A video encoding device comprises a memory configured and at least one processor configured to: determine whether a metric meets a condition based on statistics, wherein the statistics are associated with a first video encoding mode checking order and a second video encoding mode checking order, responsive to determining that the metric meets the condition, select a first encoding mode checking order to encode the first block of video data responsive to determining that the condition is not met, select a second encoding mode checking order different from the first encoding mode checking order to encode the first block of video data, update the statistics based on the selected first or second encoding mode checking order, and encode a second block of video data, based on the updated statistics, and using the first or second mode checking order.