Secure Login PHP

I am trying to develop a PHP site so that I may record my poker
winnings and display the results on my blog. I haven't used php in a
long time so I need some beginner type help. I know I am going to
have to write a login page that communicates with a MYSQL sever so
that shouldn't be an issue either. My issue is I am not sure if I
should write code to check login state to appear on every page after
the login. I also when the user hits the submit button on the webpage
should I post the webpage to itself or should I pass the user info to
the next page and do the user validation there. Please let me know
what I should do.
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