Coach Shahin’s 7 Pillars | Part 4: Mastering the Poker Face

By David Yeakle

Table tennis is often described as high-speed chess. While technical execution and physical tactics are vital, there is an intense psychological war happening across the net.

According to Coach Shahin Akhlaghpasand, Head Coach at the Austin Table Tennis Club, the physical game is only half the battle. Having captained the Iranian National Team from 1998 to 2017 and competed in 9 World Championships and 2 Asian Games, Coach Shahin has witnessed firsthand how the mental game separates the good players from the world-class elites.

One of the most underutilized weapons in this mental warfare is your own physiology. How you carry yourself between points tells a story—and your opponent is eagerly reading every page.

Giving Away Free Confidence

When a player visibly displays anger, frustration, or sadness—slouching their shoulders, tossing their paddle, or sighing loudly—it provides a massive emotional boost to the opponent.

Based on experience, Coach Shahin notes that elite players are always hunting for these micro-signals. Your adversary feeds off that vulnerability, gaining a surge of confidence because they know they have successfully cracked your defenses.

"In professional leagues, like the German Bundesliga where I played for two years, opponents will instantly capitalize on any sign of mental cracking," says Coach Shahin. "To win the mental game, you must cut off this supply of emotional fuel entirely."

Weaponizing the Poker Face

To counteract psychological breakdown, Coach Shahin trains his players to maintain a strict, unreadable poker face. Keeping emotions entirely hidden prevents opponents from reading your mind or gauging your confidence.

As an ITTF Certified Instructor who has coordinated national training camps alongside elite Chinese and North Korean coaches, Shahin emphasizes that body language is an active tactical tool:

• Stand Tall: Keep your head up and shoulders back, regardless of what the scoreboard says.

  
  

• Project Certainty: Behave as though you are completely in control of the table.

  
  

• Dictate the Tempo: Do not let a lost point dictate your physical presence.

This stoic demeanor flips the psychological pressure back across the net. When you refuse to break, it often leaves your opponents feeling impatient and pressured, forcing them to rush their own play as they struggle to find a single crack in your focus.

What’s Next?

Mastering your poker face doesn't happen overnight. Next time you step up to the table—whether in a tense club match at the Austin Table Tennis Club or a high-stakes tournament—try putting Coach Shahin’s advice into practice. Take that deep breath, step back, and get your game face on.

This is just one piece of the puzzle. "Mastering the Poker Face" is Part 4 of our exclusive series breaking down Coach Shahin’s 7 Pillars of athletic excellence.

Stay tuned for Part 5: Don't Burn Out, where we will dive into Coach Shahin's elite strategies for maintaining mental sharpness, avoiding fatigue, and staying fresh through grueling tournament schedules.

We want to hear from you: What part of your mental game do you struggle with the most? Do you find yourself rushing when the pressure mounts? Let us know in the comments below!