A new fan-made survey seeks to answer one of the biggest questions about Pokémon GO: which way players curve their curveballs. The AR title has Pokéfans go out into the real world to catch Pokémon in their neighborhoods. The capture mechanic is simple, requiring players to flick Poké Balls at their desired captures and hope for the best. For an additional bonus, though, the game allows players to spin the ball in either direction in order to throw a literal curveball.

A Pokémon GO player who goes by catch Pokémon in the wild.

Pokémon GO Players Have A Preferred Direction For Their Curveballs

The Winner Remains The Same Regardless Of Hand Dominance

According to the results (at the time of this writing), by far the most common direction to spin a curveball in Pokémon GO is counterclockwise. Surprisingly, fans' dominant hand seems to have no bearing on the direction in which they spin the balls, with both right- and left-handed players preferring to spin in a counter-clockwise direction. According to the poll results, only 547 of the players who voted choose to spin the Poké Ball clockwise (this writer counts herself among the minority, it seems!), while 918 spin it counter-clockwise.

Of course, this poll is far from scientific, and there are plenty of factors that prevent this from being the definitive answer on the matter. For instance, anyone can vote as many times as they'd like, which can skew the results (though there's no real reason to do so). The poll is also still ongoing, so it's possible that the results will change as more fans place their votes. However, with nearly twice as many people choosing to curve counterclockwise as clockwise, it seems this is the preferred spin direction for players.

Why Throw Curveballs In Pokémon GO?

Curveballs Are High Risk, High Reward

Thowing a curveball in Pokémon GO is a potentially risky maneuver. It's harder to control where the ball will land when spinning it, as spinning clockwise will cause the ball to curve to the right while counter-clockwise will curve it to the left. Despite this, landing a curveball is worth the risk, rewarding players with an increased capture rate and more experience points. Curveballs are also required for many Research Tasks, making it even more important to learn how to land good ones.

Luckily, the game gives players the choice of which direction they want to spin the Poké Balls. Many players will find that one direction feels more comfortable and natural than the other, and tend to stick to spinning in that direction. Thanks to the fan-made poll shared on Reddit, we now know that for most Pokémon GO players, the preferred spin direction is counter-clockwise.

Source: Mixnnie/Reddit, NobleCuriosity3/Reddit