
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
Four students, A, B, C, and D, play a game of passing a handkerchief. Each pass from one student to another is counted as 1 pass. The handkerchief starts from A and returns to A after 5 passes. There are \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ different passing methods. (Answer with a number)

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