OK, Safe Out was the closest, with his answer being part of the reason why. A player puts a 'protector' atop their cards because in the event that the DEALER TOUCHES THEM or that ANOTHER PLAYER should toss his cards in (as in the act of folding) and those folded cards should happen to touch said, unprotected cards, then they are dead as are the cards that were tossed in that touched them. THAT is why MOST players keep either their hands, a chip, or some sort of protector on their cards.
Newbie POP QUIZ 
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