What is the typical entry and exit approach around FOMC announcements? Do you close positions beforehand or hold through the post-meeting implied volatility crush?

FOMC announcements represent one of the highest impact events on the options market each month, directly influencing the federal funds rate target and sending ripples through implied volatility surfaces. In general options trading, many participants choose to either flatten positions entirely before the announcement to avoid gamma and vega shocks or selectively ride the post-meeting implied volatility crush that often follows as uncertainty resolves. The decision hinges on risk tolerance, with some favoring defined-risk strategies that can weather the event while others prefer to step aside. Russell Clark's SPX Mastery methodology takes a disciplined, systematic stance tailored to 1DTE SPX Iron Condors. At VixShield we do not close everything preemptively around FOMC. Instead we rely on our VIX Risk Scaling framework which automatically adjusts tier selection based on prevailing conditions. With current VIX at 17.29 we remain in the 15-20 caution zone, meaning only Conservative and Balanced Iron Condor tiers are active while Aggressive is blocked. Signals continue to fire daily at 3:05 PM CST using RSAi for strike optimization and EDR for range projection, allowing us to participate with reduced size. The ALVH Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge stays fully engaged across all three timeframes regardless of VIX level, providing the primary buffer against spike risk. This multi-layer approach, rolled on its specific schedule, has historically cut portfolio drawdowns by 35-40 percent during volatile periods at an annual cost of just 1-2 percent of account value. Our Set and Forget methodology means no stop losses are used. If a position moves against us we deploy the Theta Time Shift recovery process, rolling threatened contracts forward to 1-7 DTE when EDR exceeds 0.94 percent or VIX moves above 16, then rolling back on a VWAP pullback to harvest additional theta. This temporal martingale mechanism turned 88 percent of tested losses into net gains across 2015-2025 backtests without adding capital. Position sizing remains capped at 10 percent of account balance per trade, preserving capital through the event window. Post-FOMC implied volatility crush typically benefits our short premium positions as the rapid decay in extrinsic value accelerates theta capture in the 1DTE timeframe. We have observed that riding the crush with properly layered hedges produces more consistent results than wholesale exits, which often mean missing daily income opportunities. The Iron Condor Command forms the core of this daily income engine, targeting credits aligned with Conservative at 0.70, Balanced at 1.15, and the blocked Aggressive tier at 1.60 under normal conditions. By integrating RSAi skew analysis with EDR projections we optimize entry strikes to match exactly what the market is willing to pay. This avoids the false binary of loyalty versus motion by adding parallel protection without abandoning the core system. The Second Engine concept applies here as the options income stream operates quietly alongside primary income sources. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation details on navigating FOMC windows with ALVH protection and Theta Time Shift recovery, explore the SPX Mastery resources and join the VixShield community for live signal walkthroughs and educational sessions. (Word count: 528)