The penalty for the offence mentioned in Law 81 is 50 points in the adverse honour score.
G. Team Matches. A match consists of any agreed number of deals, each of which is played once at each table.
The contesting teams must be of equal size, but each may consist of any agreed number of pairs (not less than two). One half of each team, or as near thereto as possible, sits north and south; the other half east and west.
In case the teams are composed of an odd number of pairs, each team, in making up its total score, adds, as though won by it, the average score of all pairs seated in the positions opposite to its odd pair.
In making up averages, fractions are disregarded and the nearest whole numbers taken, unless it be necessary to take the fraction into account to avoid a tie, in which case the match is won “by the fraction of a point.” The team making the higher score wins the match.
H. Pair Contests. The score of a pair is compared only with other pairs who have played the same hands. A pair obtains a plus score for the contest when its net total is more than the average; a minus score for the contest when its net total is less than the average.
Note.—Some players in America are adopting the English rule, which allows the dealer to pass, without making any declaration. The usual expression is, “No bid.” Each player to the left may then pass in turn, and if no bid is made the deal passes to the left. The lowest declaration is one club, as spades have a constant value of nine and are always “royals.”
The English rule is to score 50 for little slam and 100 for grand slam, and some American players have adopted that rule.
[24] See Law 50. The same ruling applies to Law 54.