The Watch ... the Academy ...

I've gone for a change of direction with the Full Tilt watch mentioned a few posts ago. Yes, the plan is to still get it from the FTP shop, not only because I need a new watch (my current one is somewhat ordinary, plus the hands have stopped [in spite of the digital display still working, so it still works as a watch] & I'm kind of lazy in regards to repairs & maintenance), but because a Full Tilt watch says so much more about yourself than a site store purchase of the t-shirt/cap variety.
With this in mind, I've made use of the Full Tilt Academy to build up points. When you reach 5000 Academy points, these can be exchanced for 5000 Full Tilt points ... which in turn can be used to purchase the watch. Earning points in the academy is reasonably straightforward, as you simply have to complete challenges at the tables.
For example, the requirements for Bill Edler's 'Power of Position' challenge are as follows:
* Open-fold A-J, A-T, A-9, K-Q, K-J, or K-T 3 times in early position (UTG, UTG+1) in 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash games.
* Raise with A-Q, A-J, A-T, A-9, K-Q, K-J, or K-T 3 times in late position (button, cutoff) in 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash games.
* Win a pot with a continuation bet on the flop with no pair in an 8- or 9-handed NLHE cash game, after open-raising from late position (button or cutoff) pre-flop.
* Successfully bluff on the turn with no pair after calling a bet in position on the flop.
* Win 3 consecutive pots from the button.
You get points for completing each task (the points per task increases as you complete the tasks), with the entire challenge being worth 250 points.
As you can see from the example, the challenges are about getting players to play 'correct' (whatever that means) poker, with many of the tasks requiring things that you would (or should) be doing in many cases in the course of your normal cash game play. Yes, the academy does cop some flack for some of the tasks & suggestions (such as Mike Matusow's 'Setup Plays' challenge, where he requires limp-folding as part of the challenge), but on the whole its a decent idea from Full Tilt ... and doubles as a pretty easy way to gain points for various poker-related items.
As a result I've been multi-tabling micro stakes quite a bit lately & have racked up just over 4000 points in the academy, so hopefully the 5000 mark (and the watch) is not too far away.
On the related Full Tilt points goal, I'm now close to the 6000FTP mark ... which will put me well over the required points for the watch when I add in the 5000 from the academy!
Time to get my BLING on!