A♦ 7♣ 8♣ 8♠ + A♠ cut = 8 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding ace of diamonds, 7 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 8 of spades 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.

• Pair: ace of diamonds, ace of spades — 2 points.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (8 points); ace of hearts (8 points). Changing only the cut suit leaves this score unchanged.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 32 possible cuts score less than 8, 3 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 13 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 6 to 16 points, averaging 8.21 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.