Help with putting thick hair up?

I have thick hair, it's long, pretty flat and a little wavy. I've never done anything with it and I really have no idea how to put my hair in a ponytail or high pigtails so that it looks nice. Whenever I do it hair stick out on the bottom of my head and my hair bumps up a lot at the bottom underneath the pigtail. How do I make a "perfect" ponytail or pigtails with my hair?