Some body already mentioned the idea of friction. The higher the Ra is, the more obvious it will be that the ball hooks less.
Ra is surface friction, difference between peak and valley. It is known that the Ra from the factory will come down pretty quickly, likely within a 5-20 games, you will notice some difference, especially in the hook monsters.
Once balls are hit with 2000 abralon, the Ra becomes almost identical for all balls. In fact, only down to 500 abralon where there statistical differences in Ra between balls.
You can read all of this in the USBC ball motion study.
http://www.bowl.com/uploadedFiles/Equip_and_Specs/Equip_and_Specs_Home/08ballmotionstudy.pdfI will likely be in the minority in this opinion, but for me, I hate cleaning balls constantly and have not found "ball death" when the ball is not cleaned.
Let me rephrase a bit. Personally, I have a preference for equipment when it has essentially taken on the lane surface friction. I find them more predictable like that. Meaning I will clean them or wipe them down after each ball, but will rarely touch them up with abralon or polish.
I don't want to pick on any specific brands here. I've had a Ebonite V2 which has over 500 games on it. I've had the surface taken to 2000 max twice in 7 years but each time I do, it was because I wanted to see just a little more friction. I am certain it doesn't hook as much as it did when it was new, but that's because the Ra has gone down to as little as it's going to be. I still have it to this day and it's my favorite of all time.
I had an Ebonite Angular One which was totally ridiculous in terms of hook for the first 30 games, but then it literally just stopped. That was the first time and only time I had that happen with any ball or manufacturer. Tried surfacing, etc., it didn't matter.
Like my V2, I had a Storm Trauma for 6 or so years and that thing was a beast day 1 and day 2000.
I've got a Storm Furious with several hundred games and hooks as much as it did day 1.
That's my 2 cents.