Poker Game Rules:

Poker, in the vast majority of it's forms, is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. Occasionally the game may call for more of less cards -- the most common variation being the addition of wild cards, such as jokers.

A deck is composed of 4 suits -- clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades. Each suit contains 13 cards, ranked from highest to lowest as: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. In some games, the ace may be the lowest ranked card instead of the highest. In others, it may be both the lowest and highest ranked card.

Wild cards, which you probably won't see outside your home game, may take on whatever suits and ranks you want them to.

Often the game is begun by some sort of forced bet, such as an ante. Each player is then dealt his starting cards; the number of which varies with each game. Whether they are dealt down, so no other player may see them, or up, so they are visible to everyone, also varies depending on the game. Players then place bets into a communal pot. When all bets are placed, more cards are dealt, either replacing or adding to those already dealt. Another betting round occurs, followed by more cards dealt, and so on, until all betting rounds are complete. The remaining players (assuming everyone hasn't folded) show their cards and the best hand wins the pot.

Poker Rules - Objective
Official Poker Rules - Objective

The objective, ultimately, is of course, to win more money than you lose. To do this, you first must take down individual pots. There are two ways to accomplish this. You may either bet more than your opponents are willing to call, thus winning the pot uncontested, without even needing to show your cards, or you may win by having the best hand (see poker hands) after all the betting rounds are completed.

Poker Rules - Forced Bets
How to Play Poker - Forced Bets
Most hands of poker begin by some form of forced betting. This is to insure that there is action with every hand hand. The two most common types of forced bets are the ante, and blinds.

Ante
An ante requires every player to place a specified amount in the pot prior to the beginning of each hand. The ante does not count toward any future bets.

Blinds
Games with blinds normally have two blinds -- the big blind, and the small blind. These are often in replacement of ante, although sometimes accompany it. The small blind is equal to 1/2 of the low limit bet size, and the big blind is equal to the low limit bet size. Before the hand begins, the player to the immediate left of the dealer button is forced to post the small blind, and the player to the left of that person is forced to post the big blind. These bets count towards that player's first round bet, and are considered live, meaning the player may choose to raise even if nobody else has.