
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
Polina has a deck of 36 cards (9 cards of each of four suits). She selects half of the cards based on her preference and gives the other half to Vasily. Then, they take turns placing cards face up on the table, one at a time, with Polina going first. If Vasily can place a card of the same suit or the same rank as the previous card, he scores 1 point. What is the maximum number of points that Vasily can guarantee for himself?

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