A simplified discharge model for the prediction of the wave‐to‐plasma power transfer in high‐frequency collisional argon plasmas in the presence of a static magnetic field is presented. The study is based on the solutions to the homogeneous electron Boltzmann equation for an oscillating electric field composed of a right‐ and left‐hand‐side rotating parts, moving around the magnetic‐field lines. The mean absorbed power per electron to maintain the plasma is calculated for a container with nonconducting surfaces and the results are then compared with an experiment in the literature. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.