What are the typical entry and exit rules 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 due to their direct influence on interest rate expectations, equity valuations, and implied volatility. The Federal Open Market Committee sets the federal funds rate target eight times per year, and the accompanying statement, dot plot, and press conference routinely trigger sharp repricing across the volatility surface. For general options traders this often means elevated implied volatility leading into the event followed by a rapid implied volatility crush once the decision is released and uncertainty resolves. Many participants choose to reduce or eliminate exposure beforehand to avoid gamma risk and potential gap moves while others attempt to capture the post-announcement premium decay. At VixShield we approach FOMC through the lens of Russell Clark's SPX Mastery methodology which is built exclusively around 1DTE SPX Iron Condors placed after the 3:05 PM CST market close. Our core strategy does not adjust its daily rhythm around scheduled events. Signals fire every market day regardless of the calendar with three risk tiers: Conservative targeting 0.70 credit, Balanced at 1.15 credit, and Aggressive at 1.60 credit. The Conservative tier maintains an approximate 90 percent win rate across roughly 18 out of 20 trading days. Strike selection relies on the EDR Expected Daily Range indicator combined with RSAi Rapid Skew AI which reads real-time options skew, VWAP positioning, and short-term VIX momentum to optimize wing placement for the exact credit target. We operate under a strict Set and Forget methodology with defined risk established at entry, no stop losses, and position sizing capped at 10 percent of account balance per trade. The After-Close PDT Shield timing further insulates the approach from intraday pattern day trader restrictions. When an FOMC meeting falls on a trading day our 3:05 PM CST entry occurs after the announcement and press conference have already concluded. This allows us to observe the initial reaction, measure the resulting implied volatility compression, and deploy the Iron Condor into the post-event theta-rich environment. The ALVH Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge remains active across all regimes providing multi-timeframe protection with its 4/4/2 contract layering of short, medium, and long-dated VIX calls. Should volatility expand sharply the Temporal Theta Martingale and Theta Time Shift mechanics roll threatened positions forward to 1-7 DTE on EDR greater than 0.94 percent or VIX above 16 then roll back on VWAP pullbacks to harvest recovery without adding capital. Current market conditions show VIX at 17.95 below its five-day moving average of 18.58 which under VIX Risk Scaling keeps all three Iron Condor tiers available. In backtested results from 2015-2025 the Unlimited Cash System that integrates these components has delivered 82-84 percent win rates with maximum drawdowns held to 10-12 percent. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation details on navigating events like FOMC within a consistent daily income framework visit the SPX Mastery resources and consider joining the VixShield community for live signal review and educational sessions.