I'm really slow to catch on to hot topics... Every time a new L1/L2 releases incentives or posters about boosting TVL flood the scene, I just glance at them first, then my hands itch to jump in. But as soon as I enter the pool, I find myself racing against a bunch of bots, slipping on slippage, rerouting transactions, and the fees plus spread cut me first. Longtime users complain "mining, selling, and buying," I didn't believe it before, but now I think it's pretty real: you think you're just farming, but you're actually just a cushion for others to exit liquidity.

Anyway, I've set a dumb rule for myself: when a hot topic comes up, I wait 24 hours first, check if on-chain transactions are just a bunch of small orders being spammed or if the pool depth is ridiculously thin; if I really want to participate, I do small, staggered trades, set slippage higher, and if I fail, so be it—don't chase after rebalancing orders and send your emotions along too. Attention, honestly, is more expensive than gas.