"I know what I get out of it," he said, "But do you get any special rewards if I win, or is it all the same for you either way? Doesn't seem fair if your hard work isn't rewarded."

Not that anything here was fair, but he was testing the waters for how far he could push his own mentors before their personal dislike could start making things really hard for him. If Finnick could sabotage him without much consequence, it might be a better idea to pick on someone else.