How do you do it plasticnote? I genuinely loathe tLOTR now. So sad.
Have you notice that the top win(5 reel wilds, not JP) has been more than doubled to 4.8M coins(old one is 1.9M)? And also RTP is lowered for JP.
So the variance of new LOTR I think is 2-3 times as much as old LOTR.
You will not see much often big win as it is used to, but you can expect the big win is twice as much as old one, I believe.
You need low roll and find a feeling about the new LOTR first. I see you often do pound 1.5 a spin, you can reduce to 60-90p.
I did a very long period of time 30 cents spins, using bonus ... at various MGs..., when the new LOTR was released, I treated it as old one and
lost quite a lot.
After playing a while, you will get used to it. then,
you will have a hunch..., the rest(99%) is your lady luck

.
Ofcourse, I still miss the old LOTR so much, I believe, MG one day will reuse the game with a new theme, may be TS III?
Cheers
plasticnote