30 minutes either side is the default, not a suggestion
High-impact folders move gold and indices 30 to 80 pips with gaps. STOPLEVEL expands, 10016 storms, freeze level locks modifies. A 2-minute funded rule is a compliance timestamp. A 30-minute Venasri gate is a slippage timestamp. Bot entries pause. Manual traders get the alert so they can flatten or own the override.
CPI, NFP, FOMC, BoE, ECB are the core set. Secondary folders can be added. Do not shrink the window to 2 minutes just because a Challenge PDF is quiet. You are training funded habits.
Blackout plus session gate plus ATR gate
After the window, trade a closed M15 CHoCH at a zone, not the first tick of the spike. That is still a setup. The straddle is not.
If you are still in, guard hard
Do not spam trailing modifies in the window. That is the 2,000-request plus freeze-level failure mode. Flat or hedged is cleaner than a trail.
After a news stop, the 5-minute clock starts
Swing methods that must hold news should cut size as if a 65-pip gold slip is the base case, then let Equity Guard own the tail.
