3♠ 5♣ 9♥ Q♦ + A♥ cut = 4 points

What the ace of hearts contributes

Holding 3 of spades, 5 of clubs, 9 of hearts, queen of diamonds with the ace of hearts as the cut scores 4 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of hearts contribute 2 points. The remaining 2 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: ace of hearts, 5 of clubs, 9 of hearts — 2 points.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of diamonds (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, 4 possible cuts score less than 4, 31 score the same (including the ace of hearts), and 13 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 2 to 6 points, averaging 4.29 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.