I'm quite sure that the price will drop significantly before Aug 1, and then rise again (maybe even higher than it is now) again within short time if everything worked out fine after Aug 1.
So traders will have great opportunities right now if they're doing the right thing, for the long-term investor it may be easier to just sit, weather the August storm and keep your coins.

But hey, I'm just a n00b.
You may be a newbie but I agree, the problem is that things are not as easy as it seems, if a split happens then you will have two different coins, which ones to sell? Which ones to keep? It is going to be a real trouble and things are going to be very hectic so for those that dont want to risk it the best choice is to endure the storm or to get out of bitcoin for the time being.