In this letter, a low complexity decoding algorithm for binary linear block codes is applied to low-density paritycheck (LDPC) codes and improvements are described, namely an extension to soft-decision decoding and a loop detection mechanism. For soft decoding, only one real-valued addition per code symbol is needed, while the remaining operations are only binary as in the hard decision case. The decoding performance is considerably increased by the loop detection. Simulation results are used to compare the performance with other known decoding strategies for LDPC codes, with the result that the presented algorithms offer excellent performances at smaller complexity.