9♣ 9♦ 10♥ J♣ + A♠ cut = 8 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding 9 of clubs, 9 of diamonds, ten of hearts, jack of clubs with the ace of spades as the cut scores 8 points in the hand.

The ace of spades contributes no scoring combinations. The remaining 8 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

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, 0 possible cuts score less than 8, 18 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 30 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 8 to 17 points, averaging 10.52 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.