3♦ 4♦ 7♥ J♠ + A♠ cut = 5 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding 3 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, jack of spades with the ace of spades as the cut scores 5 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of spades contribute 5 points. The remaining 0 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: ace of spades, 4 of diamonds, jack of spades — 2 points.
• fifteen: ace of spades, 3 of diamonds, 4 of diamonds, 7 of hearts — 2 points.
• his nob: jack of spades, ace of spades — 1 point.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of diamonds (4 points); ace of hearts (4 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 37 possible cuts score less than 5, 6 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 5 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 0 to 8 points, averaging 2.54 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.