Decoding logic is provided that is operational upon a data buffer to represent a plurality of variable nodes and a plurality of check nodes. For a respective one of the variable nodes, a vector component is selected from a confidence vector associated with the variable node. Using a respective one of the check nodes, a check node return value is calculated based on one or more other vector components from one or more other vectors and one or more vector indices corresponding to the one or more other vector components. The confidence vector is then updated based on the check node return value and an index for the check node return value, and a current state of a memory cell associated with the respective one of the variable nodes is determined based on a location of a primary one of multiple vector components within the updated confidence vector.