Unfortunately I have to stop here. I have a strategy to trade the actual announcement, but I am not willing to reveal it. I hope the comments to date have been of help.
The main message (the big picture) is
1. "find a logical way to approach the markets"
2. "find a logical way to view the data"
3. "prepare yourself prior to the open"
4. "plan your trades based on what you expect the market to do"
5. "if the market does what you expect....execute with discipline"
6. "if the market surprises you....adapt and change your plan"
7. "when you get into a profitable trade, hold it.
8. "when you get into a loser....honor your stops.
A retail trader can do some of these things, but is inconsistent. This inconsistent behavior can often be attributed to lack of discipline and/or lack of emtional control. A professional does all of it (and a little more) consistently. If you understand this, one way to "get there" is to make a check list and move methodically through it, until you have each point under control.
At this point is it probably a good idea for the moderator to close the thead.
Once you orient yourself to the market on the longer term, you assume that the odds favor one side more than the other.
In this case we believe that the odds favor the long side. Although we take trades on both sides we may size our long positions bigger and we may give them more wiggle room (bigger stops).
One method that works consistently well is to combine signals from several methods to find an entry. When two or more of these signals occur in close physical relationship to each other we believe that the chances of success are increased, because there are likely to be more traders on the trade.
