Survivor revolves around castaways who vote one another out of the competition one by one in an attempt to remain the Sole Survivor at the end of the game. Normally, these vote-outs result from the scheming players backstabbing and blindsiding their opponents (or even their allies). Every once in a while, though, a contestant makes a bad enough mistake to foil their own game. These players essentially get themselves voted out, no scheming on the part of their rivals necessary.
No two situations are alike, and sometimes players getting themselves eliminated is more strategic or self-serving than it is a failure. Other times, however, castaways misread a situation, underestimate their competition, or are idoled out of the game by idols they were once in possession of.
Janu Tornell (Palau)
It's still disputed among viewers as to whether Janu Tornell of Survivor: Palau was voted off the island or flat out quit.
At the final eight tribal council, after an enlightening trip to a deserted island all on her own, Janu voiced to her tribemates that she wished to exit the game. The next person to be voted out was going to be Stephenie LaGrossa from Ulong, one of the most cursed tribes in Survivor history. Janu felt that by taking herself out of the game, she would be sparing Stephenie. Some (but not all) of her fellow castaways supported her decision, and she was able to leave the game and join the jury.
Ozzy Lusth (South Pacific)
During his third time playing the game of Survivor, Ozzy Lusth made the selfless decision to have his tribe vote him out of the game before the tribes merged. His reasoning behind the apparent self-own was that he would have a chance to re-enter due to the season's Redemption Island twist.
Ozzy's teammates followed through on their promise to vote him out, and his plan actually worked. He re-entered the game shortly thereafter via Redemption Island. After that, Ozzy managed to stay in the game until the final four, where he was voted out for good and joined the jury.
Matt Elrod (Redemption Island)
Survivor: Redemption Island's Matt Elrod technically got himself voted off twice. By flirting with ally Andrea Boehlke one Day 1, he reminded Boston Rob of himself, something that terrified the Survivor veteran whose power coupling with tribemate Amber during Survivor: All-Stars not only helped her win the season but led to their real-life marriage. To nip the situation in the bud, Rob marshaled his allies to vote Matt out and send him to Redemption Island.
After winning every Redemption Island challenge, Matt was able to re-enter the game when the tribes merged. He still hadn't learned his lesson, though. Instead of siding with the opposing Zapatera tribe to take Rob down, he remained loyal. Rob still saw the capable Matt as a huge threat and rallied to get him voted out again, sending him right back to Redemption Island.
James Clement (China)
James Clement famously went home from Survivor: China with two immunity idols in his pocket. They were unplayed and deemed useless once he left with them in his hands.
James' own allies turned their backs on him the first chance they got after the tribes merged. He was such a huge threat, and they took the opportunity to blindside him so he wouldn't see it coming and use one of his idols to save himself. The plan worked only because of James' failure to pick up on it, which ironically came in part due to the overconfidence he felt from having dual immunity idols. One could argue James would have been better off if he'd never found an idol at all.
Gabby Pascuzzi (David Vs Goliath)
Gabby Pascuzzi and Christian Hubicki were the ultimate pair on Survivor: David vs Goliath. The two formed a friendship early on that got them far in the game, and they balanced each other out with logic and emotion.
At the final eight, Gabby began to panic and thought she needed to blindside her closest ally in order to further herself in the game. She devised a plan, only for it to explode in her face. Christian, one of the most likable Survivor castaways of all time, used a hidden immunity idol on himself, and all other votes were cast for Gabby, resulting in her elimination.
Stephen Fishbach (Cambodia)
Stephen Fishbach got a second chance at the game during the 31st season of Survivor. He did pretty well for himself until he made enemies with fan favorite Joe Anglim, and set his sights on voting him out.
Stephen thought he was being sly by using his steal-a-vote at tribal council to take away a vote from Joe. With his two votes, he put Abi-Maria's name on one piece of parchment and Joe's on the other. Unbeknownst to him, nearly everyone else had written Stephen's name down, and by not casting two votes for Abi, he got himself voted out instead of simply tying it.
Sandra Diaz-Twine (Winners At War)
Sandra Diaz-Twine was the first two-time winner of Survivor, so she entered Winners at War as possibly the greatest Survivor castaway to ever play the game.
All of that changed, however, when she gave her hidden immunity idol to Denise in exchange for fire tokens. She thought the two had formed an alliance and made a deal, but Denise actually already had an idol and used hers and Sandra's to protect herself and Jeremy at tribal. All votes against Denise were negated, and Sandra was sent home after being bested by another winner.
JT Thomas (Heroes Vs Villains)
JT Thomas was America's sweetheart when he won Survivor: Tocantins. When he returned for Heroes vs Villains, fans were excited to see him play again and the other 'heroes' on his tribe were looking forward to potentially aligning with him.
He made a fatal mistake when he chose to give a hidden immunity idol to Russell Hantz, believing him to be in danger of an all-girls alliance on the villains' tribe. After handing over the idol and a handwritten note, Russell shared the idol with his closest Heroes vs. Villains ally, Parvati. She then used it, along with her own, to protect Jerri, whom the heroes had all targeted. JT was then sent home, though he wouldn't have if he had just kept the idol on his own team.
Erik Reichenbach (Micronesia)
Erik Reichenbach was famously fooled by the Black Widow Brigade in Survivor: Micronesia at the final five tribal council. After winning immunity, the ladies convinced him to give his immunity necklace to Natalie in an attempt to win her trust.
Erik went along with the plan thinking that everyone was going to blindside Parvati, however, he was sorely mistaken. The ladies came together to send Erik home once he was no longer immune from the vote, and he couldn't help but laugh after falling for their scheme.
Tyson Apostol (Heroes Vs Villains)
Prior to Tyson's win on Survivor: Blood vs Water, he was most well known for voting himself out on Survivor: Heroes vs Villains.
Tyson got so in his own head prior to a vote split at tribal council that he ended up imploding his own game. The plan was to split votes between Russell and Parvati, with the guys voting for Russell and the girls voting for Parvati. However, Tyson fell victim to his own overthinking and switched his vote to Parvati. Russell played an idol on her, negating all votes and leaving Tyson having the majority of votes. Had he stuck to the plan, he and Russell would have tied and he could've been spared on a re-vote.