In Genesis 30:25-43 Laban negotiates with Jacob to keep him around because, through Jacob, God had greatly prospered Laban. Jacob agrees to work only for the spotted and speckled sheep and goats. According to the People's Bible, sheep in the ancient Near East were white and goats dark brown or black. Jacob's proposal to take only the irregular animals may have shown he was entrusting his economic future to God.
The Daily Bible editor writes that next Laban deceived Jacob. That actually doesn't appear to be the case. Laban's actions are not done in secret, but they do show the shallowness of his character. While Jacob had said he would go through and pick out his animals, Laban does it for him. Then he put Jacob's animals with his own sons and keeps them far away from the other animals to limit Jacob's profit.
Jacob's use of peeled branches at the watering trough to grow his flock of animals doesn't appear to have any scientific basis to it. This was Jacob again attempting to rely on his own cleverness to get ahead. In spite of this, God mercifully allows the scheme to work and richly blesses him.
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