When you scroll through the blockchain and spot a string of transactions squeezed together, you’ll recognize the pattern—old acquaintances. The moment you place an order, you think you’ve picked up an opportunity in the price difference; in the next second, you become someone else’s “sandwich cookie,” with two quick trades cutting you down and charging you as fees. Put simply, sandwiches and arbitrage are often not opportunities—they’re other people who are faster, closer, and more willing to spend their gas money.

Recently, everyone has been talking about staking unlocks and the token unlock calendar. Once the anxiety over sell pressure kicks in, the on-chain action gets even more lively: the more panicked people are, the more they push; the more they push, the easier it is for orders to be fed to them. Anyway, every time I see phrases like “zero slippage” and “steady profit,” I get chills… If you really want to play, then dial back impulsive market orders, split up your trades, use limit orders, and don’t bounce around on bridges with thin liquidity—the toll booths at the bridgehead aren’t there for decoration.