Dignity, at all costs, dignity. In the end, winning is the only safety. Power usually makes its own rules. Some days are better than others, Section Leader. While there's life, there's threat.
Luck has nothing to do with it.
Strategic withdrawl is running away, but with dignity. Nobody is indispensible. Everyone's entitled to one really bad mistake. In the end, your word is all there is, really. There are other rules, but you'll find out what those are when you break them.