Strategy
Overtricks are not so important when compared to making your contract and bidding game or slam when you should.
Whereas in Duplicate, you are trying to have the highest score (and so overtricks are important), in Teams it is the difference between the scores at the two tables that counts; small differences don't matter too much but you must avoid large ones. But you should go for overtricks when you can and it doesn't risk your contract.
So if one team makes game and the other doesn't, the difference between the scores will be high and one team will have a bad result and one good. It is recommended to try hard to bid game when vulnerable because if your opponents do and you don't and they make it, they will get a good score (because they got the vulnerable game bonus of 500).
You should be wary of doubling for penalty, especially a part score. Also of sacrificing - they may well have gone down in which case you would have got a positive score.
If you have had what feels like a bad board, don't dwell on it or try to make up for it; if you have bid and played reasonably then it is quite likely that your opponents at the other table are having the same problem.
Scoring
When you return to your table after a match, for each board you will compare your two scores and calculate the difference. Then you look up that amount in the IMPs table. A scoring sheet will be provided. IMPs stands for International Match Points.
If the match was head-to-head (EG in Swiss Teams), then the net amount of your IMPs will indicate whether you won, lost or drew that match.
If there are a small number of tables, we will play a round robin type of movement which then gives a field and the team with the most IMPs is the winner.
| Our Team | Their Team | |||||||
| Bid | Making | Score | Bid | Making | Score | Difference | Our IMPs | |
| 1S | 7 | 80 | 1S | 7 | 80 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1S | 7 | 80 | 1S | 8 | 110 | -30 | -1 | |
| 1S | 7 | 80 | 2C | 8 | 90 | -10 | 0 | |
| 4S V | 10 | 620 | 4S V | 10 | 620 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4S V | 10 | 620 | 4S V | 11 | 650 | -30 | -1 | |
| 4S V | 10 | 620 | 4S V | 9 | -100 | 720 | 12 | |
| 4S V | 10 | 620 | 3S V | 10 | 170 | 450 | 10 | |
| 4S NV | 10 | 420 | 4S NV | 10 | 420 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4S NV | 10 | 420 | 4S NV | 11 | 450 | -30 | -1 | |
| 4S NV | 10 | 420 | 4S NV | 9 | -50 | 470 | 10 | |
| 4S NV | 10 | 420 | 3S NV | 10 | 170 | 250 | 6 | |
| Net score | IMPs | Net score | IMPs | |||||
| 20-40 | 1 | 320-360 | 8 | |||||
| 50-80 | 2 | 370-420 | 9 | |||||
| 90-120 | 3 | 430-490 | 10 | |||||
| 130-160 | 4 | 500-590 | 11 | |||||
| 170-210 | 5 | 600-740 | 12 | |||||
| 220-260 | 6 | 750-890 | 13 | |||||
| 270-310 | 7 | 900-1090 | 14 |
