Great, thanks for clarifying!
I'm afraid that this is probably still prevalent here (wasn't looking for it, but I do recall a few feelings)! Depending on your prediction, you may only be looking to win one or two tricks, and if you're positioned in seat 3 or 4 from the trick leader, you often find yourself having to play high beat the first few players only to be trumped by seat 5.
I also wonder if the prediction mechanic aims to keep the leader rotating so as to mitigate seating bias. You're unlikely to get stuck with 1 leader that keeps trumping the hands as most people are aiming to win 1-3 tricks.
Interestingly, our games have always been won by players that just had 1 extremely good round. In other words, I suspect there's an element to try and optimise the round in which you lead.