Just paid my tuition again: a swap failed right away. Looking back, it wasn’t the chain that was broken—it was just me being too impatient. I set the slippage so it looked “safe,” but the pool depth was only that much. I swallowed the whole in/out in one go, and I pushed the price away by myself. And of course I picked the busiest time—when blocks were packed, gas spiked, and as I kept waiting, the order quietly turned into an expired one.

After replaying it, I feel that the order timing matters more than the parameters: split it up into smaller parts, wait a few seconds, and don’t force it into the spike. Anyway, this isn’t about snatching the last bite. Lately everyone’s been complaining about validator income, MEV, and unfair ordering, and I kind of get it: you think you’re trading with the pool, but actually you’re still competing with others to cut in line. Forget it—the only thing you can control is keeping your hands steady and not letting them shake.