Poker Rules
To be an effective poker player, one of the first things you must familiarize yourself with are the poker rules. There are lots of poker rules and regulations, and quite often they vary from game type to game type, and also different parts of the world have different poker rules. There is no need for you to try and memorize them all, just know the poker rules that govern the game you are playing at the time and abide by them.
The poker rules you really need to have a good grasp on are the ones that tell you how the game is played, what your duties are as a player and when you carry out these duties. These are the actual game play rules and you can't play a decent game of poker without knowing them.
So, say just starting out, you should make it your business to learn the different hand rankings in the game of poker. Mastering these hand rankings will be simple at first until you actually start playing, and then you need to buckle down and really get a grip on the sequence of hand rankings and keep turning them over and over in your head as you are playing the game. With practice, you will find that they will become second nature to you and you will lose that fear of forgetting them as you play more and more often.
The first thing to do is go through these set of rules, and the different hand rankings are part of the poker rules. You'll notice that in smaller groups or in family enclaves, the players tend to make up their own versions of the hand rankings, but for the most part, the poker rules are very clear on this and the hand rankings are universal where ever poker is played.
Then as your learning progresses, and you have learned the hand rankings; now you need to learn the poker rules that govern the game you are playing. Take for example, if you were playing Texas Holdem, then you would need to know as much as you could about the Flop, the Turn, and the River; and then the particulars about the Blinds, who does the posting and when the betting is done, when you call, raise or fold.
It's poker rules like these that keep the game of poker such a fun and complex game to master. If you don't bother to get these poker rules down pat for the game you are playing, then you will never be able to play poker effectively. It takes time and effort to learn to play poker well, so make sure you learn the poker rules first and then practice, practice, practice; until you are the best you can be at playing poker.