
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
Alice has a deck of  $36$  cards,  $4$  suits of  $9$  cards each. She picks any  $18$  cards and gives the rest to Bob. Now each turn Alice picks any of her cards and lays it face-up onto the table, then Bob similarly picks any of his cards and lays it face-up onto the table. If this pair of cards has the same suit or the same value, Bob gains a point. What is the maximum number of points he can guarantee regardless of Alice’s actions?

Mikhail Evdokimov

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