The Serious Advantage of Big Buy-Ins
Most poker resources suggest that you sit down at a given table with at
least 20x the big blind (bb).
Example: $3/$6 no limit table. BB is $3, so you should sit with a bare
minimum of 20 x $3, or $60.
Better suggestion is sitting down with anywhere from 50x - 100x the bb for a
couple of reasons. Sitting down with a 100x the bb ($300 in our above
example) will generally make you one of the big stacks at the table.
People won't be as quick to mess around with someone demonstrating a
willingness to gamble. More important than the intimidation factor is the
"nuts" factor.
Imagine picking up the "nuts" and only having enough money left to
double the bb. This happens all the time and is incredibly frustrating.
Don't let it happen to you. When you have the "nuts," you want to be
involved with the betting from start to finish. This way you can maximize
your winnings.