Techniques for implementing video encoding enhancements may increase video encoding efficiency. One of the techniques may involve the use of an exception value and a maximum index value in inter-prediction coding lookup table to enhance the combined coding of an inter-prediction direction and a reference frame index for a coding unit. Another of the techniques may include adaptively ordering the encoding of a split flag value and a skip flag value for a coding unit. An additional technique may include providing a uniform approach to adaptively combined code the coded block flag (CBF) values for transform or coding units of images that are used with the Residue Quad-tree (RQT) information to represent residue information.