A♥ 4♥ 7♣ J♠ + A♠ cut = 7 points

What the ace of spades contributes

Holding ace of hearts, 4 of hearts, 7 of clubs, jack of spades with the ace of spades as the cut scores 7 points in the hand.

Scoring combinations involving the ace of spades contribute 5 points. The remaining 2 points come from combinations entirely within the four held cards.

• fifteen: ace of spades, 4 of hearts, jack of spades — 2 points.
• Pair: ace of hearts, ace of spades — 2 points.
• his nob: jack of spades, ace of spades — 1 point.

Other available cuts of this rank: ace of clubs (6 points); ace of diamonds (6 points). The cut suit changes the score here because of a flush or nobs.

How this cut compares

For these four held cards, 43 possible cuts score less than 7, 2 score the same (including the ace of spades), and 3 score more.

Across all 48 possible cut cards, the score ranges from 2 to 9 points, averaging 4.38 points. This comparison treats every card outside the four-card hand as equally likely; it does not exclude known discards or other seen cards.