It has been observed that the rules of poker tend to be whatever the players agree the rules are going to be. In other words, poker is a uniquely flexible game that allows for all kinds of variations covering how hands are made, how betting is conducted, and how winners and losers determined.
That said, there are a number of basic poker rules that more or less have to be observed no matter what the variant is. These are the rules every beginning player must get acquainted with from the very start.
Poker Hand Rankings and the Order of Play
Anyone who has played a game of poker is going to be familiar with things like hand rankings and the order of play.