Seems a bit odd to write up strategy observations for this game, but here goes.
I apologize in advance if any of this is stating the obvious.

The player on your right is your worst enemy. It will (usually) be up to him to
stop your nefarious attempt at killing the good doctor. If he doesn't have a
failure card, your chances of winning are much improved.

Therefore, you should turn to your right at the beginning of the game, and smile
at him (or her, I'll trust you to substitute the correct pronoun). Tell him that
you've that teamwork and trust is essential to this game. Befriend your enemy to
better take advantage of him.

The first attempt on Dr. Lucky's life will probably be a poke in the eye. Tell
your new friend not to bother playing any cards, and play a 1 failure card
yourself (presuming you have one). This encourages him to trust you, and puts
him in your debt.

The freebies are key here, because, in the normal course of events, he always
plays a card before you do, so he's more at risk. By playing some cards in
advance, you've taken the risk on yourself.

Make deals with this player (after giving him one or two "freebies" like the
above) in terms of "You play a failure card and I'll play a failure card at
least as valuable.", and stick with it. If you can't honor such an agreement
(having no failure cards in hand), tell him in advance, so he doesn't feel
cheated.

Now, you're using up failure cards, but what good does hoarding them do? Having
more failure cards in your hand doesn't improve your chances of winning, but
removing them from your enemy's hand does! The best part is that, from his point
of view, you're making a great deal. You give up at least as many failure cards
as he does, and usually more. Explain it logically to him and keep your end of
the deal.

A more obvious suggestion is to avoid the temptation of playing non-failure
cards early in the game. Spend the first half of the game collecting cards,
taking the odd poke-in-eye attempt at the old man, and building the trust
between you and the player to your right (while using up the cards in his hand).

.chip