To be sure, they were both a form of gambling and used quite a bit of similar terminology. Over this week and next, I decided to examine exactly how they compare. Hand rankings are similar. Every video poker game pays more for full houses than for three of a kind, but some pay the same for straights and flushes, and straight flushes are not always worth more than four of a kind. Indeed, in many games, four fours are worth more than four fives.
Royals get a big bonus.
In regular poker, a king-high straight flush is very marginally inferior to a royal flush. In most games, either hand would win every pot every time. In video poker, the difference between these hands is huge, especially if a progressive is involved. There are no bad beats in video poker. If you end up with 4 of a kind, you are going to get paid.