You will never be first in line at a 'good price'
imo The bigs auto populate (& cancel) the book so they always have the execution advantage, when and if they need to.
"looking at the orders that already are in the book is wrong, because traders placing those orders because of the fifo structure of the market: it´s more efficient to just place an order at a desired price level and see, what the market is doing there, then the other way round. it gives an execution edge.
If you place the order first and the market doesn´t react the way you want, just cancel the order, but if it looks like a good opportunity you are in the first row to get a fill. you are also able to exit on those guys, who placed the order after you on the same price level.
You have a disadvantage, when you see the market reaching your desired price and posting your order AFTER that event, because there are more guys in front of you.
the fact, that placing an order in ADVANCE ( cause it gives you the execution edge) explains the fact, why there are always more orders in the book, then actual trades. unsophisticated traders think of this fact as spoofing and faking, although this behavior is just normal "