Do you really think that placing a buy or sell order is a fair one-on-one fight with the market?

I used to love conspiracy theories too, but then I thought, retail investors don't actually need to learn all about block builders and bundling; just knowing that "your trade might be bundled and sold to others in a queue" is enough, and stop using naked market orders all the time.
Basically: on the chain, it's not about queuing to buy milk tea, but about someone being able to cut in line and conveniently push you into the corner.

Now I pay more attention to open interest and funding rates when watching the market; I feel a rush of excitement when things heat up, but before placing an order, I ask myself: if this order gets caught in a squeeze, can I accept slippage and stop-loss?
If not, I reduce my position size or wait a bit. Especially recently, with meme and celebrity calls, attention shifts so quickly—newcomers really shouldn't be the last in line.
I'm the kind of person who’s stubborn with words but soft with actions, and I’m afraid of catching flying knives…
That’s all for now.