2♠ 4♣ 6♥ 9♠ + A♦ cut = 4 points

What the ace of diamonds contributes

Holding 2 of spades, 4 of clubs, 6 of hearts, 9 of spades with the ace of diamonds as the cut scores 4 points in the hand.

The ace of diamonds contributes no scoring combinations. The remaining 4 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of hearts (4 points); ace of spades (4 points). Changing only the cut suit leaves this score unchanged.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 0 possible cuts score less than 4, 24 score the same (including the ace of diamonds), and 24 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 4 to 10 points, averaging 6.13 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.