3♠ 4♠ 5♦ K♠ + 9♠ cut = 5 points

What the 9 of spades contributes

Holding 3 of spades, 4 of spades, 5 of diamonds, king of spades with the 9 of spades as the cut scores 5 points in the hand.

The 9 of spades contributes no scoring combinations. The remaining 5 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

Other available cuts of this rank: 9 of clubs (5 points); 9 of diamonds (5 points); 9 of hearts (5 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 5, 4 score the same (including the 9 of spades), and 44 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 5 to 12 points, averaging 7.94 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.