5♣ 5♦ J♦ Q♠ + K♠ cut = 17 points

What the king of spades contributes

Holding 5 of clubs, 5 of diamonds, jack of diamonds, queen of spades with the king of spades as the cut scores 17 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the king of spades contribute 7 points. The remaining 10 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: 5 of clubs, king of spades — 2 points.
• fifteen: 5 of diamonds, king of spades — 2 points.
• run of three: jack of diamonds, queen of spades, king of spades — 3 points.

Other available cuts of this rank: king of clubs (17 points); king of diamonds (18 points); king of hearts (17 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 17, 7 score the same (including the king of spades), and 4 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 10 to 20 points, averaging 12.56 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.