The series is based on Elmore Leonard's stories about the character Raylan Givens, particularly "Fire in the Hole", which serves as the basis for the episode.
The series revolves around the inhabitants and culture in the Appalachian Mountains area of eastern Kentucky, specifically Harlan County where many of the main characters grew up.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 1.71 million household viewers and gained a 0.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
The episode received very positive reviews from critics, who praised Sam Elliott's debut in the series, writing, pace and building momentum.
Ava (Joelle Carter) checks her barn in the morning when she hears noises, only finding Boyd (Walton Goggins), who was going to work on her porch.
Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and Tim (Jacob Pitts) work on the bank robbery, meeting with those who rented the safety deposit boxes to discover what was stolen.
Calhoun takes the opportunity to attempt to broker the sale of Arlo's property to Walker, who is apprehensive of the Feds and has his cohort Choo-Choo Mundo (Duke Davis Roberts) follow the Marshals.
Katherine is quietly suspicious of Avery, who left Kentucky when her then-husband and his partner Grady Hale were ratted out to the Feds fifteen years earlier.
In September 2014, it was announced that Sam Elliott was joining the series in the recurring role of Avery Markham, "a legendary Kentucky gangster who returns from exile with a private army and a lot of cash — thanks to the legal weed he grew in Colorado — determined to win back his empire and lost love Katherine Hale.
"[5] In its original American broadcast, "Cash Game" was seen by an estimated 1.71 million household viewers and gained a 0.5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Club gave the episode a "B" grade and wrote, "Overall, I'm pretty at peace with this being the show's final season, if only because it does feel like we're reaching the organic end of the story.
"[9] Kevin Fitzpatrick of Screen Crush wrote, "Not the most eventful of Justified episodes, even if Raylan and Boyd's pre-showdown over the realtor's stolen documents proved as electric as ever, and a fine preview of things to come, though the final season seems to be settling into a good rhythm, and laying the groundwork for its major villains.
If nothing else, the humor remains as sharp as ever, and the Boyd-Tim pairing made for some strongly witty face-offs with respective branches of the enigmatic Tigerhawk.
"[13] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture gave the episode a perfect 5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "The sixth season of Justified keeps humming along with 'Cash Game'.
Written by Dave Andron and VJ Boyd, and directed by Dean Parisot, the episode’s crisp storytelling is reminiscent of the show’s superior, even-numbered seasons, which laid out a series of parallel-seeming subplots that converged with wit and grace.
"[15] Sean McKenna of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "It's pretty clear that money is a driving force for a lot of the actions taking place in Harlan, and I'm intrigued to keep learning more about the various power players goals as they connect with each other.