This paper estimates bounded rationality in two outcome strictly competitive extensive form games of perfect information without chance moves. The main results are that the average subject can reason effectively to about rank 6. Twelve percent of the subjects have a perfect bound on their ability to achieve the substantively rational outcome: they win all the simpler games and they lose all games more complicated than the estimated rationality bound. All subjects are within 5 classification errors of a perfect bound. Most subjects don't have an accurate expectation about their performance against a procedurally rational opponent. Usually, they are too optimistic and value the games at much more than they are likely to earn if they actually play them.

Co-author Carl Nicholas McKinney Jr.