  The El Farol bar model, proposed to study the dynamics of competition of
agents in a variety of contexts (W. B. Arthur, Amer. Econ. Assoc. Pap. and
Proc. 84, 406 (1994)) is studied. We characterize in detail the three regions
of the phase diagram (efficient, inefficient and better than random) of the
simplest version of the model (D. Challet and Y.-C. Zhang, Physica A, 246, 407
(1997)). The efficient region is shown to have a rich structure, which is
investigated in some detail. Changes in the payoff function enhance further the
tendency of the model towards a wasteful distribution of resources.
