to start, this is my first baitcaster, my parents found a revo premiere for 160, and figured that that was a good enough price to just go ahead and get me it.  it feels like a great reel, but after casting it a while, it seems like the line on the spool isn't as tight as when i see a video with any pro.  is that due to the pressure i put from my thumb when i cast? or is there something else i can do to fix this?  thank you all for the tips, and I know that you will come through for me as you have so many others on this forum.

stephen

try tighting the spool tensioner a click or two , and maybe let out enough line on the spool till it feels packed on the spool ( the line remaining) then spool the let out line and apply pressure on the line as you wind it on . when praticing casting , if you keep the cast control (spool knob) a little loose , you are gonna have to keep your thumb on the spool as you cast . how many brakes to do you have set on the centifugal brakes ?? if you have two , maybe set three . keep practicing casting and as soon as you get it set up right , you will be good to go , also , maybe practice with some cheap line . alot of times continued backlashes will damage the line so to save your good line , practice with some cheap line like berkley big game or some stuff from the bargain bins ...

also....

this has happened to me when i found myself keeping my thumb on the spool while i was reeling in. too much pressure made my line slack on my spool.

i found myself doing this on a windy day the other day and kept wondering what was wrong with my reel !!

this may be your problem?

Everyone is wrong... Your reel is crap.  Send it to me and I'll throw it away for you...

Seriously,  the above answers are more than likely the problem.  Or when you spooled your reel you may not have applied the appropriate amount of pressure/tension on the line causing it to lay loose on the spool.  When I respool I take a towel and pinch the line between my thumb and index finger while cranking the handle. This creates enough tension on the line so that it spools correctly without applying too much tension where it will create lots of line memory. Also be sure that when you are spooling you have the drag set right or else pinching the line with the towel will do no good, you will have the same problem as before.