4♥ 5♠ J♠ K♦ + A♠ cut = 9 points

What the ace of spades contributes

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

Scoring combinations involving the ace of spades contribute 5 points. The remaining 4 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

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

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (8 points); ace of diamonds (8 points); ace of hearts (8 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 35 possible cuts score less than 9, 8 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 5 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 4 to 10 points, averaging 6.81 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.