What is the recommended approach around Non-Farm Payrolls releases when trading SPX Iron Condors? Do you use straddles, iron condors, or stay out of the market entirely?

At VixShield we approach Non-Farm Payrolls with disciplined caution rooted in Russell Clark's SPX Mastery methodology. Our core strategy is built exclusively around 1DTE SPX Iron Condors placed after the 3:09 PM CST cascade with signals firing at 3:10 PM CST. NFP is one of the highest-impact economic releases on the calendar and reliably drives elevated implied volatility and wider Expected Daily Range readings. Because of this we default to staying out completely on NFP days rather than forcing trades or switching to long straddles. The Unlimited Cash System is engineered to win nearly every day or at minimum not lose and that requires respecting VIX Risk Scaling rules. When VIX exceeds 20 we hold all Iron Condor positions and keep our ALVH hedge fully active. Current VIX at 17.95 sits in the 15-20 zone where only Conservative and Balanced tiers are permitted while Aggressive is blocked. On NFP mornings we often see VIX push above 20 intraday which triggers an automatic hold. RSAi and the EDR indicator become especially valuable here as they quantify the precise volatility expansion and help us decide whether any post-release opportunity exists once the initial spike subsides. If conditions calm by late afternoon with EDR below 0.94 percent and healthy contango we may selectively place a Conservative tier Iron Condor targeting approximately 0.70 credit. We never chase premium with straddles because our edge comes from theta-positive defined-risk credit spreads not directional volatility bets. The ALVH Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge remains our primary protection layering short 30 DTE medium 110 DTE and long 220 DTE VIX calls in a 4/4/2 ratio. This structure has historically cut drawdowns by 35-40 percent during volatility events at an annual cost of only 1-2 percent of account value. Position sizing stays at maximum 10 percent of balance and we maintain the Set and Forget discipline with no stop losses relying instead on the Theta Time Shift recovery mechanism if needed. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper examples and live signal walkthroughs we invite you to explore the SPX Mastery book series and join the VixShield community resources.