At any rate, lay the ball down BEHIND the foul line, because the approach is dry (polished, at best) and this will heavily react with the ball, even damage it, as mycroft said. Normally, the ball should land just behind it, smoothly.
If the heads are dry and the ball loses energy due to high friction with the lane, you will want to throw the ball farther down the lane before it touches the surface - this is called "lofting" the ball.
This is not an upward move, but rather an outward movement towards the pins, in a plane parallel to the lane surface. Throwing the ball "up in the air" makes your shot uncontrollable, especially if it rotates much or you give it much hand because it is prone to be out of target or bumb to the side when it touches down, and is a sign of bad throwing style, gripping too long too tight onto the ball upon release.
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DizzyFugu --- Reporting from Germany
"All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream..." - Edgar Allen Poe
