5♥ J♦ Q♦ K♠ + A♠ cut = 9 points

What the ace of spades contributes

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

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

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (9 points); ace of diamonds (10 points); ace of hearts (9 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 0 possible cuts score less than 9, 24 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 24 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 9 to 18 points, averaging 11.29 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.