mine is drilled to hook (if ever so slight). i figure maybe if ball has urge to dump off maybe it will hold that extra second. i have finger grips but no thumb slug since it lane 1 clear diamond and looks cool without
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I'm like the majority of the rest who have replied.  I primarily use 15lb. equipment, but my spare ball is 14lbs.  Similar to Dan Belcher, I picked a 14lb. ball because its all they had that I could get without it being "girly" .  My benchmark ball is already the VBP Violet Gargoyle, I don't need to make it worst!!

Anyway, I formerly had a 16lb plastic and hated it because I wasn't comfortable with it (I thought that on extremely dry lanes an extra pound might help with carry since all the friction from the dry kills the energy the ball stores going down the lane - not good results).  So before I went to JOG in Florida in 2006 I decided to get a new plastic ball and at the time all the pro shop had was an ABS Star Light (light and dark green, and silver swirls) in 14lbs besided a betty boop visa-ball and an elvis visa-ball.  Since using a spare ball a pound lighter I won't ever go back, I slightly muscle from time to time and I get less fatigue when I'm grinding it out and using it alot, plus it gets more deflection than my old one and has helped me in 3-10 and 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 situations.  Much happier with it, and spare game has improved.

Drilled like my Strike ball, but I come out of it flat and thump the thumb hole (Unless I'm using it as a strike ball).

Later,

REvans 284

My natural arm swing and release is a hook motion - I didn't have to learn it, that's just the way I naturally release it.  I use 1/4 left lateral on my strike balls.  Throwing the ball straight makes me "force" my arm into an unnatural position.  If I don't stay behind the ball on a ten pin, I pull it left every time.  On my spare ball, I use 3/4 left lateral to allow me to release cleanly and stay behind the ball without hanging in the thumb.  With my normal pitch and the "straight" release I tend to hang the thumb.  I use this ball (an old caramel White Dot) for right side spares and my Slate Blue Gargoyle for left side spares.  --  JohnP