Do you ever feel like you play too cautiously near the final table?

When a tournament gets close to the final table, I sometimes notice myself tightening up more than usual because I don’t want to bust right before reaching it.

At the same time, I know that can be the best moment to pressure other players who are thinking the same way.

Do you become more careful near the final table, or do you try to stay aggressive?

I played scared money close to the FT , generally I want to go itm and to the FT , secure my entry , not take unnecessary risks ,but I feel I am too passive , on the other hand I have fallen victim many times to bad beats or hands , so maybe I am somehow justified up to a point . But if I have good odds , why not , j call , maybe I double my stack and kick one player put , but generally I play with no big risk

I try not to change my game because of the fear of busting right before the final table — but honestly, the pressure at this stage feels the strongest. In the past, I used to tighten up in these spots, play more cautiously, and as a result either lost my stack or reached the final table short-stacked with little chance to go deep.
Now I see it differently. If I notice that other players are starting to “survive” and are afraid to bust, that’s a signal for me to increase aggression. I open more pots, apply pressure from late positions, especially against medium stacks who clearly don’t want to take risks.
At the same time, I don’t turn into a mindless aggressor. I still pay attention to:
stack sizes (especially short and medium stacks)
ICM pressure
who is capable of fighting back and who is just trying to survive
If there are strong and aggressive players at the table, I might slow down a bit and choose more selective spots. But against passive or tight players, I try to exploit them as much as possible.
Overall, my approach is this: I don’t become cautious out of fear — I try to become smarter with my aggression. If there’s an opportunity to apply pressure, I take it. If the table doesn’t allow it, I adjust and play more carefully, but without unnecessary fear.

I feel like it mostly depends on whether you’re already in the money or not, and how big the pay jumps are. When you’re running deep, you don’t want to bust before shorter stacks, so that can naturally make you play more cautiously.