Suppose the antique water pitcher is worth $300 to me, and I'm deciding whether to bid $300 or to bid less, say, $250. Let's consider various scenarios and see what happens under each strategy:

Scenario A: The highest bid other than my own is $200. Then under either strategy (that is, whether I bid $250 or $300), I get the pitcher for $200. So, in this scenario, both strategies are equally good.

Scenario B: The highest bid other than my own is $275. Then if I bid $250, I lose. But if I bid $300, I get the pitcher for $275, which is a bargain. So, in this scenario, it's better to bid $300.

Scenario C: The highest bid other than my own is $350. Then under either strategy, I lose. So, in this scenario, as in Scenario A, both strategies are equally good.

The bottom line: Bidding $300 is sometimes better, and never worse, than bidding $250. So, I should bid $300 (or, more generally, whatever the item is really worth to me), and I can be confident that no matter what scenario develops, I will not regret my bid.