A♥ 3♠ 8♠ J♦ + A♠ cut = 4 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding ace of hearts, 3 of spades, 8 of spades, jack of diamonds with the ace of spades as the cut scores 4 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of spades contribute 4 points. The remaining 0 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

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

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (4 points); ace of diamonds (5 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 34 possible cuts score less than 4, 7 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 7 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.