8♥ 8♠ 10♦ J♠ + A♠ cut = 3 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding 8 of hearts, 8 of spades, ten of diamonds, jack of spades with the ace of spades as the cut scores 3 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of spades contribute 1 points. The remaining 2 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• his nob: jack of spades, ace of spades — 1 point.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (2 points); ace of diamonds (2 points); ace of hearts (2 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 18 possible cuts score less than 3, 6 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 24 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 2 to 11 points, averaging 4.23 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.