How do you select strikes for SPX Iron Condors using the Expected Daily Range (EDR) and RSAi across the three risk tiers targeting 0.70, 1.15, and 1.60 credit levels at the 3:05 PM CST close?

At VixShield, we rely on a disciplined, rules-based process for strike selection in our 1DTE SPX Iron Condors that combines the Expected Daily Range (EDR) indicator with our proprietary RSAi (Rapid Skew AI) engine. This methodology, developed by Russell Clark in the SPX Mastery series, ensures we capture consistent premium while maintaining defined risk. Signals are generated daily at 3:05 PM CST after the SPX close, allowing us to operate in the After-Close PDT Shield window. The process begins with the EDR, our custom TradingView indicator that blends short-term implied volatility from VIX9D and 20-day historical volatility to forecast the likely daily price range for SPX. It outputs three strike recommendations labeled High, Medium, and Low, which directly map to our risk tiers. For the Conservative tier targeting a 0.70 credit, we use the wider High strikes from EDR, placing the short strikes further from the current SPX price to achieve an approximate 90 percent win rate. The Balanced tier at 1.15 credit employs the Medium EDR strikes for a moderate risk-reward profile, while the Aggressive tier at 1.60 credit utilizes the tighter Low strikes to harvest higher premium in favorable conditions. RSAi then refines these placements in real time by analyzing the current options skew, implied volatility surface, VWAP positioning, and short-term VIX momentum. It adjusts the wings in $5 increments, alternating sides as needed, until the exact credit target is met, completing the optimization in approximately 253 milliseconds. This integration prevents us from simply using statistically probable wings that deliver disappointing credits. Current market conditions with VIX at 17.95 and SPX near 7138.80 place us in a regime where all three tiers remain available under our VIX Risk Scaling rules, as VIX remains below 20. We layer in the ALVH (Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge) across short, medium, and long timeframes in a 4/4/2 contract ratio per base unit to protect against volatility spikes, cutting drawdowns by 35 to 40 percent at an annual cost of only 1 to 2 percent of account value. Our Set and Forget approach means no stop losses or active management once placed, relying instead on the Theta Time Shift mechanism for zero-loss recovery on the rare losing trades. Position sizing is capped at 10 percent of account balance per trade to preserve capital. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation details, including live examples and backtested results from 2015 to 2025, we invite you to explore the SPX Mastery resources and join our educational platform at vixshield.com.