Beginner crochet question about chain link?

So I am working on the first row which I think is called the chain link. However, as I am going, I don't like the results. Some parts are tight and some are loose with obvious holes. Does this matter? Should I keep it tight or loose? Someone somewhere said you should hold everything loosely to make it easier. But this seems to lead to the holes...and doing it tightly, is harder to get the needle through the hole. Not to mention, I'm not even sure how I could manage to do each stitch perfectly uniform with the rest. Just the slightest pull seems to make it different than the next...