Last night, I was so stupid: I saw the candlestick chart and got excited to place a market order, but the slippage directly increased my cost. I recreated the situation, and the order book depth at that time was actually very thin. I even placed the order in two parts, essentially eating up my own liquidity... The rhythm was also chaotic; I placed the first order and didn't finish it before adding the second, making the cost higher and higher. In the end, I wanted to stop loss but was stuck at a worse price, completing a perfect loop.

Did I get led by the "smart money"?
Yes, I saw large transfers on the chain plus unusual activity in exchange hot and cold wallets, and I imagined someone was trying to manipulate the market, but it was just me chasing after it.

My current approach is very simple: first check the order book depth and estimated slippage, place limit orders if possible, and if I really need to use a market order, split it into smaller parts and give it time, avoiding competing with myself for execution. Anyway, I don’t go all-in; losing less means winning.