, scrambling to defend, scrambling to justify another loss, so he decided that all he ever wanted to do was get to the end."
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/05/18/jeff-probst-survivor-heroes-villains-finale/
Side remark: studio editors are getting better and more proficient at editing the scenes of Survivor that the show has become more of a full-blown drama show than a game show or "survival documentary"; very entertaining.
@Hank, you’re on point.
Russell plays to get to the end but not to win since winning requires jury votes. Anyone can play to the end if there’s no jury to consider, since it’s easy to lie, deceive, and backstab if there are no consequences waiting for you down the road.
If he’s too good, then he could at least manipulate the jury to vote for him. Come up with more lies, more stories, something to influence the jury. Unless of course he sucks at speaking i.e. social game. 
I know he has some social game or else he would have been gone right away, but part of deceiving and outplaying/outwitting is to get the jury on your side by all means necessary. Lie to them. Be friendly in front of them and do your nasty bidding behind their backs. If the jury hates you then make them unhate you, make them like you, make them respect you. Are you telling me he can’t deceive the jury?
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