Yes, you've identified some of the big issues with this game's balance! A lot of luck that is really hard to account for.
I addressed these in Combo Postage, the remake of this game. Consider giving it a try sometime if you have a Windows or Linux computer, and can spare the cost. :-)
Oh, of course I bought Combo Postage! I was checking the steam every month or so during the dev cycle.
It didn't really hit the same for me. Not sure why, but it didn't feel as twitchy as Cardhoard. I haven't tried v2, I'll give that a go now.
Edit: oh yeah, the controls felt really weird after playing cardhoard. Not having a separate key for ground-pound was a really hard adjustment.