Help on finishing better

I still consider myself a newbie but I'm dedicated to improving my game. I play in free roles with about 5,000 others atleast once a day. My best finish is 3rd but what realy has got me scratching my head is why about 8 out of 10 tourneys i always go out with about 150-200 people left. I'v tried to change afew things but any help would be great thanks and good cards

Is it possible that you are playing tighter to make sure you make the cash?
The only other thought i had was that at the stage you are going out the blinds will be very big and only the players with monster stacks will go deeper in the tourny. Even starting with 1,000 chips, with 5,000 players there are 5 million chips in play, when only 200 players remain the average stack will be 25,000, by the time 100 players are left it will have doubled to 50,000. If the bubble is around the 200 player mark, when the bubble bursts all the short stacks who have been folding to the money will push with rags and be eaten up quickly by the loose calling big stacks, so the average stack will raise very quickly. The blinds will also be big at this stage so if you have an average sized stack and go card dead for a time you will quickly find yourself with a short stack.

My chip stack is usually in the top 25% when i start to loose it maybe I'm playing to tight. I had to train myself not to take too many chances. In a tourney this size patience really is a virtue. Thanks for your input and I will update the thread.. This place really does kick ass!!!!!! good cards every1

I feel like its time to loosin up , considering yoru stack, around the bubble, everybody goes into protection mode and wants to make the money, there is a lot of free juice up for grabs,

This is the part of the tournament most have trouble with. Much of it depends on how you....and your opponents...have played up until this point. I know many people don't believe in being able to read players online, but you can get a reasonable idea of a person's play by watching how they play up until this point. If they play tight...loosen up....and vice versa. Don't be too tight tho....now is the time to steal blinds and pots whenever you think you can. At the same time don't get over-aggressive as most will wait for the right hand and call you with the nuts. Find out what works best for you...and remember that each game is different....so vary it up a bit.

You have to consider what everyone else is thinking, they all want to make money too so they will also play very tight, raise if you can steal and fold if you get a big re-raise.