7♦ 7♥ 8♣ J♣ + A♠ cut = 8 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts, 8 of clubs, 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 2 points. The remaining 6 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: ace of spades, 7 of diamonds, 7 of hearts — 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, 24 possible cuts score less than 8, 9 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 15 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 6 to 13 points, averaging 8.31 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.