People should be happy that an article they deem good made it, not that they got the karma for it because they were first. Being first is luck, not merit. Most importantly, the thing we want to "win" around here are good articles and discussions, not individuals. (Which is ironic, given it is a rather socialist attitude in a capitalist-dominated community culture.)

In any case, in the long run it all averages out. The likelihood that this works for you is just as high as it is against you.