One Day 2 Seat, Four Possible Paydays

One of the more unusual features of the Merit Poker Noir Main Event is that players can cash not once, not twice, but as many as four times.

Sound strange? Alexander Sokolovsky is currently doing his best to prove that it isn't.

Sokolovsky made it through the opening flight with 40,000 chips, which amounted to just two big at the time. Rather than placing all of his hopes on performing an unlikely miracle , he decided to take full advantage of one of the more intriguing rules on the schedule.

Players are allowed to enter multiple Day 1 flights and can advance to Day 2 with more than one stack. Before Day 2 gets underway, only the biggest stack remains in play, while the others are removed. However, every stack that survives is guaranteed a payout worth at least one and a half times the buy-in.

In short, players can keep firing in an attempt to build a stack capable of making a deep run, all while knowing that any extra stack they bag will still earn them some money.

It's a format that offers plenty of flexibility, encourages players to chase chips, and perhaps allows them to sleep a little easier at night.

As for Sokolovsky, he has already secured one cash. The question now is whether he can collect a few more, or will he have to run up his micro-stack on Day 2.