Short-run participation effects of tournament success: the case of online bridge

We collected 330,180 observations of decisions by online contract bridge players of whether to play another tournament after just completing one. We compare the effect of the financial motive - the desire to continue playing when doing so is likely to bring financial reward - with that of the satisfaction motive - the cognitive effect induced by winning the tournament. We find that players are generally more likely to continue playing when playing well but that they are less likely to continue to play when they win a tournament: the satisfaction motive overcomes the financial motive. Understanding the interplay of such effects is crucial in increasing participation in skill-based tournaments.