
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
If there are 18 ping-pong balls on the table and two people take turns putting the balls into a pocket, with each player taking at least 1 but no more than 4 balls per turn, determine the number of balls you should take for the first time in order to ensure that you win the game.

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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