A♥ 3♠ 8♠ J♦ + A♦ cut = 5 points

What the ace of diamonds contributes

Holding ace of hearts, 3 of spades, 8 of spades, jack of diamonds with the ace of diamonds as the cut scores 5 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of diamonds contribute 5 points. The remaining 0 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: ace of hearts, ace of diamonds, 3 of spades, jack of diamonds — 2 points.
• Pair: ace of hearts, ace of diamonds — 2 points.
• his nob: jack of diamonds, ace of diamonds — 1 point.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of spades (4 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 41 possible cuts score less than 5, 6 score the same (including the ace of diamonds), and 1 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 0 to 6 points, averaging 2.25 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.