4♠ 5♥ 10♦ J♣ + A♠ cut = 8 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding 4 of spades, 5 of hearts, ten of diamonds, jack of clubs with the ace of spades as the cut scores 8 points in the hand.

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

• fifteen: ace of spades, 4 of spades, ten of diamonds — 2 points.
• fifteen: ace of spades, 4 of spades, jack of clubs — 2 points.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (9 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, 25 possible cuts score less than 8, 10 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 13 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 4 to 11 points, averaging 7.08 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.