5♠ 6♦ 6♠ J♠ + A♦ cut = 4 points

What the ace of diamonds contributes

Holding 5 of spades, 6 of diamonds, 6 of spades, jack of spades with the ace of diamonds as the cut scores 4 points in the hand.

The ace of diamonds contributes no scoring combinations. The remaining 4 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of hearts (4 points); ace of spades (5 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 4, 9 score the same (including the ace of diamonds), and 39 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 4 to 15 points, averaging 7.21 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.