What are the typical entry and exit rules around FOMC announcements? Do you close positions before the event or hold through the volatility crush?

FOMC announcements represent one of the highest impact events on the options market each month, directly influencing implied volatility, interest rate expectations, and SPX price action through changes in the risk-free rate component of Rho. In general options trading, many participants choose to either reduce exposure ahead of the announcement to avoid gamma and vega shocks or selectively hold through the event if their positioning aligns with expected post-announcement volatility contraction. The key considerations include monitoring the yield curve, implied volatility levels, and the anticipated magnitude of the move based on historical patterns and economic data context. At VixShield, we apply Russell Clark's SPX Mastery methodology which emphasizes a disciplined, set-and-forget approach to 1DTE SPX Iron Condors. Our signals fire daily at 3:10 PM CST after the SPX close via the 3:09 PM cascade, utilizing RSAi for rapid skew analysis and EDR for precise strike selection across Conservative, Balanced, and Aggressive tiers. Around FOMC, we maintain this core rhythm without discretionary overrides. The methodology does not call for closing everything preemptively. Instead, we rely on the Adaptive Layered VIX Hedge (ALVH) which remains fully active in its three-layer structure regardless of VIX levels. With current VIX at 17.95, well below the 20 threshold, all tiers remain eligible per our VIX Risk Scaling rules. The Iron Condor Command benefits from the typical post-FOMC volatility crush as implied volatility contracts rapidly after the initial reaction, accelerating premium decay in our short options. Theta Time Shift provides the recovery mechanism if a position is threatened, rolling forward temporarily to 1-7 DTE on EDR exceeding 0.94 percent or VIX above 16, then rolling back on VWAP pullbacks to harvest additional theta without adding capital. This temporal approach has demonstrated an 88 percent loss recovery rate in long-term backtests. Position sizing stays capped at 10 percent of account balance per trade, preserving defined risk at entry with no stop losses. For the Big Top Temporal Theta Cash Press variant, we adjust the pre-close roll timing slightly on FOMC days but never abandon the systematic framework. This creates consistency rather than attempting to predict the announcement outcome. Traders new to the approach often underestimate how the post-event vol crush actually favors our short premium positioning when protected by ALVH. All trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. For deeper implementation details including live signal examples and ALVH layering, explore the SPX Mastery resources at vixshield.com.