New traders typically want to know the difference between Fast Stochastics
and Slow Stochastics. They also want to know whether the typical default
settings of 5,5 (for Fast Stochastics) or 5,5,5 (for Slow Stochastics) as seen
in most charting packages developed for FX are better or worse than the typical
default settings of 14,3 (for Fast Stochastics) or 14,3,3 (for Slow Stochastics)
seen in stock and futures charting packages. First of all, the difference
between Fast Stochastics and Slow Stochastics is just a moving average.
When calculating Fast Stochastics using the values of 5 and 5, the first “5” is
the raw value for Stochastics, while the second “5” is a 5-period moving average
of the first “5”. When using Slow Stochastics, the first two 5’s are the
same as with the Fast Stochastics, with the third “5” being a moving average of
the second “5”. Yes, that’s right, a moving average of the moving
average. This slows the movement of the indicator down even further, hence
the name of Slow Stochastics. By slowing the movement of the indicator
down, we will see fewer signals to buy or sell on the chart, but they should be
more reliable signals. By using a larger value in calculating the
raw value of Stochastics, we slow the indicator down even more. This is
why I recommend to traders using FX charts to use the Slow Stochastics with
values of 15,5,5. This combination offers fairly reliable signals that can
offer solid entries into trading opportunities. The chart below shows the
difference between Fast Stochastics with values of 5,5 compared to Slow
Stochastics with values of 15,5,5. 
You can see how much easier it is to identify the signals using the Slow Stochastics. Being able to use the technical tool effectively is most of the battle. By keeping things simple and consistent, we should start to see consistent results in our trading.
Written by Thomas Long, FX Power Course Instructor for DailyFX.com